Richard E Grant has said it was “gob smacking” to be on the set of the new Star Wars film.
The Withnail & I star plays an unknown role in the upcoming Episode IX, which is currently in production.
Speaking at the premiere of his new film Can You Ever Forgive Me? at the BFI London Film Festival, he said: “I saw the first Star Wars when I was a 20-year-old theatre student in 1977, and so to be in a movie 41 years later and to see that it is the real thing is absolutely astonishing.”
Grant added that he was unable to take any selfies while on set, saying: “It’s security is Fort Knox-like.”
The actor also revealed he would be thrilled to reprise his role as the manager of the Spice Girls if there was ever a sequel to their 1997 Spice World.
He said: “Of course I would, I loved that movie.
“My daughter was eight at the time and a huge Spice World fan and I got to meet Adele because she turned out to be a Spice World fan and I got four episodes and a part written for me by Lena Dunham in Girls because she was a Spiceworld fan, so there is nothing to lose.”
The actor also discussed the trip down memory lane he took when his daughter discovered the coat he wore in the 1987 film Withnail & I while she was packing up her flat.
Helping my daughter pack and she found this olde coat. Urged me to see if it’s still fitted and urged me to pose with a bottle of Margaux. ‘Chin-chin’! pic.twitter.com/I8hWaC2V8b
— Richard E. Grant (@RichardEGrant) September 30, 2018
The actor shared the photos on Twitter and Instagram and later told the Press Association: “It was just bizarre. My daughter has this Withnail coat and she was moving apartments and said ‘Oh try it on to see if it fits for size’ and I put it on Instagram and got thousands of followers and I was astonished!”
Can You Ever Forgive Me? is released in UK cinemas on February 1 2019.