Bec wonders if this tidbit may be of interest to anyone who remembers that Robert Lleweyn (I KNOW I spelt that incorrectly) book called “The Man on Platform 5” which featured REG in a sort of cameo appearance…well, ‘they’ are planning on making it into a movie, starring Gwyneth Paltrow. Wonder if REG will appear as himself?!?!?!.

Speaking of REG as himself, Nikki found an article REG wrote for the Guardian to accompany the re-release of Withnail and I. Click here to read it.

I should also add that whilst in Australia, REG appeared briefly on the Today Show from Sydney and mentioned the Temple, amongst other things! Click here to read it.

Sunday Express – 22nd October 2000

By James Rampton

We are in what only can be described as the back of beyond in the Czech Republic, and Richard E. Grant is taking a break before a big scene in the Scarlet Pimpernel, BBC’s lavish new costume drama. In front of 300-odd rowdy peasants, the dashing Pimpernel is about to perform a typical deed of derring-do. Disguised as a disheveled rosette-seller, he will spring on to a horse and cart hitched to a guillotine and pull the dreaded apparatus to the ground.

As Grant takes a sip from his restorative cup of tea, his sleeve slips down to reveal not one but two glinting modern wristwatches. The actor insists on wearing an extra watch permanently set at the time in his native Swaziland. It is the gesture of a man whose every act cries out: “I’m different – and don’t you forget it.”

This desire to be different is a significant part of his allure as an actor. Grant has always cultivated the image of a man apart, a misunderstood, often angry figure at odds with the world. That tag has stuck since he first came to Britain from Swaziland in the early Eighties and secured his breakthrough role as Withnail, the archetypal outsider in Withnail And I, Bruce Robinson’s cult film about two alienated actors who go on the bender to end all benders in the Lake District.

“The first thing that made an impression was Withnail.” Grant reflects, before taking another mouthful of tea. “If I had played a terror-stricken Kafkaesque man whose sister was Steve Martin and who sat silently in the corner of a room, I would have had a different career. But because Withnail was so off his head and extreme, I got streamlined for a while into playing that type of role.”

However much he protests, the fact remains that Grant has few equals when it comes to playing unhinged. Think of his collection of characters on or – more often – over the edge: the demonic ad man in How To Get Ahead In Advertising, the grieving husband suffering a breakdown in Jack And Sarah, or his scarily convincing paedophile in Trial And Retribution. To those, he can now ass the over-the-top figure of Sir Percy Blakeney (aka The Scarlet Pimpernel), a man so confident he leads a double life straight out of a comic book.

These sort of on-the-margins roles have helped Grant become something of a sex symbol. Women are eager to find out more about this charismatic yet mysterious maverick with the blowtorch-bright eyes and the wiry, tortured-artist’s frame. But, happily married to voice coach Joan Washington and with a young daughter, he laughs at the very idea. “Me, a sex symbol? How fantastic. I think of myself as a scarecrow, so how other people see me is a peculiar revelation. Perhaps if I looked like Harrison Ford, I would be besieged, but as I don’t, I’m not.”

Being an outsider has also turned Grant into that rarest of beasts: an actor prepared to ignore luvvie gush and speak plainly about his industry. How many other performers would you hear describing one of their big films – in this case the big-budget Bruce Willis vehicle, Hudson Hawk – as “a great, self-basting turkey. I watched it with my hands in front of my face. I hated it.”

Similarly, Grant’s acclaimed and deliciously indiscreet diary, With Nails, has hardly made him flavour of the month within the terminally paranoid and self-regarding Hollywood community. In one section, he is wonderfully catty about Jodie Foster: “[She] lasers me with the compliment that she has just taken four sets of people to see Withnail And I. Oh, sweet, waffle-syrup thank-you Jodie. My brain is bleating to try and act casual, but body parts have curled up to their toes.”

But he has no regrets about the candour of his bestseller. “Put it this way, I wasn’t sued by anybody and I’ve not been barred from working. It was never my intention to do myself out of work, but rather to write as honestly as I dared about the process of what filming actually involves.”

“Things can go well or go haywire – there’s built-in human drama there. I’m giving an insider’s view of a world where you already know the characters, but don’t know exactly what they do.”

“When you read Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton’s diary. It’s very immediate. It’s not been edited or filtered through the mists of history. That’s why I love the diary form. You get it direct, untrammelled.”

All the same, the 18 months he spent in Hollywood left Grant with a pretty jaundiced attitude towards the place. “While you’re working in L.A. it’s a fantastically supportive community. But the moment you’re not it’s like you’ve suddenly got leprosy. Bully for those who can stay sane in those circumstances in L.A. My wife said that after a year there, I was starting to come up with an alarming amount of psychobabble. Current affairs in L.A. is who’s sleeping with who, not what’s happening in Bosnia.”

