Richard E. Grant
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| Richard E. Grant | |
|---|---|
| Image:Grant222.JPG Grant as The Voice for"2+2+2" at Heavy Entertainment, London. | |
| Birth name | Richard Grant Esterhuysen |
| Born | May 5 1957 Image:Flag of Swaziland.svg Mbabane, Swaziland |
| Years active | 1987 – present |
| Spouse(s) | Joan Washington (1986-) |
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.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Grant was born Richard Grant Esterhuysen in Mbabane, Swaziland. He adopted the name Richard E Grant as an adult when he moved to the UK and registered with the British Actors' Equity Association. His father was Henrik Esterhuysen, a head of education for the British government administration in Swaziland. His mother was the local ballet teacher.[1][2] Grant attended primary school at St Marks, a local government school in Mbabane that had only recently become racially integrated, and went on to secondary school at Waterford Kamhlaba, just outside Mbabane, where he was a day scholar. At the age of nine, he witnessed an adulterous relationship between his mother and another man that subsequently led to the break-up of his parents' marriage. This event stimulated him to keep a daily diary, which he has continued to do 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.
[edit] Career
Grant is a successful author, with works such as By Design calling on his Hollywood experience. He is most famous as the hilarious face of the Argos TV commercials, portraying the role of homosexual rock star and fan of the gay designer 'Ar-Gus'. He has twice portrayed the Doctor from Doctor Who, 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.
On the 22nd November, Grant gave a keynote speech at North London Collegiate School in North London as part of their Performing Arts Centre Opening Festival. [4]
[edit] Personal life
Grant married Joan Washington in 1986 and has one daughter with her, Olivia, and a stepson, 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.[5]
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.
Grant is an avid follower of West Ham United, and appeared on Sky Sports' Soccer AM to show his support for the team on the morning of the 2006 FA Cup Final.
[edit] Filmography
[edit] Films
- Jackboots on Whitehall (announced for 2008)
- Ecstasy (announced for 2008)
- 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
[edit] 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
- A Christmas Carol (1999) as Bob Crachit
- 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
[edit] 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)
[edit] 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
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.filmreference.com/film/78/Richard-E-Grant.html
- ^ http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800019915/bio
- ^ http://www.abc.net.au/tv/enoughrope/transcripts/s1666103.htm
- ^ http://www.nlcs.org.uk/artman2/publish/NewsandSport/Michael_Portillo_visit.php
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/6197222.stm
[edit] External links
- Richard E. Grant at the Internet Movie Database
- 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
| Preceded by Paul McGann | The Doctor (Shalka Doctor) 2003 | Succeeded by Christopher Eccleston |
| Doctor Who : Incarnations of The Doctor | |
|---|---|
| First Doctor (William Hartnell) | Second Doctor (Patrick Troughton) |
| Third Doctor (Jon Pertwee) | Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) |
| Fifth Doctor (Peter Davison) | Sixth Doctor (Colin Baker) |
| Seventh Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) | Eighth Doctor (Paul McGann) |
| Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) | Tenth Doctor (David Tennant) |
| Intermediate Doctors | |
| The Valeyard (Michael Jayston) | The Watcher (Adrian Gibbs) |
| Other Doctors | |
| Dr. Who (Peter Cushing) | Shalka Doctor (Richard E. Grant) |
es:Richard E. Grant fr:Richard E. Grant it:Richard E. Grant ja:リチャード・E・グラント ss:Richard E. Grant
