Before becoming one of Britain’s most recognizable actors, Hugh Grant made a business decision that surprised many in Hollywood.
He fired his agent.
Then he created one.
According to Grant, he spent several years secretly representing himself under the fictitious name “James Howe.” The persona had its own email account, separate identity, and even a Scottish accent during negotiation calls. Studios believed they were dealing with an independent, assertive agent — not the actor himself.
The reason? Commissions.
Traditional agents typically take a percentage of earnings, and Grant later acknowledged he wanted more control over negotiations and finances. By handling his own deals through the invented identity, he avoided paying those fees during that period.
Grant has since built substantial wealth through acting, real estate investments, and art holdings, with estimates placing his net worth in the hundreds of millions. While it’s impossible to calculate exactly how much the “James Howe” experiment saved him, Grant has said it worked — for a while.
Eventually, the setup became too complicated to maintain. The logistics of managing a dual identity in high-level negotiations proved unsustainable, and he returned to working with a professional agent.
Still, the story remains one of Hollywood’s more unusual career moves.
For several years, Hugh Grant wasn’t just the talent.
He was also the talent’s boss.