What is Richard E. Grant's Net Worth?
Richard E. Grant is an actor, screenwriter, and director who has a net worth of $4 million. Richard E. Grant is known for his performances in such films as "Withnail and I," "L.A. Story," "The Player," "Gosford Park," and "Can You Ever Forgive Me?," the lattermost of which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He has also acted in many television series, including "Doctor Who," "Downton Abbey," "Girls," and "Game of Thrones," and has hosted various television documentaries. Behind the camera, Grant wrote and directed the 2005 film "Wah-Wah."
Early Life and Education
Richard E. Grant was born as Richard Grant Esterhuysen on May 5, 1957 in Mbabane in what was then the Protectorate of Swaziland. He is the son of Leonne and Henrik, the latter of whom served as head of education for the British government administration in Swaziland. Grant is of English, German, and Dutch/Afrikaner descent, and has a younger brother named Stuart whom he has been estranged from for most of his life. When Grant was still a child, his parents got divorced due to his mother's infidelity. He was educated as a youth at a local government school in Mbabane, and then at Waterford Kamhlaba United World College of Southern Africa. Grant went on to attend the University of Cape Town in South Africa. While there, he was a member of the Space Theatre Company. In 1982, he moved to London, England and registered with the trade union Equity.
Film Career
Grant made his feature film debut in Bruce Robinson's 1987 British black comedy "Withnail and I," starring as the perpetually hammered titular character. Also that year, he starred in the British political thriller "Hidden City." Grant reunited with Robinson in 1989 to star in his black comedy "How to Get Ahead in Advertising." After that, he started appearing in American films, such as "Warlock," "Mountains of the Moon," and "Henry & June." In 1991, Grant had supporting roles in the satirical romcom "L.A. Story" and the action comedy "Hudson Hawk." He subsequently appeared in Robert Altman's "The Player," Francis Ford Coppola's "Bram Stoker's Dracula," and Martin Scorsese's "The Age of Innocence." In 1993, Grant starred as the titular author in Peter Capaldi's short film "Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life," which went on to win the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film. The following year, he reunited with Altman for "Prêt-à-Porter." Grant's credits in the latter half of the 90s include many romcoms, such as "Jack and Sarah," "Twelfth Night: Or What You Will," "Keep the Aspidistra Flying," and "The Match." He also had supporting roles in the period drama "The Portrait of a Lady" and the musical comedy "Spice World."
Commencing the new millennium, Grant appeared in the children's comedy horror film "The Little Vampire." He was subsequently in the ensemble cast of "Gosford Park," his third film with Robert Altman. Following roles in "Monsieur N.," "Bright Young Things," and "The Story of an African Farm," Grant made his directorial debut with 2005's "Wah-Wah," which he also wrote. The film is loosely based on his childhood in Swaziland. Also in 2005, Grant appeared in "Colour Me Kubrick" and lent his voice to Tim Burton's stop-motion animated musical "Corpse Bride." His subsequent credits included "Penelope," "Filth and Wisdom," "The Garden of Eden," "Cuckoo," and "Love Hurts." Kicking off the 2010s, Grant starred in "1st Night" and played Father in "The Nutcracker in 3D." In 2011, he appeared in five films, including "The Last Fashion Show," "How to Stop Being a Loser," and "The Iron Lady." Grant followed those with such films as "Dom Hemingway," "Queen and Country," "Jackie," and "Logan." In 2018, he gave one of the most acclaimed performances of his career in Marielle Heller's "Can You Ever Forgive Me?," playing Jack Hock, the gay best friend of author Lee Israel, played by Melissa McCarthy. For his performance, Grant earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Since then, his credits have included "Palm Beach," "Everybody's Talking About Jamie," and "Saltburn."
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Television Career
On the small screen, Grant first appeared in an episode of the British sitcom "Sweet Sixteen" in 1983. After that, he appeared in the anthology series "Screen Two" and the four-part miniseries "Codename: Kyril." In 1993, Grant starred in an adaptation of "Suddenly Last Summer" for the "Great Performances" anthology series, and voiced Long John Silver in the children's animated series "The Legends of Treasure Island." The next year, he played James Harthouse in an adaptation of Charles Dickens's "Hard Times." Grant went on to play Nick Balmer in Dennis Potter's television dramas "Karaoke" and "Cold Lazarus." In 1997, he portrayed George IV in the television film "A Royal Scandal," and voiced the titular character in the animated series "Captain Star." The following year, he was in the television film "St. Ives." From 1999 to 2000, Grant starred as the titular character in an adaptation of "The Scarlet Pimpernel." He also played Bob Cratchit in the 1999 TNT adaptation of "A Christmas Carol." In the early 00s, Grant's credits included the television films "Sherlock: Case of Evil" and "The Hound of the Baskervilles," as well as the BBC parody series "Posh Nosh."
Grant became involved with television documentaries in 2004 when he narrated "90 Days in Hollywood" and "The Story of Bohemian Rhapsody." Two years later, he narrated the historical reality documentary series "That'll Teach 'Em"; he also starred in the miniseries "Above and Beyond." Grant went on to make guest appearances on such shows as "Dalziel and Pascoe," "Mumbai Calling," "Rab C. Nesbitt," and "Rev." Returning to documentary series, he hosted "Richard E. Grant's Hotel Secrets" from 2012 to 2014. During that time, Grant appeared in three episodes of "Doctor Who" and four episodes each of "Girls" and "Downton Abbey." Subsequently, he was in the American miniseries "Dig" and the British series "Jekyll and Hyde." In 2016, Grant played Izembaro in three episodes of "Game of Thrones." His subsequent notable credits have included the British sitcom "Hang Ups"; the Netflix adaptation of "A Series of Unfortunate Events"; the AMC series "Dispatches from Elsewhere"; and the British crime drama series "Suspect."
Stage Career
In 2008, Grant made his musical theater debut starring as Henry Higgins in "My Fair Lady" at the Theatre Royal Sydney in Australia. He would later reprise the role in 2017 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Between those two productions, Grant starred in Yasmina Reza's one-act play "God of Carnage" in cities throughout England.
Personal Life
Grant married voice coach Joan Washington in 1986. With her, he had a daughter named Olivia, plus a stepson named Tom. Washington passed away from lung cancer in 2021.
Due to his intolerance of alcohol, Grant is a teetotaler. He is also an atheist, and an avid fan of the Premier League football club West Ham United. In 2022, he released a memoir entitled "A Pocketful of Happiness."
