Hugh Grant has said that he “hated” the process involved in playing his Oompa-Loompa character in the new film Wonka.
READ MORE: ‘Wonka’ review: Timothée Chalamet twinkles in a fun-filled festive treat
Directed by Paul King (Paddington), the upcoming film is based on the universe created in Roald Dahl’s 1964 novel Charlie And The Chocolate Factory. Timothée Chalamet plays the lead role of Willy Wonka, in what’s billed as a prequel to the 1971 film adaptation.
Grant plays Lofty, an Oompa-Loompa, in the film, requiring motion-capture technology to render the character’s appearance.
Timothée Chalamet and Hugh Grant in ‘Wonka’. CREDIT: Warner Bros. Pictures
“It was like a crown of thorns,” said Grant at a press conference, describing how he needed to have multiple cameras pointed at his face at all times.
“I made a big fuss about it, I couldn’t have hated the whole thing more.”
He went on to explain that he did not know whether he was required to act with just his face or with his whole body, adding: “I never received a satisfactory answer. And frankly, what I did with my body was terrible, and it’s all been replaced with an animator.”
Grant’s casting in the role has been criticised by some, with Jackass star Wee Man saying in a TikTok video: “So I guess Hugh Grant, you’re now identifying as a little person. Huh, interesting.”
The Jackass star’s comments come after actor and comedian George Coppen, who also has dwarfism, spoke against the casting in an interview with the BBC last month.
Coppen, who is best known for playing Sweet Cupid in Netflix’s The School For Good And Evil, said: “A lot of actors [with dwarfism] feel like we are being pushed out of the industry we love.”
“A lot of people, myself included, argue that dwarfs should be offered everyday roles in dramas and soaps, but we aren’t getting offered those roles. One door is being closed but they have forgotten to open the next one.”
In both 1971’s Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory, starring Gene Wilder, and 2005’s Charlie And The Chocolate Factory with Johnny Depp, the Oompa Loompas were all played by actors with dwarfism.
In a four-star review of the film, NME wrote: “When Wonka is billed in its pre-title credits as a “Paul King confection”, it’s more than just tasty wordplay. King, director of the ridiculously charming Paddington films, has crafted an origin story for Roald Dahl’s eccentric chocolatier that’s as sweet, bright and glossy as a box of premium macarons.”
“It’s impossible to imagine Wonka being released at any other time of year; in the weeks leading up to Christmas, we’re all a little more partial to sugar than usual.”
Wonka is released in UK cinemas on Friday (December 8).
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