Hugh Grant Hated Playing an Oompa Loompa in Wonka

A world of pure imagination may have taken things too far this time. Hugh Grant hated playing an Oompa Loompa in Wonka.

When the trailer for Wonka hit the Internet, people were perplexed, to put it lightly. Timothée Chalamet’s acting was criticized for stimulatingly being too much like an imitation of Gene Wilder and nothing like the original Willy Wonka actor at all. However, the thing everyone wanted to discuss was Hugh Grant’s turn as a dancing Oompa Loompa.

Grant is known as one of the best actors of his generation, appearing in such iconic films as Sense and Sensibility, Bridget Jones’s Diary, and Love Actually. But when you’re turned into a tiny orange person, it’s easy to forget about all that. And Grant may have realized that because he got pretty candid about his experience in Wonka.

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“It was like a crown of thorns, very uncomfortable,” Grant said about the process of creating his character in a recent press conference promoting the film. “I made a big fuss about it. I couldn’t have hated the whole thing more.”

Grant went on to describe how he felt about having his body changed. “And frankly, what I did with my body was terrible, and it’s all been replaced with an animator.”

Thankfully, it wasn’t all bad for Grant, who said working on Wonka was “quite fun, messing around and trying new lines.” And that fun vibe on set appears to be paying off, as reactions to the film have been positive for the most part and appear to confirm that the new film is a worthwhile addition to the franchise.

If you’re interested in other Wonka-related content, here’s a piece about books by authors like Roald Dahl are being rewritten and whether it matters.