Hugh Grant was given a picture of a naked Oompa Loompa by ‘Wonka’ director Paul King.
Hugh Grant was given a picture of a naked Oompa Loompa by ‘Wonka’ director Paul King
The ‘Four Weddings And a Funeral’ actor, 63, plays an 18-inch tall Oompa Loompa in the new ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ prequel, which arrived in cinemas on Friday. (08.12.23)
Hugh told People about its maker playing a prank on him: “Paul, quite early on in the editing process, sent me a mock-up of the Oompa Loompa stark naked.
“And my little children were a little alarmed at that.”
When asked why Paul had sent the image, Hugh added it was “to amuse him”.
Paul explained to People the film’s effects team were still figuring out “the colour of the skin and the way the hair works and on all the kind of details of it” and said at that stage of animation the Oompa Loompa “had no clothes”.
But Paul, 45, admitted about the naked image of the Oompa Loompa: “It was one of the most disturbing things I’ve ever seen in my life. If it ever leaks out, a generation of children will be scarred.”
He added the figure “was very delicately pixelated”, and said: “There was nothing untoward. It’s just something once you’ve seen, you can’t unsee it.”
Hugh, who previously worked with Paul on ‘Paddington 2’, in which he played villain Phoenix Buchanan, added he signed on to play an Oompa Loompa because he’s “into my freak phase of my career, sort of circus freaks” with characters who are “weirder and weirder”.
Paul said: “I think he has a very pleasing lack of vanity. He’s very happy to look as ridiculous as I ask him to – I got him in a dog suit eating dog food in ‘Paddington 2’.
“So I think once he’d done that, he’d already hit bottom. This was coming back up in the dignity state.”
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