Richard E. Grant (born Richard Esterhuysen; 5 May 1957) is a Swaziland-born British actor, screenwriter and director. Grant came to public attention for playing Withnail in the film Withnail and I. He holds dual British and Swazi citizenship.
Grant was born Richard Esterhuysen in Mbabane, Swaziland. He adopted the stage name Grant when he moved to England as an adult and registered with the British Actors' Equity Association. His father, Henrik E...
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Richard E. Grant (born Richard Esterhuysen; 5 May 1957) is a Swaziland-born British actor, screenwriter and director. Grant came to public attention for playing Withnail in the film Withnail and I. He holds dual British and Swazi citizenship.
Grant was born Richard Esterhuysen in Mbabane, Swaziland. He adopted the stage name Grant when he moved to England as an adult and registered with the British Actors' Equity Association. His father, Henrik Esterhuysen, was head of education for the British government administration in the British Protectorate of Swaziland. His South African mother, Leonne, was a local ballet teacher. His father had Dutch/Afrikaner and Hungarian ancestry and his mother was of German descent.
As a young child, Grant went to primary school at St Mark's, a local government school in Mbabane that had only recently become racially integrated. At the age of nine, he witnessed an adulterous relationship between his mother and another man that subsequently led to the...
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