HeathrowAirport.com – 8th April, 2015

To his long list of achievements as an actor, director, author and screenwriter, the charming and charismatic Richard E Grant has now added perfumer. In this interview, Richard talks to us about his passions and inspirations in life, work and travel, and the long journey from Withnail to Jack.

What do you think are the secrets of your success?
I think that knowing from a very early age what you’re most interested in doing, and pursuing that dream, has proved invaluable. Looking back, there is a very clear line that began with making glove puppets when I was a little boy and a toy theatre out of a shoe box with cut-out figures attached to lollipop sticks. I progressed to marionettes and built a full-scale puppet theatre in my parents’ garage. I did school plays and joined the amateur theatre club in Swaziland, where I grew up, and went to the cinema at every opportunity. However, the notion of becoming a professional actor was considered a pipe dream by my contemporaries and it was not considered a serious career option. Accepting that ‘No’ is invisibly tattooed across most people’s foreheads when auditioning for a job is something I got used to being told as a teenager, which was the perfect preparation for the realities of my profession. Resolving to make a go of it, no matter what, is what has motored me through the lean times.

What first excited you about the world of acting?
Seeing Disney’s Pinocchio as a boy was revelatory and inspired me to make puppets. Ever since I can remember I have wanted to be part of the make-believe and magic of the theatre, and pretending to be someone else is an enormously enjoyable way to earn a living! Even though I am in my late 50s I still have a child-like excitement about what I do.

Who or where do you get your inspiration from?
Seeing Donald Sutherland in Kelly’s Heroes gave me hope as he had a very elongated face, was as skinny as a rake and grew up in a far-flung town in Canada. As a teenager I reckoned that if he could make it, perhaps I had a chance. The incredibly talented people I have met, and had the privilege of working with, are a continuous inspiration. The quality of young British actors is extraordinary and humbling.

What has been your favourite acting role to date?
In 1986, having been unemployed for 11 months, I was cast as an out-of-work actor in my first film, Withnail And I, and it changed my life and gave me almost every career opportunity I’ve had since then. Bruce Robinson’s much-quoted script was an absolute gift of a role, and the lifelong friendships with the cast combined to make it an indelible experience.

Acting has taken you all over the world. What’s your favourite destination?
That’s a tough choice! New York City is hard to beat for the sheer variety of things you can eat, see, visit and just jaw-drop at. Having seen it in movies and on TV, it has a sense of familiarity – but nothing quite prepares you for the electrifying impact of walking down its skyscrapered streets. Ireland comes a close second for the sheer charm and charisma of the people. They talk even more than I do and their propensity for using 60 words rather than just a few is a big plus in my book. Within a very short time you feel as if you’ve known total strangers all your life. Irresistible.

What do you look for in an airport experience?
Free Wi-Fi and electric plug points to recharge. Variety of restaurants and shops. And the hope that some day, huge queues at Customs will be eliminated. When the Iris ID machines were introduced I thought they were the answer, but they seem to have been discarded. In our electronic age, it seems bonkers that we haven’t yet found a solution. Caveats aside, I love airports because they are always charged with the anticipation of travelling somewhere or the promise of returning home.

What are your golden tips for aspiring actors?
You need an enormous amount of determination and resilience because it’s a profession characterised by rejection. Statistically, only a very small percentage of actors are regularly employed, so only pursue it if it’s something you feel absolutely impelled to do. Be ruthlessly honest with yourself about whether you have talent or not.

What inspired you to bring out Jack perfume?
I have been led by my nose all my life and compulsively sniffed everything in sight, from food to flowers, flesh, fabric, car bonnets, furniture and everything else in between. I tried to make perfume from gardenia and rose petals, boiled in sugar water and stored in jam jars, when I was growing up, and finally, four decades later, created Jack. A unisex combination of all my favourite ingredients, including lime, mandarin, pepper, nutmeg, clove, vetiver, tobacco, musk and frankincense, Jack is my ‘signature’ in scent.

What other exciting projects do you have coming up?
I’m launching Jack Covent Garden fragrance this summer and am currently filming a ten-part series of Jekyll & Hyde, playing the head of the secret service. The original story has been reimagined by actor/writer Charlie Higson. It’s set in the 1930s and centres around Jekyll’s grandson.

