Life is all about the role-play

Richard E Grant was given just four days to get ready for his part in a new TV drama, writes Pádraic Killeen

WHEN Richard E Grant got the shout for his latest role, a short comic drama called The Other Woman, it was on a Thursday.

Filming was to begin the following Monday. “I said, ‘Who’s dropped dead or dropped out?’,” says Grant. “They said, ‘Nobody has. It’s all being cast at the last minute like this.’ From what I understand, the controller of the drama department at Sky had given them carte blanche and said, ‘Come up with something that’s half an hour long. You choose the writers. You choose the actors. We’ll finance it.’ For people to be given that kind of creative freedom is something I’ve never ever experienced.”