Richard E. Grant
Richard E. Grant | |
---|---|
Born | Richard Grant Esterhuysen 5 May 1957 |
Nationality | Swazi British[1] |
Other names | Richard Grant |
Education | University of Cape Town |
Occupation(s) | Actor, presenter |
Years active | 1980–present |
Spouse |
Joan Washington
(m. 1986; died 2021) |
Children | 1 |
Awards | Full list |
Website | www |
Richard E. Grant (born Richard Grant Esterhuysen;[2][3] 5 May 1957) is a Swazi-English actor[4][5][6] and presenter.[1] He made his film debut as Withnail in the comedy Withnail and I (1987). Grant received critical acclaim for his role as Jack Hock in Marielle Heller's drama film Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018), winning various awards including the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male. He also received Academy Award, BAFTA, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor.
Grant is also known for his roles in the feature films Warlock (1989), Henry & June (1990), Hudson Hawk (1991), Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), The Age of Innocence (1993), The Portrait of a Lady (1996), The Little Vampire (2000), Gosford Park (2001), Penelope (2006), The Iron Lady (2011), Jackie (2016), Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019), and Saltburn (2023). He is also known for his roles in television, including Frasier (2004), Dig (2015), Game of Thrones (2016), Hang Ups (2018), A Series of Unfortunate Events (2019), and Suspect (2022).
Early life and education
Grant was born as Richard Grant Esterhuysen on 5 May 1957 in
As a boy, Grant attended St Mark's School, a local government school in Mbabane, which had only recently become racially integrated. When Grant was 10, he witnessed, sitting in the backseat, his mother commit adultery in a car with his father's best friend, which subsequently led to his parents' divorce.[12] This event inspired Grant to keep a daily diary, which he has continued to do ever since.[11]
Grant attended secondary school at
Career
Grant was a member of the
Grant's first film role was the perpetually inebriated title character in the
While filming L.A. Story with Steve Martin, the pair communicated by fax. Martin wrote: "I kept these faxes, which grew to a stack more than 2 inches thick, because they entertained me, and because I thought they were valuable aesthetic chunks from a screeching mind, a stream-of-consciousness faucet spewing sentences – sometimes a mile long – none of it rewritten, and bearing just the right amount of acid and alkaline."[16]
In 1995, Grant starred as the titular character in Peter Capaldi's short film Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life. The film won the 1995 Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film. In 1996, he portrayed Sir Andrew Aguecheek in Trevor Nunn's Twelfth Night. He released a single and accompanying video "To Be Or Not To Be" with Orpheus in 1997.[citation needed]
Grant has twice portrayed
Grant appeared as "The Voice" in 2+2+2 at American Nights at The
In 2010 he starred in short film
In March 2013, Grant starred as intelligence analyst Brian Jones in David Morley's radio drama The Iraq Dossier with Peter Firth, Anton Lesser, David Caves, and Lindsay Duncan. It recounted the story of how British Ministry of Defence Intelligence expert Jones had tried to warn that his government's September Dossier on Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction was inaccurate.[20] In 2014, Grant was cast on the HBO series Girls after series creator Lena Dunham saw him in Spice World.[21]
On 9 May 2015, Grant gave a reading at
Grant's critically lauded performance as Jack Hock in Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018) earned him Academy Award, BAFTA, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations. The part also won Grant a New York Film Critics Circle Award and several other critics awards.[23][24][25]
In 2019, Grant appeared in
Wah-Wah
Grant wrote and directed the 2005 film Wah-Wah, loosely based on his own childhood experiences. A screenwriter recommended he write a screenplay after reading Grant's memoirs of his Withnail and I experience. The film took him over seven years to complete[28] and starred Nicholas Hoult in the lead role, with Gabriel Byrne, Miranda Richardson, Julie Walters, and Emily Watson. Grant kept a diary of the experience, later published as a book (The Wah-Wah Diaries). The book received positive reviews from critics, many of whom were impressed by the honesty of the tale, especially in regard to his difficult relationship with the "inexperienced" producer Marie-Castille Mention-Schaar.[29][30][31]
Grant stated in subsequent interviews that she was a "control freak out of control", and he would "never see her again as long as [he] live[s]."
