As Luke Grimes made his first foray into the romantic comedy genre, he took inspiration from the King of Rom-Coms, Hugh Grant.
To hone his chops for his role in the Netflix rom-com Happiness for Beginners opposite Ellie Kemper, the Yellowstone star studied Grant's extensive catalog in all things light and lovey-dovey. Grimes is especially partial to Notting Hill and Four Weddings and a Funeral.
"I think Hugh Grant was the romantic comedy God," Grimes told PEOPLE. "I think he was so good at what he did in those movies. I was like, 'I'm going to do my best to try to be Hugh Grant,' because he was always the straight man, but he was funny enough on his own."
He adds Grant always managed to find the right balance between the romantic and comedic elements, never being "too funny that it took away from the funny characters."
"He had just enough that he was perfect," the 39-year-old actor says. "You believed him and felt for him and had a lot of empathy for him. So he was sort of my North Star [in] trying to do this movie."
He stars as Jake in Happiness for Beginners, a doctor who meets the recently-divorced Helen (Kemper) on a wilderness survival retreat. She came to the sticks of Upstate New York to rediscover her confidence, but may just find some romance along the way.
Grimes has acted in romantic roles with more serious tones — he played Elliot Grey in the Fifty Shades of Grey film series — but he's never explored the lighthearted feel of the rom-com and has been eager to do so.
"I always wanted to do a romantic comedy. It was on my bucket list because I always skew a little more dramatic and a little more intense," he says. "There's enough bad stuff in the world. And I read the script and I was like, 'I think I could do this.'
"I understand the reason for [romantic comedies] and I understand why they exist because sometimes I just want to watch something a little lighter and a little more happy and go to bed with good dreams instead of bad ones."
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