About a Boy co-stars Hugh Grant and Nicholas Hoult recently reunited on-screen for the first time in 20 years for a video interview for Vanity Fair.
During this interview, Grant revealed that he has a ritual of giving rather mature wrap gifts to his younger co-stars — whether their parents like it or not.
After About a Boy wrapped, Grant gave Hoult his first set of golf clubs complete with a signed caddy and a set of golfing lessons, even though Hoult was still the tender age of 11 at the time.
Joking about the gift, Grant revealed that he gave an even more gentlemanly gift to Noah Jupe, the then-11-year-old boy who played Grant’s character’s son.
“It’s better than the wrap present I gave to my son on The Undoing, which was a box of cigars,” Grant said. “His mother was furious.”
Wrap gifts are a fascinating, oft-undocumented part of ending the filming of a production, and Grant’s present-giving habits couldn’t help but make us think of all the other weird tokens of appreciation that have changed hands over the years.
Here are some other bonkers or bizarre parting gifts given by celebrities to their cast and crew.
Adam Sandler got his Grown Ups co-stars Maseratis
In case you wanted to understand the scale of some wrap gifts, here’s the top end. In 2010, Adam Sandler was so delighted that his dad comedy Grown Ups had proven to be a box-office success that he gifted co-stars Chris Rock, David Spade, Kevin James and Rob Schneider with Maserati sportscars worth $200,000 each.
Chris Rock got his co-writers Rolexes
Another ludicrously expensive wrap gift was given by comedian Chris Rock to writers Tina Fey and Louis CK after they helped him with one of his scripts. The movie wasn’t specified, but according to Rolex Magazine, Rock gifted his fellow comedians Rolex Submariners engraved with the phrase “Thanks, motherf***er”. Very on brand.
Joe Swanberg got the cast of Drinking Buddies homebrewed beer
On the more “We’re making each other gifts this year” side of things is director Joe Swanberg, who stayed true to his film Drinking Buddies by providing cast and crew with a supply of the beer he brewed with Jake Johnson and Olivia Wilde during the movie. Sure, it might not be a Rolex, but this is one of the most thoughtful wrap gifts out there.
Nora Ephron gave Tom Hanks his own orange tree
Apparently it wasn’t uncommon for cast and crew to depart a Nora Ephron production carrying a tree of some kind — her favourite choice of wrap gift. In an interview with Digital Spy, the beloved actor Tom Hanks explained that when he wrapped on Sleepless in Seattle, Ephron arranged for an orange tree to be planted in his garden, promising that it would last for "the rest of your days." Hanks said that she wasn't wrong, and that "the fruit has been lovely, sweet, and abundant, just as Nora promised.”
Oprah gave the whole A Wrinkle in Time cast and crew juicers
Perhaps the most prolific gift giver of her generation, Oprah was obviously going to give generously when it came to the end of filming her 2018 fantasy film A Wrinkle in Time. For some unknown reason, Oprah chose to give out juicers to the entire cast and crew. But they weren’t your standard juicer, they were Juicero juicers worth $400 a pop. Go Oprah!
The Suicide Squad cast were given... hand sanitiser
Anyone who knows anything about the filming process for The Suicide Squad knows that it was weird. Weird in a good way, like how all the cast got matching tattoos saying ‘skwad’ on the bottom of their feet. But also weird in a... weird way, like how Jared Leto kept sending people used condoms and rodents as “gifts” while in character as the Joker. Then, as a wrap present, the cast were gifted hand sanitiser which bore the phrase “Maybe you touched your genitals.” Uh... thanks.