Personal life
Grant married voice coach Joan Washington in 1986 and had one daughter with her, Olivia, and a stepson, Tom. After being diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer,[34] Washington died on 2 September 2021.[35][36]
Grant is a
Grant is a fan of Barbra Streisand and has done a tour of Streisand's New York, visiting her early home, her high school, and the Village Vanguard, among other places.[39]
Grant is a dual citizen of the Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) and United Kingdom.[1] From his whole childhood in Eswatini, he speaks fluently Swazi, the national language of the country[40]. He used to wear a watch on each wrist, one of which was given to him by his dying father and set to Swaziland time.[9][12]
In October 2008, Grant told
In September 2022, Grant released a memoir, A Pocketful of Happiness, mostly written in the last year of his wife's life.
In 2023, his mother died at the age of 93.[46]
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1987 | Withnail and I | Withnail | |
Hidden City | Brewster | ||
1989 | How to Get Ahead in Advertising | Denis Dimbleby Bagley | |
Warlock | Giles Redferne | ||
1990 | Mountains of the Moon | Larry Oliphant | |
Killing Dad | Ali Berg | ||
Henry & June | Hugo Guiler
|
||
1991 | L.A. Story | Roland Mackey | |
1991 | Hudson Hawk | Darwin Mayflower | |
1992 | The Player | Tom Oakley | |
Bram Stoker's Dracula | Dr. Jack Seward | ||
1993 | The Age of Innocence | Larry Lefferts | |
Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life | Franz Kafka | Short film | |
1994 | Prêt-à-Porter | Cort Romney | |
1995 | Jack and Sarah | Jack | |
1996 | The Cold Light of Day | Victor Marek | |
The Portrait of a Lady | Lord Warburton | ||
Twelfth Night: Or What You Will
|
Sir Andrew Aguecheek
|
||
1997 | The Serpent's Kiss | James Fitzmaurice | |
Keep the Aspidistra Flying | Gordon Comstock | ||
Food of Love | Alex Salmon | ||
Spice World | Clifford | ||
1998 | St. Ives | Major Farquhar Chevening | |
1999 | The Match | Gorgeous Gus | |
2000 | The Miracle Maker
|
John the Baptist | Voice |
The Little Vampire | Frederick Sackville-Bagg | ||
2001 | Hildegarde | Wolf | |
Gosford Park | George | ||
2003 | Monsieur N. | Hudson Lowe | |
Bright Young Things | Father Rothschild | ||
2004 | Tooth | Jarvis Jarvis | |
The Story of an African Farm | Bonaparte Blenkins | ||
2005 | Wah-Wah | N/A | Writer and director |
Corpse Bride | Lord Barkis Bittern | Voice | |
Colour Me Kubrick | Jasper | ||
2006 | Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties | Preston | Voice |
Penelope | Franklin Wilhern | ||
2007 | Always Crashing in the Same Car | James Booth | |
2008 | Filth and Wisdom | Professor Flynn | |
The Garden of Eden | Colonel Philip Boyle | ||
2009 | Cuckoo | Professor Julius Greengrass | |
Love Hurts | Ben Bingham | ||
2010 | Jackboots on Whitehall | Campbell Babbitt | Voice |
1st Night | Adam Drummond | ||
The Nutcracker in 3D | Father | ||
The Man Who Married Himself | Oliver | ||
2011 | The Last Fashion Show | Federico Marinoni | |
Foster | Mr Potts | ||
Horrid Henry: The Movie | Vic Van Wrinkle | ||
How to Stop Being a Loser | Ian | ||
The Iron Lady | Michael Heseltine | ||
2012 | Zambezia
|
Cecil | Voice |
Kath & Kimderella | Alain | ||
2013 | About Time | Lawyer in Play | Uncredited cameo |
Khumba | Bradley | Voice | |
Dom Hemingway | Dickie Black | ||
2014 | Queen and Country | Major Cross | |
2016 | Jackie | William Walton | |
Their Finest | Roger Swain | ||
2017 | Logan | Zander Rice
|
|
The Hitman's Bodyguard | Mr. Seifert | ||
2018 | Can You Ever Forgive Me? | Jack Hock | |
The Nutcracker and the Four Realms | Shiver | ||
2019 | Palm Beach | Billy | |
