Richard E. Grant, a Swazi-English actor, has starred in several projects, ranging from commercial blockbusters to small-scale, independent projects. He also appeared in the MCU Disney+ series Loki (2021) as Classic Loki. Other notable titles featuring the 66-year-old star are Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018), Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992), The Iron Lady (2011), Game of Thrones (2011-2019), etc.
The Oscar-nominated star once shared how his father had deemed the actor “insane” for wanting to pursue acting. He revealed the reason behind this in The Hollywood Reporter’s Close-Up—Actors Roundtable. Drawing a parallel to kids of his generation wanting to be astronauts after NASA astronaut and aeronautical engineer Neil Armstrong’s moon landing, Grant recalled how ludicrous desiring to be an actor seemed.
Why Was Richard E. Grant’s Father Worried About His Acting Career?
For the 2019 Actors Roundtable, renowned actors like Timothée Chalamet, Mahershala Ali, Hugh Jackman, etc., gathered to discuss their insights on acting, their careers, and other personal anecdotes. Richard E. Grant was among the various talented guests featured on the panel. The interviewer, Stephen Galloway, put forth an intriguing question. He questioned the celebrities about their decision to pursue acting and whether they were concerned that it would be a risky career. In response, Grant revealed his father’s initial thoughts on the matter:
“My father thought I was completely insane, wanting to do this.”
He then explained why the decision to pursue acting at the time felt unattainable and impractical:
“When I was 12 years old in 1969, and Neil Armstrong just landed on the Moon, everybody in my year wanted to be an astronaut. So, saying that you wanted to be an actor was as ludicrous to people then as saying that you wanted to be an astronaut because there was no precedent where I grew up.”
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Richard E. Grant acknowledged in his concluding statement the aspects of an acting profession that alarmed his father:
“I think my father was genuinely worried that I would spend my life in tights, make up, and be destitute… All of which has come true!”
Even though it’s a humorous comment, it illustrates how far the actor has come from what his father initially thought of the profession. There is always the notion of only a few making it in the industry. But without the actor’s effort, skill, and expertise, he might not have achieved his “ludicrous” dreams.
Richard E. Grant Talked About His Loki Experience
In a Variety interview, Grant was asked about his role in Loki and whether or not he brought a Loki-esque quality to the production. He responded by reminiscing the time he met leading actor Tom Hiddleston backstage during a production of Othello in London. He remembered having the following conversation with the 42-year-old actor:
“[I] met him backstage, and I said, ‘You’re so extraordinarily talented, you’ll have an enormous career. I can’t wait to watch and see what you do’ — and indeed, he has. We had [said] jokingly, just with each other down the years socially, that because we have a sort of vague similarity in the way that we look at our physiques, we can play father and son in something.”
And lo and behold, Richard E. Grant received the offer to portray the classic Loki in 2020. He stated:
“I got this offer to play classic old Loki. I thought, ‘Aha, finally, this is what we have been joshing about all the all this time, and it’s now come to pass.’ So that’s how I understood it.”
He also mentioned how thrilling the filming experience was and how he wished to reprise his role in the interview. We certainly hope the actor’s dreams come true one more time!
The second season of Loki will premiere on October 5, 2023, and the first season is available for streaming on Disney+.
Source: THR’s Actors Roundtable and Variety
Read also: Marvel Deleted an “Awkward” Tom Hiddleston Scene That Could Have Ruined Loki!
