Bio
Richard E. Grant is a Swazi-born British actor, screenwriter and director who came to public attention in 1987 for playing Withnail in the film Withnail and I, and achieved international recognition as John Seward in 1992 blockbuster Bram Stoker's Dracula.
Grant was born in Mbabane, Swaziland. From an early age, he knew he wanted to be an actor - a passion fuelled by an instant infatuation with Barbra Streisand.
Richard's parents divorced when he was 11, which caused a great deal of scandal in Swaziland, as his father, Henrik, was the Swazi Minister of Education.
Henrik was also a heavy smoker and died 13 years later of lung cancer, aged 51. Richard later lamented that his father wasn't alive to see Withnail and I.
Richard attended Waterford boarding school as a child, and then studied drama at Cape Town University where he co-founded a multi-racial, avant garde ensemble called the Troupe Theatre Company.
He acted in many Troupe productions over that two year period, including Fanshen, Total Eclipse and Steven Berkoff's Agamemnon. He also directed versions of Metamorphosis and The Threepenny Opera.
A year after his father's death, Richard packed up and left for England, arriving in London in 1982. He initially worked as a waiter in Covent Garden until getting work in the theatre, culminating in his 1984 nomination as Most Promising Newcomer for his performance in Tramway Road at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith.
During 1983 Richard met and worked with Joan Washington on a series of regional British dialects. She later became his wife. Joan is eight years older than Richard and already had a son Tom from a previous marriage.
Richard follows a strict lifestyle. He doesn't drink alcohol (he's allergic to it), tea or coffee. He also doesn't smoke or eat dairy products.
His first film was an award-winning TV production called Honest, Decent and True, and this lead to his audition for Withnail and I. The cult and financial success of Withnail meant that Hollywood began to come calling and Richard finally had the big break that most actors aspire to.
Whilst landing the fantastic part of Withnail was what they had been waiting for, it was also an incredibly unhappy time for Richard and Joan. Their first child together was born prematurely, during the first few days of filming Withnail, and only survived for a few hours.
Tiffany is buried not far from the family home. They now have a daughter, Olivia.
Withnail and I was released in 1988, and since then, Richard has had roles in numerous films. He's worked with some of America's greatest directors - Robert Altman, Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese - and has a penchant for playing some of the finest film crazies.
Grant has had strong supporting roles in the films Henry & June, L.A. Story, The Player, The Age of Innocence, The Portrait of a Lady, Spice World, Gosford Park, Bright Young Things and Penelope.
Grant is also an author, having written an autobiography and a novel called By Design that is set in Hollywood. He also wrote and directed the 2005 film Wah-Wah, loosely based on his own childhood experiences.
In 2015 he had a starring role in the ITV period drama horror series Jekyll and Hyde.