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker | Allegiant General Enric Pryde | ||
2020 | Robin Robin | Magpie | Voice; Short film |
2021 | Earwig and the Witch | The Mandrake | Voice; English dub |
The Spine of Night | The Guardian | Voice | |
Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard | Mr. Seifert | ||
Everybody's Talking About Jamie | Hugo Battersby/Loco Chanelle | ||
2022 | Persuasion | Sir Walter Elliot | |
2023 | The Lesson | J.M. Sinclair | |
Saltburn | Sir James | ||
2024 | Argylle | Fowler | |
2025 | Wildwood † | Roger Swindon/Elgen | Voice; in production |
TBA | Death of a Unicorn † | Post-production | |
TBA | Nuremberg † | David Maxwell Fyfe | Filming |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1983 | Sweet Sixteen | Anton | Episode: "Episode Six" |
1985–1989 | Screen Two | Moonee Livingstone/David Dunhill | 2 episodes |
1988 | Codename: Kyril | Sculby | 4 episodes |
Diebe in der Nacht | Joseph | Television film | |
1993 | Great Performances: Suddenly Last Summer | George Holly | Television special |
The Legends of Treasure Island | Long John Silver | Voice 8 episodes | |
1994 | Absolutely Fabulous | Justin | Episode: "Hospital" |
Hard Times
|
James Harthouse | 3 episodes | |
1996 | Karaoke | Nick Balmer | 4 episodes |
Cold Lazarus | Nick Balmer | 2 episodes | |
1997 | A Royal Scandal | George IV | Television film |
1997–1998 | Captain Star | Captain Jim Star | Voice 14 episodes |
1999–2000 | The Scarlet Pimpernel | Sir Percy Blakeney / The Scarlet Pimpernel | 6 episodes |
1999 | Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death
|
The Conceited Doctor
|
Television special |
Let Them Eat Cake | Monsieur Vigée-Lebrun | Episode: "The Portrait" | |
Trial & Retribution III | Stephen Warrington | 2 episodes | |
A Christmas Carol | Bob Cratchit | Television film | |
2002 | Sherlock: Case of Evil
|
Mycroft Holmes | Television film |
The Hound of the Baskervilles | Jack Stapleton | Television film | |
2003 | Posh Nosh | Simon Marchmont | 8 episodes |
2004 | Frasier | Stephen Moon | Episode: "Goodnight, Seattle" |
90 Days in Hollywood | Narrator | Voice Documentary | |
The Story of Bohemian Rhapsody | Narrator | Voice Documentary | |
2005 | Home Farm Twins | Paul Baker | Unknown episodes |
2006 | That'll Teach 'Em: Boys Versus Girls | Narrator | Voice 5 episodes |
Above and Beyond | Don Bennett | 2 episodes | |
2007 | Agatha Christie's Marple | Raymond West | Episode: "Nemesis" |
Dalziel and Pascoe | Lee Knight | Episode: "Demons on Our Shoulders" | |
Roald Dahl's Revolting Rule Book | Himself | Television special | |
2008 | Mumbai Calling | Benedict T. Harlow | Episode: "Good Sellers" |
2009 | Freezing | Richard | Episode #1.1 |
2011 | The Crimson Petal and the White | Dr Curlew | 4 episodes |
Rab C. Nesbitt | Chingford Steel | Episode: "Broke" | |
Rev. | Marcus | Episode #2.5 | |
2012–2014 | Richard E. Grant's Hotel Secrets | Himself (host)[47] | 14 episodes |
2012 | Playhouse Presents | Stephen / Tony | Episode: "The Other Woman" |
The Fear | Seb Whiting | 3 episodes | |
The History of Safari with Richard E. Grant | Himself (host) | Television documentary | |
2012–2013 | Doctor Who | Dr Simeon / The Great Intelligence
|
3 episodes |
2013 | The Riviera: A History in Pictures | Himself (host) | 2 episodes |
2014 | Girls | Jasper | 4 episodes |
Downton Abbey | Simon Bricker | 4 episodes | |
Psychobitches | Matthew Hopkins | Episode #2.6 | |
2015 | Dig | Ian Margrove | 9 episodes |
Wellington: The Iron Duke Unmasked | Wellington | Television documentary | |
Jekyll and Hyde | Sir Roger Bulstrode | 9 episodes | |
2016 | Game of Thrones | Izembaro | 3 episodes |
The Last Dragonslayer | Dragon | Voice Television film | |
2018 | Hang Ups | Leonard Conrad | 5 episodes |
