Distraction Pieces Podcast with Scroobius Pip RICHARD E GRANT (Withnail & I / Savage House / Gosford Park) • Friday Rewind
Sep 18, 2026
Richard E. Grant, the Swazi-born British actor celebrated for Withnail & I, Gosford Park and Can You Ever Forgive Me?, reflects on four decades onscreen. He discusses his Oscar nomination, instant chemistry with Melissa McCarthy, playing a lovable literary fraud, and the contrasting energies of Logan and Can You Ever Forgive Me? He also recalls Steve Martin, Swaziland, Star Wars, and his unusual two-watch habit.
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How Set Culture Shapes A Film
- The film’s compassionate performances depended on smart writing and a collaborative director who created an unusually de-testosterized environment.
- Richard E. Grant contrasted that atmosphere with Logan’s male-dominated world of armor, weapons, stunts, and special effects.
Making Criminals Understandably Human
- Lee Israel and Jack Hock become sympathetic because the story shows how loneliness and desperation pushed them into crime.
- The film explains their choices without excusing the emotional and financial damage they caused.
Judge Judy Rooted For The Literary Scammer
- Judge Judy told Richard E. Grant she would give Lee Israel only a light fine because nobody was killed or physically hurt.
- She admired how Israel outsmarted an already ambiguous memorabilia market.