Jack by Richard E Grant, a unisex fragrance and 100% British – available now in World Duty Free, Heathrow Terminal 5. Reserve and collect yours with Heathrow.com/boutique.

HeathrowBiz.com – 8th April, 2015

The actor turned entrepreneur launched his new fragrance, Jack Perfume, at Terminal 5’s World Duty Free store – and it’s available now.

Film star Richard, 57, launched his first perfume last year. And now a year later, he’s smelling the sweet smell of success with his new fragrance. So much so he’s already planning a follow-up this summer called Jacks Covent Garden. And as he gets excited about his favourite smells, the actor poses with some of the ingredients he’s been using for the new fragrance.

Speaking about having Jack Perfume on the shelves at Heathrow, Richard said: “I can’t count the airports I passed through while filming the two series of Hotel Secrets and dreamt of one day seeing Jack available. I’m thrilled to be selling in Heathrow Terminal 5.”

Speaking about his love of perfume he added: “I have been led by my nose all my life and compulsively sniffed everything in sight, from food to flowers, flesh, fabric, car bonnets, furniture and everything else in between. I tried to make perfume from gardenia and rose petals, boiled in sugar water and stored in jam jars, when I was growing up, and finally, four decades later, created Jack. A unisex combination of all my favourite ingredients, including lime, mandarin, pepper, nutmeg, clove, vetiver, tobacco, musk and frankincense, Jack is my signature in scent.”

Jack Perfume on sale at World Duty Free at Heathrow’s Terminal 5.

Jack Perfume comes in a Union Jack Bag which has a luggage label that can be personalised.

Richard was also a judge for the ‘Junior Jasmines’ category at this year’s UK Jasmine Awards. More of which can be read here.

Richard’s new fragrance Jack Perfume is available at World Duty Free in Terminal 5.
Pictures via @JackPerfume and @WorldDutyFree on Twitter

The Daily Mail – 28th March, 2015

‘My features suggest I’ve just heard bad news. But it doesn’t mean I’m not laughing inside’: Richard E Grant gives his definitive answers to our most probing questions.

By Rob McGibbon

We ask a celebrity a set of devilishly probing questions – and only accept THE definitive answer. This week it’s actor Richard E Grant’s turn.

Richard E Grant is in this week’s hot seat for the definite article

The biggest regret you wish you could amend… I’m haunted by the moment a doctor told my father, Henrik, that he only had months to live after he was diagnosed with brain cancer. To witness his absolute loss of hope was devastating.

The temptation you wish you could resist… Eating Christmas puddings once a month throughout the year. I stockpile them in the January sales.

The book that holds an everlasting resonance… Alice In Wonderland, which I’ve returned to time and time again since I was a boy. It’s a perfect guide to the British sensibility with sublime imaginative leaps and droll wit.

Richard’s prized possessions are his Pelham puppets

The priority activity if you were the Invisible Man for a day… I’d fly around releasing fragrances that would prompt people to live their dreams. Nothing beats olfactory nirvana!

The prized possession you value above all others… My Pelham Puppets. I had a marionette theatre in my parents’ garage in Swaziland, where I grew up. I have 40 now and keep buying more.

The pet hate that makes your hackles rise… Casual racism.

The film you can watch time and time again… Woody Allen’s Bullets Over Broadway never ceases to make me laugh with its skewering of actors’ egos.

The person who has influenced you most… My wife Joan Washington. We began a conversation in 1982 and we haven’t stopped talking since. Her kindness and compassion never cease to surprise and amaze me.

The figure from history for whom you’d most like to buy a pie and a pint… Neil Armstrong. I was 12 when he stepped onto the moon in 1969 and hearing his voice from space on the radio made me want to be an astronaut. I’d love to hear every detail of his trip.

The piece of wisdom you would pass on to a child… Everyone was your age once. Even if they appear crinkly, inside they’re not.

The poem that touches your soul… The Hollow Men by TS Eliot. It’s deeply moving.

The unlikely interest that engages your curiosity… Smelling things! I love putting my nose to flowers, food, fabric or the necks of people I like. Last year I fulfilled a dream and brought out my own fragrance, Jack.

The treasured item you lost and wish you could have again… In 1986 our first daughter was born at 27 weeks and only lived for half an hour. You never get over the loss of a child, you learn to navigate your way around it.

