Despite not standing out as a cheerful personality, nothing could’ve prepared us for Hugh Grant’s candid reaction to filming the upcoming prequel movie, Wonka.
The 63-year-old actor plays an oompa loompa, alongside Timothée Chalamet, who assumed the protagonist role of Willy Wonka, previously portrayed by Johnny Depp and Gene Wilder.
To achieve the otherworldly look of an oompa loompa, the production reportedly used a mixture of animation, motion capture, and multiple cameras on Hugh’s face to capture his facial expressions.
Hugh Grant gave a brutally honest response regarding his experience filming for the new Wonka movie as an oompa loompa
Hugh recently told Metro: “It was like a crown of thorns, very uncomfortable,” after being asked about what it was like working with all the technology needed for the animation.
He recalled: “I made a big fuss about it, I couldn’t have hated the whole thing more.”
According to the publication, the London native was unsure throughout filming as to whether he was supposed to “act with my body or not, and I never received a satisfactory answer.” He said: “And frankly, what I did with my body was terrible, and it’s all been replaced with an animator.”
Asked if it was all worth it when he saw the final product, he shrugged “Not really,” while the other cast members laughed around him, Metro reported.
“I made a big fuss about it, I couldn’t have hated the whole thing more,” Hugh said
Upon being asked whether the dancing aspect of the film was fun for him, Hugh replied “it should be fun, but that was done by the animator.”
The actor continued: “It’s very confusing, with CGI now, you can’t tell what’s going on.” As per the publication, it wasn’t just Hugh’s character or Wonka itself he had an issue with, as he jokingly admitted later in the interview, “I slightly hate [making films] but I have lots of children and need money.”
Hugh said he was unsure about whether he was supposed to “act with my body or not, and I never received a satisfactory answer”
The Notting Hill actor has a total of five children with two women: actress Tinglan Hong and his now-wife Anna Eberstein, People reported.
As per Metro, all wasn’t bad on the set of Wonka, as Hugh revealed it was “quite fun, messing around and trying new lines.”
Wonka director Paul King had reportedly cast Hugh in the role, as he previously said he did so because he thought the actor was “the funniest, most sarcastic s**t I’ve ever met.”
Upon being asked whether the dancing aspect of the film was fun for him, Hugh replied “It should be fun, but that was done by the animator”
In an interview with Radio Times, Paul said: “The Oompa Loompas don’t have any dialogue in the book, really, and the films, they’ve sort of got very little. But in the book, they do have these very, very long songs – or they’re presented as songs, they’re poems.
“But they’re so funny, and I was reading them sort of trying to get a voice in my head, and they’re so sort of biting and sarcastic and scornful and incredibly funny, and Hugh’s voice just kept coming towards me.”
Upon being cast as the curious being of small proportions, the Bridget Jones star has been met with some controversy from actors with dwarfism who have reportedly argued that the casting took away roles from little people.
In previous Willy Wonka movies, oompa loompas were played by actors with dwarfism.
George Coppen, a British actor with dwarfism, took issue with the forthcoming film for casting Hugh instead of a small actor.
He told the BBC: “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.”
You can watch the trailer for Wonka below:
Image credits: Warner Bros. Pictures
The first Wonka trailer came out in July, with Hugh stealing the show as he appeared dressed in a purple tweed suit with bloomers and matching pointy-toed, pom-pom-adorned shoes.
Wonka will hit the cinemas on Friday (December 8).
Fans thought Hugh’s brutally honest answers were ironic as “it’s exactly what a real oompa loompa would’ve said”
