BreakingNews.ie – 24th October, 2015

Richard E Grant may have a cult following – but he is just as likely to be recognised for his Argos adverts as for his iconic role in Withnail and I.

The 58-year-old played Withnail in the 1987 comedy film, but said he never knows where a fan will recognise him from.

“It’s according to what they’ve seen you in,” he explained. “You meet somebody that’s seen something from 30 years ago that you have almost no memory of, and that’s all they’ve seen you in.

Richard E Grant in Jekyll and Hyde (ITV)

“I did Argos ads, and people say – oh are you an actor? I’ve seen you in an Argos ad.

“I did a documentary series about luxury hotels for Sky Atlantic, and again that’s something that people come and either ask about, or say they’ve been to those hotels – or they want to go to those hotels – or ask, did the burger that cost $5,000 (£3,258) actually taste any good?”

However, Richard’s most famous role has not been forgotten by the public: “People shout out on a daily basis lines from Withnail and I, because it has this cult following.”

The actor, who stars in ITV’s new Jekyll and Hyde, is used to people spotting him in public.

He said: “My wife and daughter say to me ‘if you walk down the street people nudge or point or whatever’. But unless somebody does that to your face, I have no awareness of it at all.

“In America, people are much more front-footed in that they’ll go: ‘Hey! you’re that – yeah!’ Whereas in England it’s much more covert.

“I’ve walked past shop windows, looked in the window and then seen somebody go -,” he said, miming pointing. “But you don’t know whether they’re looking at the clothes, or the glass, or your bald spot.”

Richard E Grant plays Sir Roger in Jekyll and Hyde (ITV)

Richard plays Sir Roger Bulstrode in Jekyll and Hyde, a re-imagining of the classic Robert Louis Stevenson novel. In this version of the story, we meet Jekyll’s lovely grandson Robert (Tom Bateman) in the 1930s – but inside him is a monster, Hyde, who he is trying to suppress.

Richard explained of his character: “The head of the secret service, which is called MIO, which is Military Intelligence Other, which deals with all these supernatural monster, vampire characters in the story. And he spends a lot of time trying to recruit Jekyll so that he can access Hyde’s superpowers.

Jekyll and Hyde, with Richard E Grant, Tom Bateman and Natalie Gumede (ITV)

“He’s one-track-minded, thinks everyone else is useless at their jobs, has no respect for the person who is above him, and is completely obsessed with his job and doesn’t seem to have any life outside of that.”

On his own obsession – with smell – Richard said: “Everything seems completely normal to me. But I know that licking your plate and smelling everything in sight is what most people think as aberrant behaviour, whereas to me I don’t understand why everybody doesn’t do that.”

Jekyll and Hyde airs on Sunday, October 25 at 6.30pm on ITV.