Quiz

Is allergic to alcohol. He can have a drink and keep it down for about 10 minutes, but will be severely ill for 24 hours afterward.

The initial E in his name came about because there was already someone registered with Equity as Richard Grant. Richard was born Richard Grant Esterhuysen. So with permission of the other Richard Grant and Equity, he added the E. to his name.

Wears two watches. The one on his right wrist was given to him by his late father and has Swaziland time. The one on his left wrist is set to British time.

As a struggling actor in 1983, he was renting a Notting Hill bedsit in London for £30 per week. Thirty-six years later, he stood outside that very same residence to announce on his Twitter feed that he'd been Oscar-nominated for Copia originale (2018), his very first nomination.

Loves new smells. Richard believes that smells evoke memories, so he loves to smell new books, cars, sofas, people.

Attended school in Swaziland (South Africa) with Nelson Mandela's daughters Zindzi Mandela and Zenani Mandela where they occasionally appeared in school plays together.

His father was the last minister of education in the British colony of Swaziland before independence in 1968.

Even though in real life he's allergic to alcohol, his very first film Shakespeare a colazione (1987) revolved around him playing a character who drinks all kinds of alcoholic drinks.

When Grant married Joan Washington, he gained a stepson, Tom, Joan's son from a previous marriage. The first baby that Joan and Richard had together, Tiffany, was born prematurely during the filming of Withnail & I. Tiffany only survived for a few hours after her birth. A few years later, Joan gave birth to their second daughter, Olivia, who is now a casting assistant on films.

He was one of the guests at King Charles III's and Queen Camilla's wedding.

Had a piano suite composed for him by Canadian artist Emm Gryner.

In 1972, as a 15-year-old boy in Swaziland, he became star-struck after seeing Barbra Streisand in Hello Dolly (1969) and wrote to her after falling instantly in love with her. 46 years later, he finally got to meet her at a post-Oscars party after his nomination for 'Can You Ever Forgive Me?' (2018), where he told her about his boyhood crush on her.

Played The Doctor in a line of BBC animated Doctor Who (1963) adventures showcased on the Internet.

He was also the narrator/performer for Bram Stoker's Dracula Book on tape.

Studied English and drama at university in Cape Town, South Africa.

Has an aversion to hard-boiled eggs, mostly due to the shape ("like a fart on a plate"). Fried eggs don't bother him.

Stated in The Secret World of Lewis Carroll (2015) that Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll is one of his favorite books and that he has re-read it every year since he was seven.

Father of Olivia Grant.

Unlike other actors to take on the role of The Doctor from Doctor Who in their careers, he is the only one to play the role ("Scream of the Shalka") before returning as another major character in the series ("The Snowmen" as Dr. Simeon/The Great Intelligence).

Was offered the role of the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) but had to turn it down after filming for Hudson Hawk (1991) overran. The role went to Alan Rickman instead.

Has one sibling, a younger brother named Stuart who lives in South Africa. Richard has said in numerous interviews that he and his brother have never had anything in common or any real relationship, and that their enmity is mutual. They were last in the same place for their father's funeral and did not speak to each other there, and Richard has said they will never talk to each other again.

One stepson, Tom.

Took part in a special celebrity edition of Blind Date on The Prince's Trust 30th Birthday: Live (2006). He and actor Sir Roger Moore lost to The X Factor (2004)'s Chico Slimani, who got to date Barry Humphries.

According to his Wah-Wah Diaries, he was offered a major role in the remake of Il volo della fenice (2004).

He has two roles in common with his La sposa cadavere (2005) co-star Christopher Lee. 1) Lee played Sherlock Holmes in Sherlock Holmes - La valle del terrore (1962), Sherlock Holmes and the Leading Lady (1991), and Sherlock Holmes: Incident at Victoria Falls (1992), while Grant played him in The Other Side (1992). 2) Lee played Holmes' brother Mycroft Holmes in Vita privata di Sherlock Holmes (1970) while Grant played him in Sherlock (2002).

He has two roles in common with both David Collings and David Warner. 1) Collings played Bob Cratchit in La più bella storia di Dickens (1970), Warner played him in Una favola fantastica (1984) and Grant played him in Canto di Natale (1999). 2) Grant played The Doctor in Comic Relief: Doctor Who - The Curse of Fatal Death (1999) and Doctor Who: Scream of the Shalka (2003), Collings played him in the Big Finish audio drama "Full Fathom Five" and Warner played him in the Big Finish audio dramas "Sympathy for the Devil" and "Masters of War".

At the time of his casting announcement for Star Wars - L'ascesa di Skywalker (2019), many Star Wars fans speculated that he was going to be playing Admiral Thrawn (an 'expanded universe' character) due to Grant's physical resemblance to him. Later, in Grant's first interview about it, he immediately confirmed that was not his character and it was a completely different one (named General Pryde).

Attended the wedding of media mogul Rupert Murdoch to former model Jerry Hall in 2016.

He has appeared in one film that has been nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: Gosford Park (2001).

Counts actor Ian Charleson as a major influence as an actor.