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Richard E. Grant (born Richard Grant Esterhuysen; 5 May 1957) is a
Swazi Swazi may refer to: * Swazi people, a people of southeastern Africa * Swazi language * Eswatini Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked coun ...
-English actor and presenter. He made his film debut as Withnail in the comedy ''
Withnail and I ''Withnail and I'' is a 1987 British black comedy film written and directed by Bruce Robinson. Loosely based on Robinson's life in London in the late 1960s, the plot follows two unemployed actors, Withnail and "I" (portrayed by Richard E. Gran ...
'' (1987). Grant received critical acclaim for his role as Jack Hock in
Marielle Heller Marielle Stiles Heller (born October 1, 1979) is an American writer, director, and actress. She is best known for directing the films '' The Diary of a Teenage Girl'' (2015), ''Can You Ever Forgive Me?'' (2018), and ''A Beautiful Day in the Nei ...
's drama film ''
Can You Ever Forgive Me? ''Can You Ever Forgive Me?'' is a 2018 American biographical film directed by Marielle Heller and with a screenplay by Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty, based on the 2008 confessional memoir of the same name by Lee Israel. Melissa McCarthy sta ...
'' (2018), winning various awards including the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male. He also received
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
, BAFTA, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor. Grant is known for portraying supporting roles in the feature films ''
How to Get Ahead in Advertising ''How to Get Ahead in Advertising'' is a 1989 British black comedy fantasy film written and directed by Bruce Robinson and starring Richard E. Grant and Rachel Ward. The title is a pun and can be literally taken as "How to Get a ''Head'' in Adv ...
'' (1989), ''
L.A. Story ''L.A. Story'' is a 1991 American satirical romantic comedy film written by and starring Steve Martin and directed by Mick Jackson. The plot follows a weatherman (Martin) trying to find love in Los Angeles. It was released on February 8, 1991, ...
'' (1991), ''
Hudson Hawk ''Hudson Hawk'' is a 1991 American action comedy film directed by Michael Lehmann. Bruce Willis stars in the title role and also co-wrote both the story and the theme song. Danny Aiello, Andie MacDowell, James Coburn, David Caruso, Lorraine To ...
'' (1991), '' The Player'' (1992), '' Bram Stoker's Dracula'' (1992), ''
The Age of Innocence ''The Age of Innocence'' is a 1920 novel by American author Edith Wharton. It was her twelfth novel, and was initially serialized in 1920 in four parts, in the magazine '' Pictorial Review''. Later that year, it was released as a book by D. App ...
'' (1993), '' Spice World'' (1997), ''
Gosford Park ''Gosford Park'' is a 2001 satirical black comedy mystery film directed by Robert Altman and written by Julian Fellowes. It was influenced by Jean Renoir's French classic ''La Règle du jeu'' ('' The Rules of the Game''). The film stars ...
'' (2001), ''
Corpse Bride ''Corpse Bride'' (also known as ''Tim Burton's Corpse Bride'') is a 2005 stop-motion animated musical dark fantasy film directed by Mike Johnson and Tim Burton with a screenplay by John August, Caroline Thompson and Pamela Pettler based o ...
'' (2005), '' The Iron Lady'' (2011), '' Logan'' (2017), '' Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker'' (2019), ''
Everybody's Talking About Jamie ''Everybody's Talking About Jamie'' is a coming-of-age stage musical with music by Dan Gillespie Sells and book and lyrics by Tom MacRae. The musical is inspired by the 2011 British television documentary ''Jamie: Drag Queen at 16'' directed ...
'' (2021), and '' Persuasion'' (2022). He's also known for his roles in television including '' Rev.'' (2011), '' Doctor Who'' (2012-2013), ''
Downton Abbey ''Downton Abbey'' is a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes. The series first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV on 26 September 2010 and in the United States o ...
'' (2014), ''
Girls A girl is a young female human, usually a child or an adolescent. When a girl becomes an adult, she is accurately described as a ''woman''. However, the term ''girl'' is also used for other meanings, including ''young woman'',Dictionary.c ...
'' (2014), '' Game of Thrones'' (2016), and '' Loki'' (2021).