“In Hollywood, you’re also defined by what you look like. If I pumped iron and spoke with an Austrian accent, maybe I too could do Terminator 5, but it’s not something I have sleepless nights worrying about.”

Close friends with Steve Martin – they email each other every day – Grant has had a ringside view of the corrosive nature of fame. “I was around Julia Roberts at the time of Hook. She just got chased around. We were due to meet for dinner and the venue was changed five times. To have that kind of hounded life must do something to you. It must make you wary of anything anybody says to you.

“How can you not have an ambiguous attitude to the whole idea of celebrity? You’re in and out of favour at such incredible speed. How can you buy any of the stuff you read or people tell you?”

He goes on to recount a story in bitter detail. “I met one agent 16 times – that sounds very numerically anal – and every time I met her, I had to reintroduce myself. The day Withnail And I came out, she called me and I had this wonderful revenge of being able to say, “I’m sorry, have we met? I have no recollection. What do you look like?” Once you’ve had any experience like that, the whole thing seems so arbitrary.”

Grant is currently happy to be out of the limelight and working on his directorial debut, an autobiographical film about growing up in colonial Swaziland during the Sixties. It is called Wah-Wah, which is how others thought the upper-class Brits spoke in those days.

A mischievous, delightfully frank presence, the 42-year-old is a refreshing antidote to your average self-important “Aren’t I wonderful?” actor. He is as likely to tell a story against himself as anyone else.

He reckons he owes his level-headedness to that greatest of British characteristics: taking the mick: “Living in London keeps your head and feet and heart and soul on the ground. There is this great British sensibility of self-depreciation and not being allowed to take yourself too seriously. When you fail, so many people make a joke of it to your face – ‘Thank God you’re not being too successful’. It’s fantastically healthy for your state of mind.”

Richard E. Grant may not be the most sought after house-guest in Hollywood, but he’s welcome here any time.

The Scarlet Pimpernel continues on Wednesday, BBC1, 8.30pm

TV Times Magazine – October 2000

By Sue Malins

Richard E Grant pushes back his ruffled cuffs and flicks his false ponytail to concentrate on the screen of a 21st century laptop computer while he awaits a call back on set.

Fifty metres up the cobbled road in a dusty square in the Czech town of Zatec, the scene is set for a daring escape. A dozen horses snort in the frosty air, a production assistant runs around with a smoke gun, make-up artists touch up scars and a hundred or more non-English-speaking extras mill about uncertainly waiting to be told which way to run.

Other actors, wearing puffa jackets over their 18th century outfits, grab a cigarette or call home on their mobiles, while in the square – but out of shot – locals hang out of windows to gawp or wave to their friends. But minutes later when Richard strides on to the scene to point his musket for yet another rescue, all slips into place. Eighteenth century France comes into focus. Tower blocks in the distance fade form view and instantly you forget many of the props are made from foam.

Could it be that Sir Percy Blakeney was an ancestor of James Bond?

“I like to think he’s an 18th century James Bond, with a touch of Batman about him.” says Richard.

“There’s more action this time, more rescuing lovely ladies and shooting bad guys. And there’s all the hose riding and fencing too, which I adore.”

The only Bond element missing is a love life. Last week we learned Sir Percy’s wife Marguerite had died in childbirth.

Like Percy and the Pimpernel, with Grant you can never be quite sure that what you see is what you get. He appears the epitome of Englishness, yet was born in Swaziland; the Withnail & I star seems to be a theatrical luvvie but in fact is a down-to-earth, teetotal married father of one.

Between scenes Richard has been finishing a screenplay for a movie he’ll direct. Set in Swaziland it tells the story of his own life as a youngster in a small colonial town. It will mean reviving some painful memories. When he was 11 his mother left home, leaving Richard with brother Stuart with their father.

“It will be a kind of exorcism for me” Richard says, “and I will be completely in charge of the project. It’s something I feel the need to do, and I am the only one to get it completely right.”

Richard – The Swordsman

Richard’s skill at swordfighting also means he does much of the swordplay himself.

Swordmaster Terry Walsh, veteran of movies like Braveheart and Robin of Sherwood, is in charge of checking the weapons are in good condition and shiny enough to catch the light.

“Richard is a natural. He has balance and is a fast learner” says Terry. “I teach him five moves at a time and he picks it up so easily.”