2019 | A Series of Unfortunate Events | The Man with a Beard but No Hair | 3 episodes |
2019–2022 | Tuca & Bertie | Holland | Voice 9 episodes |
2020 | Dispatches from Elsewhere | Octavio Coleman | 10 episodes |
2021 | Agatha and Poirot: Partners in Crime | Himself (host) | Television documentary[48] |
Loki | Classic Loki
|
2 episodes | |
Write Around the World | Himself (host) | 3 episodes | |
The Outlaws | The Earl | 2 episodes | |
Blankety Blank | Himself/panellist | Episode: "Christmas Special"[49] | |
2021–2023 | Moley | The Gardener | Voice 8 episodes |
2022 | Suspect | Harry | 8 episodes[50] |
2024 | RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs. the World | Himself (Guest judge) | Series 2
|
TBA | The Franchise | Peter | Recurring role, upcoming series |
Video games
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2020 | Sackboy: A Big Adventure | Vex | Voice |
Other
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2003 | Doctor Who: Scream of the Shalka | The Doctor
|
Animated Series |
2007 | George's Marvellous Medicine | Narrator | Audiobook |
The Pillars of the Earth | Narrator | Audiobook | |
World Without End | Narrator | Audiobook | |
2008 | My Fair Lady | Henry Higgins | Theatre Royal, Sydney |
2010 | "This City" | Human cyborg | The Chemists music video |
2011 | Conqueror | Narrator | Audiobook |
2013 | Fuck: An Irreverent History of the F-Word | Narrator | Audiobook |
The Murder at the Vicarage: A Miss Marple Mystery | Narrator | Audiobook | |
2017 | My Fair Lady | Henry Higgins | Lyric Opera of Chicago |
2023 | The Wombles | Narrator | Audiobook (abridged version) |
Tours
- An Evening with Richard E Grant (2022) Australia
- An Evening with Richard E Grant (2023) UK
Awards and nominations
Bibliography
- The ISBN 0-330-44196-5(hardcover).
- With Nails: The Film Diaries of Richard E. Grant. 1996. ISBN 0-87951-935-5(paperback).
- By Design: A Hollywood Novel. Picador, 1999. ISBN 978-0-330-36829-2(13).
- A Pocketful of Happiness: A Memoir. Simon & Schuster, 2022 ISBN 978-1398519473(hardback)
References
- ^ a b c "Busy Making Other Plans: Richard E. Grant". Stop Smiling. No. 26. 21 June 2006. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
- Evening Times. 5 June 2003. Archived from the originalon 7 November 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
- ^ "The World According To Grant". The Evening Standard magazine. 17 January 2003. Retrieved 7 March 2019 – via richard-e-grant.com.
- ^ "... he, himself, is a Swazi who happens also to be English", theguardian.com. 26 September 2021.
- ^ Eames, Tom (23 January 2019). "Richard E Grant facts: Who is his wife and daughter, how tall is he and what movies is he in?". Smooth Radio.
- ^ Rampton, James (16 September 2016). "Richard E Grant interview: 'The anarchic spirit is the basis of comedy - it's timeless'". The Independent.
- ^ "Richard E. Grant Biography (1957-)". FilmReference.com. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
- ^ "Richard E. Grant Biography". Yahoo! Movies. Archived from the original on 17 May 2011.
- ^ a b c "Richard E Grant: At 11 I caught my mother cheating with dad's best friend". Evening Standard. 20 September 2007. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
- ^ Didcock, Barry (30 April 2006). "A life in pictures: Richard E Grant not only made a film of his diaries, he kept a diary during filming". Sunday Herald. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
- ^ a b Gilbert, Gerard (29 May 2006). "Richard E Grant: Welcome to my family". The Independent. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
- ^ Enough Rope with Andrew Denton. 19 June 2006. Archived from the originalon 5 August 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2006.