Early life

Grant was born as Richard Grant Esterhuysen on 5 May 1957 in Mbabane,
Protectorate of Swaziland A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over most of its inter ...
(now Eswatini). He is the son of Leonne and Henrik Esterhuysen; Henrik was head of education for the British government administration in the British protectorate of Swaziland. He has
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
, Dutch/ Afrikaner, and
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
ancestry. He has a younger brother, Stuart, an accountant in Johannesburg, from whom he is estranged; Grant has stated that they "never had any relationship". As a boy, Grant went to primary school at St Mark's, a local government school in Mbabane that only recently had become racially integrated. When Grant was 10, he witnessed his mother commit adultery in a car with his father's best friend, which subsequently led to his parents' divorce. This event inspired Grant to keep a daily diary, which he has continued to do ever since. Grant attended secondary school at
Waterford Kamhlaba United World College of Southern Africa Waterford Kamhlaba United World College of Southern Africa (WKUWCSA), one of 18 international schools and colleges in the UWC educational movement, is located in Mbabane, Eswatini.. Waterford was the first school in southern Africa open to ch ...
, an independent school near Mbabane. In May 1976 he arrived at the
University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...
to study
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
and drama. He adopted his stage name when he moved to Britain (in 1982) as an adult and registered with Equity.


Career

Grant was a member of the Space Theatre Company in
Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
before moving to London in 1982. He later stated, "I grew up in Swaziland when it was mired in a 1960s sensibility. The kind of English spoken where I grew up was a period English sound and when I came to England people said, 'how strange'.
Charles Sturridge Charles B. G. Sturridge (born 24 June 1951) is an English director and screenwriter. He is the recipient of a BAFTA Children's Award and four BAFTA TV Awards. He has also been nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards. Early life and educatio ...
, who directed ''
Brideshead Revisited ''Brideshead Revisited: The Sacred & Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder'' is a novel by English writer Evelyn Waugh, first published in 1945. It follows, from the 1920s to the early 1940s, the life and romances of the protagonist Charles ...
'' for TV, said, 'you speak English like someone from the 1950s'." Grant's first film role was the perpetually inebriated title character in the cult classic ''
Withnail and I ''Withnail and I'' is a 1987 British black comedy film written and directed by Bruce Robinson. Loosely based on Robinson's life in London in the late 1960s, the plot follows two unemployed actors, Withnail and "I" (portrayed by Richard E. Gran ...
'' (1987). Following this, he started appearing in Hollywood films, in a range of projects from blockbuster studio movies to small independent projects. Since then, Grant has had supporting roles in the films ''
Henry & June ''Henry & June'' is a 1990 American biographical drama film directed by Philip Kaufman, and starring Fred Ward, Uma Thurman, and Maria de Medeiros. It is loosely based on the posthumously published 1986 Anaïs Nin book of the same name, and ...
'', ''
L.A. Story ''L.A. Story'' is a 1991 American satirical romantic comedy film written by and starring Steve Martin and directed by Mick Jackson. The plot follows a weatherman (Martin) trying to find love in Los Angeles. It was released on February 8, 1991, ...
'', '' The Player'', ''
The Age of Innocence ''The Age of Innocence'' is a 1920 novel by American author Edith Wharton. It was her twelfth novel, and was initially serialized in 1920 in four parts, in the magazine '' Pictorial Review''. Later that year, it was released as a book by D. App ...
'', '' The Portrait of a Lady'', '' Spice World'', ''
Gosford Park ''Gosford Park'' is a 2001 satirical black comedy mystery film directed by Robert Altman and written by Julian Fellowes. It was influenced by Jean Renoir's French classic ''La Règle du jeu'' ('' The Rules of the Game''). The film stars ...
'', ''
Bright Young Things __NOTOC__ The Bright Young Things, or Bright Young People, was a nickname given by the tabloid press to a group of Bohemianism, Bohemian young Aristocracy (class), aristocrats and socialites in 1920s London. They threw flamboyant costume party, f ...
'', and ''
Penelope Penelope ( ; Ancient Greek: Πηνελόπεια, ''Pēnelópeia'', or el, Πηνελόπη, ''Pēnelópē'') is a character in Homer's ''Odyssey.'' She was the queen of Ithaca and was the daughter of Spartan king Icarius and naiad Periboea. Pe ...
''. While filming ''L.A. Story'' with
Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. He has won five Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 2013. Additionally, he was nominate ...
, 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." In 1995, Grant starred as the titular character in
Peter Capaldi Peter Dougan Capaldi (; born 14 April 1958) is a Scottish actor, director, writer and musician. He portrayed the twelfth incarnation of the Doctor in ''Doctor Who'' (2013–2017) and Malcolm Tucker in '' The Thick of It'' (2005–2012), for ...
's short film ''
Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life ''Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life'' is a 1993 British short comedy film written and directed by Peter Capaldi. It stars Richard E. Grant as Franz Kafka and co-stars Ken Stott. The title refers to the name of the writer Franz Kafka and the 1 ...
''. The film won the 1995
Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film The Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film is an award presented at the annual Academy Awards ceremony. The award has existed, under various names, since 1957. From 1936 until 1956 there were two separate awards, "Best Short Subject, One- ...
. In 1996, he portrayed
Sir Andrew Aguecheek Sir Andrew Aguecheek is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's play ''Twelfth Night, or What You Will''. One of the supporting characters, Sir Andrew is a stereotypical fool, who is goaded into unwisely duelling with Cesario and who i ...
in
Trevor Nunn Sir Trevor Robert Nunn (born 14 January 1940) is a British theatre director. He has been the Artistic Director for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and, currently, the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. He has directed dramas ...
's ''
Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vi ...
.'' He released a single and accompanying video "To Be Or Not To Be" with Orpheus in 1997. Grant has twice portrayed the Doctor from '' Doctor Who'', both outside the main continuity. In the comedy sketch ''
Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death ''Doctor Who: The Curse of Fatal Death'' is a ''Doctor Who'' special made specifically for the Red Nose Day charity telethon in the United Kingdom, and was originally broadcast in four parts on BBC One on 12 March 1999 under the title ''Doctor ...
'', 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 #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
original animated webcast ''
Scream of the Shalka ''Scream of the Shalka'' is a Flash-animated series based on the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was produced to coincide with the 40th Anniversary of the series and was originally posted in six weekly parts from 13 ...
''. The latter had intended to be the official Ninth Doctor prior to the revival of the TV series. He made his first official ''Doctor Who'' appearance in the 2012 Christmas special, titled "
The Snowmen "The Snowmen" is an episode of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', first broadcast on Christmas Day 2012 on BBC One. It is the eighth ''Doctor Who'' Christmas special since the show's 2005 revival and the first to be ...
", in which he plays the villain, Walter Simeon. During the episode Simeon is erased from his body and it is taken over by the Great Intelligence, voiced in that episode by Ian McKellen until the takeover. Grant reprised the role in "
The Bells of Saint John "The Bells of Saint John" is the sixth episode of the seventh series of the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. It premiered in the United Kingdom on 30 March 2013 on BBC One; the episode was the first of the second ha ...
" and in the Series 7 finale, "
The Name of the Doctor "The Name of the Doctor" is the thirteenth and final episode of the seventh series of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who''. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 18 May 2013. It was written by Steven Moffat and directed ...
". Grant appeared as "The Voice" in ''2+2+2'' at ''American Nights at The
King's Head Theatre The King's Head Theatre, founded in 1970 by Dan Crawford, is an off-West End venue in London. It is the second oldest operating pub theatre in the UK. In 2021, Mark Ravenhill became Artistic Director and the theatre focusses on producing LGBTQ ...
'', from 3 to 29 July 2007, and in 2008 co-starred in the London-based comedy '' Filth and Wisdom''. Grant presented the 2008 Laurence Olivier Awards. In 2008, he made his musical theatre debut with
Opera Australia Opera Australia is the principal opera company in Australia. Based in Sydney, its performance season at the Sydney Opera House accompanied by the Opera Australia Orchestra runs for approximately eight months of the year, with the remainder ...
, playing the role of Henry Higgins in ''
My Fair Lady ''My Fair Lady'' is a musical based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play '' Pygmalion'', with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons ...
'' at the
Theatre Royal, Sydney Theatre Royal Sydney is a theatre in Sydney, Australia built in 1976 and has offered a broad range of entertainment since the 1990s. The theatre reopened in December 2021 under parent company Trafalgar Entertainment with patrons now able to book ...
, a role he reprised in 2017 at the
Lyric Opera of Chicago Lyric Opera of Chicago is one of the leading opera companies in the United States. It was founded in Chicago in 1954, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox, Nicola Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, with a season that included Maria ...
. In 2009, Grant played Alain Reille in
Yasmina Reza Yasmina Reza (born 1 May 1959) is a French playwright, actress, novelist and screenwriter best known for her plays Art and ''God of Carnage''. Many of her brief satiric plays have reflected on contemporary middle-class issues. The 2011 blac ...
's one-act play ''
God of Carnage ''God of Carnage'' (originally in French ''Le Dieu du carnage'') is a play by Yasmina Reza that was first published in 2008. It is about two sets of parents; the son of one couple has hurt the son of the other couple at a public park. The paren ...