Richard – The Horseman

“The horse makes me look good” smiles Richard. “It’s the one Johnny Depp had in Sleepy Hollow. He’s called George and understands every word said to him. It’s easier to work with horses than children. Even if they’re likelier to fart or kick you in the shins.”

Richard is an accomplished horseman but for tricky or dangerous scenes, stuntman Rob Inch stands in. Funnily enough Rob played the headless horseman in Sleepy Hollow. He has also doubled for Liam Neeson in Star Wars.

“The trouble is Richard’s too good at everything so, unless the fight is dangerous, he does it himself”, he says.

“I’ve been having a very easy life.”

Denise and Pat have written Little Vampire reviews and Buffy and Nikki found some others. Click here to read them. Pat and Linda have also sent pics…click here to see them.

And lastly, B’lanna did a great Pimp inspired sketch of REG, click here to see it.

Sydney, October 2000

“Our next guest has found fame for his wide range of on-screen roles from the classic comedy “Withnail & I” to big budget Hollywood films like “The Player”, “Portrait Of A Lady” and “Spiceworld”. Here’s a look:

As an introduction to the interview a clip from Withnail and I is shown. It is near the start of the film, Withnail and I are walking though the park. Withnail is berating his lack of employment.

Returning to the studio an auburn-haired female (Tracy Grimshaw) announces to camera:

“His name, of course, is Richard E Grant. He’s in Australia where he’s just finished filming the family movie “Hildegarde” and he joins us now. Good Morning.”

The camera focuses on Richard seated nearby and they exchange good mornings. It is 8.20 am and Richard looks too good, obviously very awake, slightly tanned and attired in denim jacket over a blue shirt.

“You didn’t watch that then? Do you not look at yourself?”, the interviewer asks.

“Well it’s a bit like hearing your voice on a tape recorder,” Richard replies with a self-effacing smile. “It’s very embarrassing. And you can’t fix it. And it’s also 10…..14 years ago so……Do you like watching yourself?”

“No, I never do,” admitted the interviewer.

“Exactly,” Richard responses.

“But I guess you’re in a different business,” she persists with a giggle. “My stuff goes out there live. I never have to look at myself afterwards, but in movies you sort of have to, Don’t you?”

“No you don’t,” insists Richard with a smile. “ You just go do the looping and then you get out as soon as possible.”

“Okay. You’ve been in Australia filming Hildegarde which is about a talking duck, I believe? Is that right?”

“Ummmm, yeah,” confirms Richard. “And I’ve been working with three child actors; Gezelle Byrnes, Sam Greer and Dayne Hudson who have never, as far as I know, acted before. So I’m competing with children and animals and birds. So no chance.”

“It’s the WC Fields curse, isn’t it.”

“Yeah completely.”

“Do you make many children’s films? I was looking at your body of work and it seemed to me as there were not a lot.”

“No. I did one with the Spice Girls because my daughter, who was 8 at the time, was a big Spice Girl fan – and remains so. So I did that for her.”

A clip is shown from Spice World featuring a speedboat with Richard’s character standing watching on a bridge. The interview continues over the clip.

“And this one again,” continues Richard referring to Hildegarde. “She said to me why can’t I see films that are not X-rated, or 15, or whatever? So hence doing this film.”

“How old is she now? This is Olivia isn’t it?”

“11 and a half,” he replied. Then with a slight tease in his voice he comments, “So all of your research is excellent ”

After an embarrassed laugh she suggests, “I would imagine that fatherhood has made you – particularly at this age because she’s probably a sponge for all that information now – has made you a bit choosier about what’s available for kids to watch? Is that fair to say?”

“Ummm, yeah probably,” agrees Richard. The clip finishes and we are back in studio as Richard continues. “Just that when you go on school holidays and stuff, the stuff that’s out here that they can go and see is fairly limited. So I did one last year as well. Sounds like it’s what I’m moving into, but I did one last year called the Little Vampire which has just come out in the States and in England. Which again is about little vampires…..with Jonathan Lipnicki from Stuart Little.”

“So this is the new direction.”

“No! This is it!” Richard laughs as he waves his left hand making a cutting gesture.

“No more kids films,” laughs the presenter. “I was trawling though the internet last night to sort of get the big picture on Richard E Grant, and I found you described as everything from a sex symbol to a meerkat on speed.”

“You’re a marvellous woman,” exclaims Richard in delight as he leans forward to touch her arm.

“Ummmm, a meerkat on speed?” he muses. “I haven’t heard of that one but I’ll go with it this morning. It’s laughable”

Interviewer giggles. “Sex symbol.” She studies her notes then continues. “I also logged on to a chat room where you’d answered questions – You’ve been asked to sign autographs on peoples bottoms, I believe?”