- ^ Lacey, Hester (4 May 2016). "The Inventory: Richard E Grant". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
- ^ Vincent, Sally (5 August 2005). "Memories of mischief". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
- ^ Lawson, Valerie (4 June 2008). "Interview with Richard E Grant". The Sydney Morning Herald.
- ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
- ^ Nathan, John (6 February 2008). "London Hairspray Breaks Record With 11 Olivier Award Nominations". Playbill. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
- ^ "Richard Chats About God of Carnage". richard-e-grant.com. 14 February 2009. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
- ^ "The Man Who Married Himself". britishcouncil.org. 21 November 2010. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
- ^ Reynolds, Gillian (6 March 2013). "Drones Dossiers And How Iraq Changed The World". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
- ^ Blistein, Jon (15 November 2018). "Richard E. Grant Talks Gifts 'Spice World' Role Keeps Giving on 'Corden'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
- ^ Travis, Ben (23 May 2016). "Did you spot Richard E Grant in his Game of Thrones cameo?". The Evening Standard. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
- ^ "Winners & Nominees 2019". GoldenGlobes.com. Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
- ^ "2018 Awards". New York Film Critics Circle. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
- ^ "Nominations Announced for the 25th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards®". Screen Actors Guild. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
- ^ "Star Wars: Episode IX Cast Announced". StarWars.com. 27 July 2018. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
- ^ "Richard E. Grant, Archie Madekwe and Alison Oliver Join Emerald Fennell's 'Saltburn'". Variety. 25 August 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
- ^ a b "Wah-Wah Interview – "I've had seven birthdays..."". richardegrant.com. Archived from the original on 30 June 2009. Retrieved 21 August 2008.
- ISBN 978-0-33044-196-4.
- ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
- ^ Boncza-Tomaszewski, Tom (17 September 2006). "Paperbacks: The Wah-Wah Diaries: The making of a film". The Independent. Archived from the original on 30 June 2009. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
- ^ Didcock, Barry (30 April 2006). "A Life In Pictures". Sunday Herald. Archived from the original on 21 November 2008. Retrieved 21 August 2008 – via richard-e-grant.com.
- ^ Network Ten (21 October 2007). "Richard E. Grant Interview". YouTube. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
- ^ Otte, Jedidajah (11 September 2021). "Richard E Grant reveals late wife Joan Washington had lung cancer". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
- ^ "Richard E Grant's wife Joan Washington dies". Evening Standard. 3 September 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
- ^ "Richard E Grant says he is heartbroken at death of wife Joan Washington". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
- National Public Radio. United States. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
- ^ "Five Minutes With: Richard E Grant". BBC News. 11 December 2010. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
- ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
- ^ https://www.npr.org/2018/12/13/676405314/richard-e-grant-barely-survived-childhood-now-hes-thriving-as-an-actor
- ^ "Coming Out as Atheist: Richard E. Grant". Secularism.org.uk. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
- ^ "Jack by Richard E Grant". Big Fish.co.uk. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
- ^ Stadlen, Matthew (17 December 2015). "Richard E. Grant: Why my father's alcoholism has made me love Christmas". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
- ^ "A Pocketful of Happiness by Richard E Grant review – Tigger and his one true love". The Guardian. 26 September 2022. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
- ^ "Desert Island Discs - Richard E Grant, actor". BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
- ^ "Richard E Grant reflects on 'complicated gratitude' for mother as he announces her death aged 93". The Independent. 21 July 2023. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
- ^ "Richard E Grant's Hotel Secrets". Sky UK. Retrieved 3 January 2012.
- ^ "Agatha and Poirot: Partners in Crime". itv.com/presscentre. Archived from the original on 24 March 2021. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
- ^ "Blankety Blank Christmas Special". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
- ^ "First look: James Nesbitt and Richard E. Grant in Suspect – Channel 4's thrilling new drama". channel4.com/press. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
External links
- Official website
- Richard E. Grant at IMDb
- Vincent, Sally (6 August 2005). "Memories of mischief". The Guardian. (Interview and profile pertaining to the release of his film Wah-Wah.)
- Parry, Daniel (30 March 2016). "Jack of All Trades". The Foxley Docket. Archived from the original on 9 August 2016. (Interview and profile regarding his career and fragrance brand Jack Covent Garden.)