'' at the
Theatre Royal, Bath The Theatre Royal in Bath, England, was built in 1805. A Grade II* listed building, it has been described by the Theatres Trust as "One of the most important surviving examples of Georgian theatre architecture". It has a capacity for an audien ...
, and subsequently at Cheltenham,
Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...
, Richmond, Brighton, and Milton Keynes. In 2010 he starred in short film '' The Man Who Married Himself'', which won Best Comedy at LA International Shorts Festival and Rhode Island Film Festival. Later that year, he made an appearance in a music video, when short-lived Bristol band The Chemists hired him to appear in their video for "This City"; the band split the same year. This appearance followed Grant's involvement with the band the previous year, in which he spoke the lyrics to "This City" to background music as part of the intro and outro tracks on their only album, ''Theories of Dr Lovelock''. In March 2013, Grant starred as intelligence analyst
Brian Jones Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones (28 February 1942 – 3 July 1969) was an English multi-instrumentalist and singer best known as the founder, rhythm/lead guitarist, and original leader of the Rolling Stones. Initially a guitarist, he went on to prov ...
in David Morley's
radio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...
''The Iraq Dossier'' with
Peter Firth Peter Macintosh Firth (born 27 October 1953) is an English actor. He is best known for his role as Sir Harry Pearce in the BBC One programme '' Spooks''; he is the only actor to have appeared in every episode of the programme's ten-series lif ...
,
Anton Lesser Anton Lesser (born 14 February 1952) is an English actor. He is well known for his roles as Qyburn in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'', as Thomas More in ''Wolf Hall'', as Prime Minister Harold Macmillan in ''The Crown'', as Prime Minister ...
, David Caves, and
Lindsay Duncan Lindsay Vere Duncan (born 7 November 1950) is a Scottish actress. On stage, she has won two Olivier Awards (for ''Les Liaisons Dangereuses'' and ''Private Lives'') and a Tony Award (for ''Private Lives''). She has starred in several plays by Ha ...
. It recounted the story of how British Ministry of Defence Intelligence expert Jones had tried to warn that his government's
September Dossier ''Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction: The Assessment of the British Government'', also known as the ''September Dossier'', was a document published by the British government on 24 September 2002 on the same day of a recall of Parliament to dis ...
on Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction was inaccurate. In 2014, Grant was cast on the HBO series ''
Girls A girl is a young female human, usually a child or an adolescent. When a girl becomes an adult, she is accurately described as a ''woman''. However, the term ''girl'' is also used for other meanings, including ''young woman'',Dictionary.c ...
'' after series creator
Lena Dunham Lena Dunham (, born May 13, 1986) is an American writer, director, actress, and producer. She is known as the creator, writer, and star of the HBO television series ''Girls (TV series), Girls'' (2012–2017), for which she received several Emmy ...
saw him in '' Spice World''. On 9 May 2015, Grant gave a reading at VE Day 70: A Party to Remember in
Horse Guards Parade Horse Guards Parade is a large parade ground off Whitehall in central London (at grid reference ). It is the site of the annual ceremonies of Trooping the Colour, which commemorates the monarch's official birthday, and the Beating Retreat. H ...
, London. In 2016 he joined the HBO series '' Game of Thrones'' in Season 6 as Izembaro. In July 2018, Lucasfilm announced that Grant would appear in '' Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker''. That same year, Grant's critically lauded performance as Jack Hock in ''
Can You Ever Forgive Me? ''Can You Ever Forgive Me?'' is a 2018 American biographical film directed by Marielle Heller and with a screenplay by Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty, based on the 2008 confessional memoir of the same name by Lee Israel. Melissa McCarthy sta ...
'' (2018) earned him
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
, BAFTA, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations. The part also won Grant a
New York Film Critics Circle Award The New York Film Critics Circle (NYFCC) is an American film critic organization founded in 1935 by Wanda Hale from the New York ''Daily News''. Its membership includes over 30 film critics from New York-based daily and weekly newspapers, magazi ...
and several other critics awards. In March 2020, Grant joined the cast of the
Disney+ Disney+ is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned and operated by the Media and Entertainment Distribution division of The Walt Disney Company. The service primarily distributes films and television se ...
/
Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by ...
series '' Loki'' as
Classic Loki Loki Laufeyson, known by adoption as Loki Odinson and by his title as the God of Mischief, is a character (arts), fictional character portrayed by Tom Hiddleston in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise, based on the Marvel Comic ...
, an older variant of Loki. Grant portrays Sir Walter Elliot in Carrie Cracknell's 2022 adaptation of Jane Austen's '' Persuasion''. The film was released 15 July 2022 on
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...
.


