Hugh Grant's casting as an Oompa Loompa in Warner Bros.' upcoming 'Wonka' film is getting some backlash. During an interview with the BBC, actor George Coppen, who has dwarfism said that many similar actors "feel like we are being pushed out of the industry we love."
Category
✨
PeopleTranscript
00:00 an Oompa Loompa. An Oompa what now? Allow me to refresh your memory. Oh I don't think I want to
00:05 hear that. Too late." Hugh Grant's casting as an Oompa Loompa in Warner Brothers' upcoming Wonka
00:10 film is getting some backlash. During an interview with the BBC that published Wednesday, actor George
00:16 Coppin, who has dwarfism, said that many similar actors "feel like we are being pushed out of the
00:21 industry we love." "A lot of people, myself included, argue that dwarves should be offered
00:25 everyday roles in dramas and soaps, but we aren't getting offered those roles. One door is being
00:30 closed, but they have forgotten to open the next one." Paul King's film is a prequel to the 1971
00:36 feature Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, adapted from Roald Dahl's 1964 novel Charlie and
00:42 the Chocolate Factory. During a previous interview with The Hollywood Reporter, King explained why
00:46 he thought Grant was the best fit for the Oompa Loompa. "I was really just thinking about that
00:51 character, somebody who could be a real s---. And then, ah, Hugh, because he's the funniest,
00:56 most sarcastic s--- I've ever met." For more on this story, head to THR.com.
01:01 And for the latest entertainment news and updates, keep watching The Hollywood Reporter News.