Celebrity
Hugh Grant "Hated" Filming Wonka, But Needed Money Because He Has "Lots Of Children"
The actor called his experience playing an Oompa Loompa “drivel.”
Hugh Grant is perhaps best known for his roles as dashing leading men in romantic comedies like Four Weddings & A Funeral, Love, Actually, and Notting Hill. He has romanced actresses like Julia Roberts on the big screen with his super posh charm, his wit, and his handsome face. So of course, no one is surprised that Grant “hated” playing an Oompa Loompa in the new movie Wonka. But not for the reasons you might think.
Grant sat down with his Wonka castmates for a recent press conference, and the rather famously curmudgeonly actor did not pull any punches when it came to his feelings about his role as an Oompa Loompa. “I couldn’t have hated the whole thing more,” the 63-year-old actor told reporters, making Timothée Chalamet, who plays title character Willy Wonka in the musical prequel, burst out with laughter. He went on to call his experience playing an Oompa Loompa “drivel,” further explaining that he “made a big fuss about” wearing the camera rig on his head to help CGI capture his movements. “It was like a crown of thorns, very uncomfortable,” Grant told reporters.
So why did he take the role? “I slightly hate [making films] but I have lots of children and need money,” the dad of five explained.
The actor, who shares 12-year-old daughter Tabitha and 11-year-old son John with ex-wife Tinglan Hong as well as 9-year-old son Felix, a 6-year-old daughter, and a 5-year-old child with wife Anna Eberstein, will probably not even be taking his children to see Wonka in the theater. “I think the cinemas have got to improve,” he complained in an interview. “They’ve got to turn the bloody sound down. Why is it so loud in there? It’s unbearable. It makes my children cry.”
Grant’s portrayal of an Oompa Loompa does seem to be delightfully out of character, which is perhaps why director Paul King, who collaborated with Grant for the popular Paddington movies, chose him. And Grant does appear grateful for the inclusion as he claims to be in “the freak show stage of my career now. It’s all I can get.”
Working with King again was also an experience for the actor who likes to “bring misery to every film set” if he can. “He’s irrepressible, Paul King. He brings all that niceness, he actually likes people. What a perv,” Grant said, with a wink.
Wonka premieres in theaters on Dec. 15.
