Actor Hugh Grant has landed in the eye of controversy for his portrayal of an Oompa Loompa in the upcoming Hollywood film Wonka, with certain dwarf actors criticising the decision to cast him in the role. The actors have alleged that by doing so, the studios are closing their doors for dwarf actors. Famous British dwarf actor George Coppen who has been seen in projects such as The School of Good and Evil and Willow told BBC in an interview, “A lot of people, myself included, argue that dwarfs should be offered everyday roles in dramas and soaps, but we aren’t getting offered those roles.”
“One door is being closed, but they have forgotten to open the next one,” George Coppen said. “They’ve enlarged his head so his head looks bigger. (I thought) what the hell have you done to him?” he further questioned, as reported by 'The Hollywood Reporter'.
In the movie’s trailer, Wonka meets Grant’s Oompa Loompa, who is inside a glass jar, and upon witnessing the small humans for the first time, he says, “So you’re the funny little man who’s been following me?”
The Oompa Loompa then proceeds to reply, “I will have you know that I am a perfectly respectful size for an Oompa Loompa.” In the film, the Oompa Loompa played by Grant is 20 inches tall, while the average height of an adult with dwarfism is 58 inches.
In an earlier interview with 'The Hollywood Reporter', director Paul King had said that Hugh Grant was the perfect candidate to play an Oompa Loompa, as the characters are noted for their morbid and sarcastic sense of humour, and he needed somebody to embody that. “I was really just thinking about that character; somebody who could be a real s***, and then — ah! Hugh! Because he’s the funniest, most sarcastic s*** I’ve ever met,” he said.
Wonka acts as a prelude to Roald Dahl’s famous novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and tells the story of how the eccentric and sketchy chocolatier Willy Wonka became the massive candy titan he is in the book. As such, the movie is an origin story about Willy Wonka, with Dune actor Timothee Chalamet playing the titular role of a younger version of Willy Wonka. The film will cover his childhood, love of chocolates and making them, and how he meets the mischievous Oompa Loompas.
Watch the trailer here: