Richard Estherhusen Grant was born on 5 May 1957 in the capital of Swaziland, Mbabane. Richard’s father served as Swaziland’s Minister of Education. After high school, Richard entered the University of Cape Town, where he studied English and acting. As a student, he became one of the founders of the university theater troupe. After his father's death, Richard moved to London in 1982. At first, he worked in the service staff of London’s Covent Garden Theatre until he began playing in various repertory
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Richard Estherhusen Grant was born on 5 May 1957 in the capital of Swaziland, Mbabane. Richard’s father served as Swaziland’s Minister of Education. After high school, Richard entered the University of Cape Town, where he studied English and acting. As a student, he became one of the founders of the university theater troupe. After his father's death, Richard moved to London in 1982. At first, he worked in the service staff of London’s Covent Garden Theatre until he began playing in various repertory theaters and experimental troupes, and in 1984 he first achieved notable success, playing in Ronald Harwood’s play Tramways. The following year he made his British television debut, after which he came to attention as an unemployed actor in the black comedy Wisnale and I (1987), directed by Bruce Robinson. Soon, Grant starred again with Robinson, this time as a successful copywriter of an advertising agency in the comedy How to Succeed in Advertising. Studying various dialects of English, Richard met a specialist in this field, teacher Joan Washington. In 1986, Richard and Joan became husband and wife, and they still live together. After the success of Wisnale and I, Grant was invited to film in the United States. His Hollywood debut was the horror film Warlock (1988, directed by Steve Miner). Several more films followed, including an adaptation of Anais Nin's novel Henry and June (1990, directed by Philip Kaufman) and an action movie starring Bruce Willis, The Hudson Hawk (1991, directed by Michael Lemman). Soon, Richard drew the attention of famous directors: he played the English screenwriter Tom Oakley in the comedy Robert Altman “The Player” (1992), Dr. Seward in “Dracula of Bram Stoker” (1992) by Francis Ford Coppola and the high-society slacker Larry Lefters in the romantic drama Martin Scorzese “The Age of Innocence” (1993). As a rule, he got secondary roles, but this invariably witty actor, able to convey the inner state of his hero with only an expressive look, was remembered and loved by the audience.
In 1993, Grant appeared as writer Franz Kafka in the twenty-three-minute experimental comedy film This Wonderful Life of Franz Kafka directed by Peter Capaldi, who received an Oscar in the category Best Short Film. He again achieved success on the theatrical stage, playing Algernon Moncrief in Oscar Wilde’s play The Importance of Being Earnest at London’s Oldwich Theatre. His subsequent film roles ranged from the eccentric homosexual fashion designer Court Romney in Robert Altman’s satirical comedy High Fashion (1994) to Sir Andrew Aguchik in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night (1996), filmed by renowned theatre director Trevor Nunn. The strange characters of Grant alternated with more direct characters, such as the widowed single father in the family comedy Jack and Sarah (1995, Tim Sullivan) or the rich aristocrat Lord Warburton in the drama Portrait of a Lady (1996, dir. Jane Campion).
From an early age, Richard led diary entries that formed the basis of his book of memoirs With Nails: Richard E. Grant's Moviaries (the title was played in tune with the title of the film - With the old one in 1996), and with I's nail in the UK (with the old one in 1996). Being mainly a supporting actor, Grant from time to time was busy in leading roles; so he played advertising agent Gordon Comstock in the film Funny War (1998, Robert Bierman) based on George Orwell's novel Long Live Ficus!, where his partner was the famous Helena Bonham Carter, then appeared in the role of the British aristocrat Sir Percy Blakeney, saving innocent people from the terror of the French Revolution in the series Crimson Primple (1999, dir. Patrick Lau, Simon Langton). In 2001, he resumed his collaboration with Robert Altman, playing the small but memorable role of footman George in Detective Gosford Park. He also starred in the films “Golden Youth” (2003, dir. Stephen Fry) and “Being Stanley Kubrick” (2005, dir. Brian Cook), and in 2005 made his debut as a director and screenwriter, putting the comedy “Wow-Wow”, the plot of which was largely inspired by his memories of childhood and adolescence spent in South Africa.
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