“I have,” confirmed Richard. “And I have an official website now which was started by a fan called Dominique Falls (sic) in Melbourne…..”

“Yeah, I got that.”

“So I owe whatever I have in Australia to her.”

“How hard is it to avoid being typecast? I mean you’ve also been compared with people like Hugh Grant and I can’t personally see the comparison and I don’t think your work……..”

“I think it’s just the surname,” suggests Richard. Then he smiles. “I’m much older and I have far less hair than Hugh and I’m not with Elizabeth Hurley. Although he doesn’t seem to be anymore.” Richard than pensively answers the original question. “I think that because I played a drunken, alcoholic, out of work, actor in my first film that I was ever in Withnail and I. Whenever people who are completely off their faces, freaks or whatever I’m generally in that category. And if I’d probably played any other kind of part maybe my career might have gone a different direction. I don’t know. It’s hard to say.”

“Have you tried very hard – I mean obviously you’ve done the kids films lately – You’re not doing any more. Have you tried to make sure you always do something a little bit different?”

“Well I try to yeah. But there’s a terrible thing where you actually see bits, when you have to do the dubbing afterwards. And you think ‘Oh you’re just the same in absolutely everything.’ And there are enough people out there, and critics, who say well he is just the same in everything. So I don’t know, It’s an ongoing struggle.” Richard smiles.

“I must ask you the time.” Interviewer giggles.

“Yes.” He smiles

“What is the time, Richard?”

Richard looks at his left wristwatch. “Well, the time in England is now 20 past 9 at night. I was terrible at maths.” Glances at right wristwatch. “And the time here is 20 past 8.”

“You always wear two watches?”

“Yeah. Because I grew up in Africa so I call people in Swaziland, where I grew up, a lot. And if you call people at three in the morning you will appreciate why my maths is so bad that it’s better just to have one on each.”

“Do you reflect on the great contrasts in your life? I mean, where you are now and what you’re doing now, with how you grew up?”

“Oh God yeah. Because I grew up in a place that had 12,000 people and, ummmm, I don’t know where Wonga Wonga is but…Is that a small place?”

“Wagga Wagga,” corrects the interviewer with a smile.

“Wagga Wagga, sorry. Okay well I grew up in the Wagga Wagga of Africa, where the chances of becoming an actor are so ridiculous, and remote, that it just seemed impossible. So to have ended up, working with the people I have done, is just like a complete dream come true. Especially in movies as well. Because when I was in drama school they said well you know you’re too weird looking. You’ll never ever be in a movie. So you believe all these things so I’m glad that man – who’s now dead – was wrong.”

“Well he got his then!” retorts interviewer with a giggle.

“Yeah,” agrees Richard.

“Cause you’ve made a movie haven’t you – or you’re in the process of making a movie…..”

“I am, yeah. I’ve written one which is set in Africa at the end of the sixties and It’s really autobiographical about my father – It’s his story – which I am going to direct. And I’ve done all the ‘reccies’ and met the King of Swaziland, two months ago, and he’s given me use of the army and 5,000 warriors. All this is going to be a big departure for me.”

“And it’s called Wah! Wah!”

“Wah! Wah! Yeah. Which refers to the way American women identify the way upper-middle-class, English, poms spoke in the colonial era.” Richard pulls a face and emits some guffing type noises. “They’re all speaking wah wah,” he confirms.

“Well okay, you’re heading back to England? Today?……”

“I am. It’s a five day flight.”

“……With your raincoat? Your gumboots?”

“Listen,” responds Richard, “I’ve been on the Gold Coast where it’s rained for the last 4 weeks, every day!”

“We’d like to apologize for that.”

“Oh no. Not at all. But when I see ‘Queensland the sunshine state.’ Richard’s fingers draw out the rectangle of the advertising slogan. “I thought well maybe I can sue them for this, because I haven’t seen any yet.”

“Go on. Have a go!” urges interviewer.

“Yeah, but I hear you had 63 days of drought before that.”

“That’s true. Thank you for being with us this morning.”

“Thank you very much.”

“Have a safe trip home.”

“Thank you. No sharks!”

One of the difficulties with a transcript is conveying the mood of the interview. Whether it was end-of-term high spirits, or the fact that an attractive female was interviewing him, Richard was really relaxed throughout and seemed to enjoy the experience.

Transcribed by Denise J Hale & Cameron Miller
7th February 2002.

PS. Hugh Grant’s DOB is 9-9-60, Richard’s 5-5-57. I know Richard says his maths are bad but that is only 3 years 4 months. So not a lot!