''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 ''Withnail and I'' is a 1987 British black comedy film written and directed by Bruce Robinson. Loosely based on Robinson's life in London in the late 1960s, the plot follows two unemployed actors, Withnail and "I" (portrayed by Richard E. Gran ...
'' experience. The film took him over seven years to complete and starred
Nicholas Hoult Nicholas Caradoc Hoult (born 7 December 1989) is an English actor. His body of work includes supporting work in big-budget mainstream productions and starring roles in independent projects in both the American and the British film industries ...
in the lead role, with
Gabriel Byrne Gabriel James Byrne (born 12 May 1950) is an Irish actor, film director, film producer, screenwriter, audiobook narrator, and author. His acting career began in the Focus Theatre before he joined London's Royal Court Theatre in 1979. Byrne's s ...
, Miranda Richardson,
Julie Walters Dame Julia Mary Walters (born 22 February 1950), known professionally as Julie Walters, is an English actress. She is the recipient of four British Academy Television Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, two International Emmy Awards, a B ...
, and
Emily Watson Emily Margaret Watson (born 14 January 1967) is an English actress. She began her career on stage and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1992. In 2002, she starred in productions of ''Twelfth Night'' and ''Uncle Vanya'' at the Donmar Wa ...
. 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. Grant stated in subsequent interviews that she was a "control freak out of control", and he would "never see her again as long as elive " In a
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
interview, he again mentioned his "disastrous" relationship with Mention-Schaar. He related that he had received only five emails from her in the last two months of pre-production, and that she rarely turned up on the set at all. She failed to obtain clearance firstly for song rights and secondly to film in Swaziland. For the last infraction, Grant was eventually forced to meet with the
King of Eswatini iNgwenyama (also ''Ingwenyama'') is the title of the male monarch of Eswatini. In English, the title is sometimes translated as King of Eswatini. The iNgwenyama reigns together with the Ndlovukazi, a spiritual leadership position held by the i ...
to seek
clemency A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...
. During an interview with an Australian chat show, he mentioned that ''Wah-Wah'' was not released in France, and as a result, his producer did not make money out of it.Archived a
Ghostarchive
and th
Wayback Machine


