On the eve of a grand tour of America, the actor talks about sniffing trees and singing for his supper
RICHARD E. GRANT is the godfather you never had—the one who’d have sent you hampers from Fortnums once a term and opened Champagne on the slightest pretext. He would never, ever have forgotten your birthday. The first thing I notice about him is that he really, really wants everyone around him to be having a good time—a rare quality in an actor. The second, even more unusually for someone in his profession, is that he gives the impression of never quite being able to believe his luck.
‘I’m 60 in two blinks and I’m absolutely astonished to be working as much as I am,’ he says earnestly. As we speak, he’s flinging things into suitcases ahead of a six-month stint in America. He’ll spend half that time filming Can You Ever Forgive Me, playing Hollywood biographer turned-forger Lee Israel’s cocaine addled sidekick. Then, it’s off to Chicago, where he’ll be starring as Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady.
It’s the second time he’s taken on the role—his first Prof Higgins (Sydney, 2008) got rave reviews. ‘On the opera circuit, if you’ve done it once and didn’t fall off the stage, they’ll ask you to do it again,’ he deadpans. ‘And you don’t have to be a great singer to play the part. My wife [Joan Washington, who he married in 1986] is an accent coach—a female Henry Higgins— so I’ve sort of been around it for a long time. Also, the opportunity to do the musical with a full-sized orchestra was absolutely irresistible. T. S. Eliot said it was actually an improvement on Shaw’s already brilliant play, so it has a very high pedigree.’
This story is from the January 25 2017 edition of Country Life UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the January 25 2017 edition of Country Life UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery
