Richard the first? Withnail can be top dog at Oscars
LAST year at the Oscars, Beauty And The Beast was up for a couple of awards.
Good Morning Britain responded by sending over our very own beauty and the beast – or Susanna Reid and Piers Morgan as they’re more commonly known.
Their trip was so successful that Susanna and Piers are coming back for a second year.
Piers famously had a bit of a meltdown on Twitter when Greggs announced they were introducing vegan sausage rolls. Wait until he sees the food out here...
“We have exciting news, we are going to cover the Oscars,” Piers announced last week. “We are going to be live in Hollywood covering all things fashion and stars.
“This is going to be fun! We’re looking forward to this.
“It’s going to be a big night… after that we are going to hit Hollywood hard.”
I’ve hit Hollywood hard a few times after the Oscars – unfortunately it’s been the pavement after too many sweet sherries.
Last week I had a quick chat with the brilliant Richard E Grant at the Oscars luncheon.
He’s been nominated as best supporting actor in Can You Ever Forgive Me?, which is a great wee film. Despite his numerous awards over the years, this is Grant’s first Oscar nomination.
And for him the experience is like being hounded...but in the best way!
“I’ve won 22 critics’ awards and that’s like walking out your front door and being jumped on by a whole lot of puppies licking you all over,” he told me.
“Then you get to your garden gate and there’s a Screen Actor’s Guild Award and a Golden Globe and a BAFTA and it’s like all the Labradors are coming up to you.
“And that’s great but then someone says you’ve got an Oscars nomination.
“And every pooch in the neighbourhood is like ‘AWOO!’”
Now that’s what I call puppy love! Back in the ’80s, Richard played the brilliant Withnail in the cult hit Withnail and I – a role that nearly went to Daniel Day Lewis.
The pair later worked together on The Age of Innocence.
Richard explained how he and Daniel had a great chat at the beginning of the shoot – but then Daniel refused to speak to him for the remaining three months on set!
“I then understood from Michelle Pfeiffer that Daniel was a method actor and in character,” laughed Richard.
“It was a very unnerving experience!”