Richard E. Grant
Richard E. Grant | |
|---|---|
| Born | Richard Grant Esterhuysen |
| Years active | 1987 – present |
Richard E. Grant (born May 5, 1957) is a British actor known for portraying the world-weary, drug-crazed alcoholic Withnail in Withnail and I.
Biography
Early life
Grant was born Richard Grant Esterhuysen in Mbabane, Swaziland, the son of Henrik Esterhuysen, who was the Minister of Education for the British Ministry in South Africa, and a mother who worked as a teacher.[1][2] Grant was educated in Waterford Kamhlaba School. At the age of nine, he witnessed an adulterous relationship between his mother and another man, which subsequently led to the break-up of his parents' marriage. At this moment, he started keeping a diary and has done so ever since. He wears a watch on each wrist, one given to him by his dying father, permanently set on Swaziland time.[3] He studied English and Drama at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, and moved to London in 1982.
Career
Grant is a successful author, with works such as By Design calling on his Hollywood experience. He was also for a time the face of the Argos TV commercials. He has played The Doctor from Doctor Who twice, unofficially on both occasions. In the comedy sketch Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death, he portrayed a version of the Tenth Doctor, referred to as the Quite Handsome Doctor. He also voiced a version of the Ninth Doctor for the BBC original animated webcast Scream of the Shalka.
He wrote and directed the 2005 film, Wah-Wah, loosely based on his own childhood experiences. In 2008, Grant will star in the movie adaptation of Irvine Welsh's best-selling novel Ecstasy: Three Tales of Chemical Romance. Grant appeared as "The Voice" in 2+2+2 at American Nights at The King's Head Theatre, from July 3 to July 29, 2007.
Personal life
Grant married Joan Washington in 1986 and has one daughter with her, Olivia, and a step-son, Tom. Grant is a teetotaler. After casting him as the alcoholic Withnail, director Bruce Robinson made Grant drink a bottle of champagne in one sitting so that he had experience of the sensation.
On December 1st 2006 Richard E Grant turned real life investigator when with the help of the BBC Newsnight programme he exposed a $98 million scam to sell a bogus AIDS cure.[4]
He appeared on BBC1's show Saturday Kitchen on the 14th July 2007, where he confessed to detesting dairy products, while his favourite food is giant prawns on a bed of rice.
Filmography
Films
- Jackboots on Whitehall (2008)
- Ecstasy (2007)
- Always Crashing in the Same Car (2007)
- Penelope (2006)
- Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties (2006) as Preston (voice)
- Wah-Wah (2005) - writer, director
- Colour Me Kubrick (2005) as Jasper
- Corpse Bride (2005) as Lord Barkis Bittern (voice)
- Bustin' Bonaparte (2004) as Bonaparte Blenkins
- Tooth (2004) as Jarvis Jarvis
- Bright Young Things (2003) as Father Rothschild
- Monsieur N. (2003) as Hudson Lowe
- Gosford Park (2001) as George
- The Little Vampire (2000) as Frederick Sackville-Bagg
- The Scarlet Pimpernel(1999) as the Scarlet Pimpernel
- Spiceworld (1997) as Clifford
- Keep the Aspidistra Flying (1997) (aka A Merry War) as Gordon Comstock
- The Serpent's Kiss (1997) as James Fitzmaurice
- Twelfth Night, or What You Will (1996) as Sir Andrew Aguecheek
- The Portrait of a Lady (1996) as Lord Warburton
- Jack and Sarah (1995) as Jack
- Prêt-à-Porter (1994) as Cort Romney
- Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life (1993) as Franz Kafka
- The Age of Innocence (1993) as Larry Lefferts
- Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) as Dr. Jack Seward
- The Player (1992)
- L.A. Story (1991) as Roland Mackey
- Hudson Hawk (1991) as Darwin Mayflower
- Henry & June (1990) as Hugo Guiler
- Mountains of the Moon (1990) as Larry Oliphant
- How to Get Ahead in Advertising (1989) as Denis Dimbleby Bagley
- Warlock (1989) as Giles Redferne
- Withnail and I (1987) as Withnail
Television
- Dalziel and Pascoe (BBC TV series) (2007) as Lee Knight
- Above and Beyond (mini series) (2004)
- Home Farm Twins (2005) Paul Baker
- 90 Days in Hollywood (2004) narrator
- Frasier in episode Goodnight, Seattle (2004) as Stephen Moon
- Posh Nosh (2004) as Simon Marchmont
- The Hound of the Baskervilles (2002) as Jack Stapleton
- Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death (1999) as The Conceited Doctor
- Let Them Eat Cake in episode The Portrait (1999) as Monsieur Vigée-Lebrun
- The Scarlet Pimpernel (1998) as Sir Percy Blakeney
- Captain Star (1997) as Captain Jim Star
- Absolutely Fabulous (1995) as Edina's dream Justin
- Codename Kyril (1988) as Sculby
Voice acting
- Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties (2006) as Preston (voice)
- Corpse Bride (2005) - a Tim Burton stop-motion feature
- The Legends of Treasure Island (1993) - an animated TV series
- The Miracle Maker - stop-motion story of Jesus Christ
- Doctor Who: Scream of the Shalka (online)
Bibliography
- The Wah-Wah Diaries: The Making of a Film: ISBN 0-330-44196-5 (hardcover) - Sept 2006
- With Nails: The Film Diaries of Richard E. Grant: ISBN 0-87951-828-6 (hardcover) ISBN 0-87951-935-5 (paperback)
- By Design: A Hollywood Novel
References
External links
- Please use a more specific IMDb template. See the documentation for available templates.
- The REG Temple - The official website of Richard E. Grant.
- Richard E Grant reading A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan-Doyle
- Memories of Mischief - The Guardian, August 6, 2005
- Interview and profile around the release of his film Wah-Wah.
- Richard E Grant investigates the AIDS scam Newsnight, December 1, 2006