Kristina Roberts
Film star Richard E. Grant has gone on record with one of the toughest shoots he went through, saying it was an “absolute nightmare”, even though he has starred alongside the likes of Brad Pitt and Scarlett Johansson. Notwithstanding his fantastically memorable work in film and television, Richard E. Grant recounts one film where it will be forever etched in his mind for all the wrong reasons.
Reflecting on his phenomenal career, which dates back to Withnail and I in 1987, Richard confessed that one of his more notorious films, Hudson Hawk, proved to be a complete mess from start to finish. A Bruce Willis film it promised much, but the movie was box office disaster, and yet Grant remembers it as an incredibly difficult picture to make.
Now, 37 years into the business, Richard plays a lead in The Franchise, that savage spoof of the chaos under the movie company’s veneer. “It’s a hilarious take on all the solemnity of superhero worldmunch,” he says. The series is by Sam Mendes and directed by Armando Iannucci and stars a game cast led by Lolly Adefope, Himesh Patel, Billy Magnussen, and Daniel Brühl. He portrays Peter, an egotistical actor without one redeeming quality, whom he enjoyed playing, even if it meant to be disagreeable to almost everyone he was faced with. “I had to be mean to absolutely everybody,” Grant said. “It felt isolating because it’s such an ensemble. When you’re so awful to everyone, it feels alienating.” The actor added, reflecting on his character: “There’s no mitigating qualities. He’s an absolute arse.”
While The Franchise is a fiction, Grant has learned how things can spin out of control through his experiences working in the industry.
Among his most notorious examples is the film Hudson Hawk, a movie to which he recalls having problems since the very beginning. “The most chaotic film I ever worked on was Hudson Hawk with Bruce Willis in 1990,” he says, reminisiscing on the project released in 1992. “Everything that could possibly go wrong – with the script, the director, the stars – it did. And it was a massive box office bomb.” Though he can now laugh at the situation, Grant admits that at the time, it was far from funny. “It’s funny now, but at the time, it was a right old nightmare.” Richard’s career hasn’t let up, and he has gone to accomplish some of the biggest projects of our time.
He appeared in Saltburn, with Jacob Elordi playing Felix Catton, but Richard is Sir James Catton, the father. Provocative themes in the film elicit intense reactions, which Grant finds thrilling. “In a world where you can see anything on social media or download it at any minute, it’s exciting to still be able to surprise people,” he said, especially since the film explores sexual obsession so intensely. Another notable performance of Grant is in the role of Classic Loki in the show Loki, which stars Tom Hiddleston as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The older incarnation of the God of Mischief was just memorable to the viewers as depicted with his iconic green and yellow costume. The line in which he stated that his “glorious purpose” was his cue to unleash his powers made that scene a favorite of many. Grant quipped that one thing he was bummed out about getting to play Classic Loki was that he wasn’t able to wear a muscle suit. “I thought I would, because the character has muscles and big shoulders,” he said. “But they absolutely refused. I told them, ‘I’ve got no muscles, born without any.'” In the end, he was allowed to wear a cape most of the time to cover up his lack of muscles, which provided some comfort.
While such an established actor, Grant admitted to feeling nervous starting on every project. “There’s always terror on the first day,” he revealed. “I have an abiding paranoia that I’m going to be fired. It doesn’t matter what age you are, that fear is always there.” However, he believes this anxiety keeps him motivated to do his very best at every role.
In addition, much more is in the pipeline for Grant including Richard Osman’s adaptation of the Thursday Murder Club, Savage House* with Claire Foy, Nuremberg besides Russell Crowe and Rami Malek, and Death of a Unicorn, co-starring Jenna Ortega and Paul Rudd.
There are also rumors that Grant might be an excellent candidate for the reboot of Harry Potter. Some fans say he would be a perfect Albus Dumbledore. Although there have been no official offers, Richard said he would be open to the idea. “I’ve not been called,” he said, “but I’d definitely be interested if they asked.”
As Grant continues to accept various and exotic roles, one thing becomes glaringly apparent: he’s still one of the most diversified, intriguing performers of his generation, even if his background reveals a few “absolute nightmares.”