Personal life

Grant married voice coach Joan Washington in 1986 and had one daughter with her, Olivia, and a stepson, Tom. Joan, after being diagnosed with stage four
lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, malign ...
, died on 2 September 2021, Grant is a
teetotaller Teetotalism is the practice or promotion of total personal abstinence from the psychoactive drug alcohol, specifically in alcoholic drinks. A person who practices (and possibly advocates) teetotalism is called a teetotaler or teetotaller, or is ...
; his body has an intolerance of alcohol, having no
enzyme Enzymes () are proteins that act as biological catalysts by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different molecules known as products ...
s in the blood to
metabolise Metabolism (, from el, μεταβολή ''metabolē'', "change") is the set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms. The three main functions of metabolism are: the conversion of the energy in food to energy available to run cell ...
it. If he does drink alcohol he is violently sick for up to 24 hours. After casting him as the alcoholic Withnail, director
Bruce Robinson Bruce Robinson (born 2 May 1946) is an English actor, director, screenwriter and novelist. He wrote and directed the cult classic ''Withnail and I'' (1987), a film with comic and tragic elements set in London in the late 1960s, which drew on hi ...
made Grant drink a bottle of champagne and half a bottle of vodka during the course of a night so he could experience drunkenness. Grant is a fan of
Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers awar ...
and has done a tour of Streisand's New York, visiting her early home, her high school, and the
Village Vanguard The Village Vanguard is a jazz club at Seventh Avenue South in Greenwich Village, New York City. The club was opened on February 22, 1935, by Max Gordon. Originally, the club presented folk music and beat poetry, but it became primarily a jazz ...
, among other places. Grant is a dual citizen of the United Kingdom and Eswatini (formerly Swaziland). He used to wear a watch on each wrist, one given to him by his dying father, permanently set on Swaziland time. In October 2008, Grant told ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...
'' that he is an atheist. He is an avid supporter of Premier League football club
West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
. In April 2014, Grant launched his new
unisex Unisex is an adjective indicating something is not sex-specific, i.e. is suitable for any type of sex. The term can also mean gender-blindness or gender neutrality. The term 'unisex' was coined as a neologism in the 1960s and was used fairly i ...
perfume Perfume (, ; french: parfum) is a mixture of fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agreeable scent. Th ...
, JACK, exclusively at
Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...
of Regent Street, London. Grant runs the perfume business in collaboration with his daughter. In September 2022, Grant released a memoir, ''A Pocketful of Happiness'', mostly written in the last year of his wife's life. He was a guest on
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
's ''
Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a "castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (usua ...
'' in November 2022; his choice of book was
Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are '' Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequ ...
's '' Alice in Wonderland'', his luxury item a piano, and his chosen record "
When I Fall In Love "When I Fall in Love" is a popular song, written by Victor Young (music) and Edward Heyman (lyrics). It was introduced in the film ''One Minute to Zero'' as the instrumental titled "Theme from One Minute to Zero". Jeri Southern sang on the firs ...
" by
Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...
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Filmography


Film


Television


Video games


Other


Awards and nominations


Bibliography

*''The Wah-Wah Diaries: The Making of a Film''. 2006. (hardcover). *''With Nails: The Film Diaries of Richard E. Grant''. (hardcover). (paperback). *''By Design: A Hollywood Novel''. Picador, 1999. (10). (13). *''A Pocketful of Happiness: A Memoir''. Simon & Schuster, 2022 (hardback)


References


External links

* * * (Interview and profile pertaining to the release of his film ''Wah-Wah''.) * (Interview and profile regarding his career and fragrance brand ''Jack Covent Garden''.) {{DEFAULTSORT:Grant, Richard E. 1957 births Living people 20th-century British male actors 21st-century British male actors Audiobook narrators British diarists British male film actors British male Shakespearean actors British male stage actors British male television actors British male voice actors British memoirists British people of Afrikaner descent British people of German descent English atheists English male film actors English male Shakespearean actors English male stage actors English male television actors English male voice actors English people of Afrikaner descent English people of German descent Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male winners Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners People from Mbabane Swazi emigrants to the United Kingdom Swazi people of British descent University of Cape Town alumni Waterford Kamhlaba alumni People educated at a United World College