Hugh Grant “Hated” Filming His Oompa Loompa Scenes In Wonka

The internet was scarred by Hugh Grant playing an Oompa Loompa in Wonka — and so was he. In a Dec. 4 press conference, the actor spoke about portraying an Oompa Loompa named Lofty in the upcoming prequel starring Timothée Chalamet, calling the experience “drivel.”

Grant’s character was created using his face but animated motion capture for the creature’s body, meaning that he was filmed with multiple cameras and apparatuses at all times.

Grant found this to be a difficult process. “It was like a crown of thorns, very uncomfortable,” he remarked, according to Metro UK. “I made a big fuss about it. I couldn’t have hated the whole thing more.”

Grant went on to say that he had no clue whether he had to “act with my body,” and “never received a satisfactory answer” while filming. But it didn’t actually matter in the end. “Frankly, what I did with my body was terrible, and it’s all been replaced with an animator,” he explained.

He couldn’t even enjoy the dancing aspect of it all. “It should be fun, but that was done by the animator,” he revealed. “It’s very confusing, with CGI now, you can’t tell what’s going on.”

Does Hugh Grant Regret Wonka?

When asked if his struggles were worth it after seeing Wonka, Grant simply shrugged it off with a “not really,” much to the laughter of his castmates.

However, he doesn’t completely regret making the movie, saying it was “quite fun, messing around and trying new lines,” and joking that he appreciated the paycheck. “I slightly hate [making films] but I have lots of children and need money,” he quipped.

One person who doesn’t regret the experience at all was director Paul King, who also worked with Grant on Paddington 2. At a July event, King said that author Roald Dahl wrote the Oompa Loompas as “incredibly sarcastic and judgmental and cruel” in his Charlie and the Chocolate Factory book, and hilariously thought Grant was the perfect fit.

“I was really just thinking about that character; somebody who could be a real sh*t, and then — ah! Hugh!” he said. “Because he’s the funniest, most sarcastic sh*t I’ve ever met.”