The unending quest that drives you on… My father instilled in me that heaven and hell are to be found here on earth and that you only get one crack at it, so grab it while you can.

The misapprehension about yourself you wish you could erase… Like everyone with a long face, my features suggest I’ve just heard bad news but it doesn’t mean I’m not laughing inside.

The event that altered the course of your life and character… Getting the part of Withnail in Withnail And I in 1986. If Daniel Day-Lewis had accepted it when offered, I wouldn’t be answering these questions now!

Richard would love to quiz Neil Armstrong about his trip

The crime you would commit knowing you could get away with it… I’d round up despots, starting with Mugabe, lock them in a room, each armed to the teeth, and let them sort themselves out.

The song that means most to you… When I was a waiter in Covent Garden in 1982, The Eurythmics’ Sweet Dreams played endlessly. It inspired me to believe that I’d make it as an actor.

The way you would spend your fantasy 24 hours, with no travel restrictions… I’d spend all day with Joan and our daughter Olivia, 24, beginning at dawn with breakfast on the terrace of The Gritti Palace hotel in Venice – fruit salad, croissants and orange juice.

This would be followed by swimming on Macaroni beach in Mustique and lunch at La Petite Maison in Nice – truffle macaroni, tuna with their special sauce and mashed potatoes, then mango sorbet. I’d have an hour’s kip in a hammock at Steve Martin’s house in Beverly Hills, then a bike ride along Venice Beach with Steve giving a commentary on everyone we pass.

Dinner would be with James Brolin and Barbra Streisand at their house in Malibu. Later I’d dance at the House On Fire club in Swaziland, then sleep in a tent at the Mkhaya game reserve. The next day would begin at 5am in a hot-air balloon over the Masai Mara in Kenya to view game.

The happiest moment you will cherish forever… The final day of filming my autobiographical film Wah-Wah in the Mkhaya game reserve in 2004 when a family of elephants appeared. It happened just as the film ran out.

The saddest time that shook your world… My father’s death at the age of 52 when I was 24. Although he was an alcoholic I remember his charm and provocative sense of humour most.

The unfulfilled ambition that continues to haunt you… I’d like to write and direct another film.

The philosophy that underpins your life… The here and now is everything. Make the most of it while you can.

The order of service at your funeral… I’m not ready to go yet!

The way you want to be remembered… He was here and had the ride of his life.

The Plug… Richard E Grant’s 7 Deadly Sins is on Fridays, 9pm, Discovery Channel. Discover his fragrance at jackperfume.co.uk.

Selfridges & Co. – 26th March, 2015

Meet Richard E. Grant as he launches his exclusive brand new fragrance, Jack Covent Garden, at Selfridges Exchange Square, on 18 April.

Jack Covent Garden, which is inspired by the London fruit and flower market with notes of orange, lime, iris and musk, is the second scent from Richard after the success of ‘Jack’ last year.

After emigrating to the UK from Swaziland Grant’s first job was as a waiter in Covent Garden, which up until 1973 was the fruit, flower and vegetable market iconically celebrated in the opening scenes of ‘My Fair Lady’ and historically the centre of London’s theatre district.

Said Richard E. Grant: “Even though I was waiting tables, whilst hustling for acting work, I felt like I had landed in the right place. Annie Lennox first hit ‘Sweet Dreams are Made of This’ was the soundtrack of my days, and has proved auspicious!”

Following the success of his first fragrance JACK, which instantly became a best seller when it launched last April, Grant set about creating a second scent inspired by his days in Covent Garden.

“As actors always receive fruit and flowers on opening nights, and like opera singers, use ginger to keep their throats in good order, my idea was to create a scent that conjured up this fresh fruit, flower and vegetable combination.”

Spending time in Grasse, and voraciously sampling as many perfume oils as possible in pursuit of ‘notes’ that evoked and captured his sense of this historic district, Grant worked in tandem with ‘Nose’ Alienor Massenet in Paris who expertly refined the formulas.

As mentioned earlier, JACK- COVENT GARDEN has top notes of orange, lime, and ginger with middle notes of rose, pimento and peppercorn, and base notes of carrot oil, Iris and musk.

JACK COVENT GARDEN, comes in an 100ml bottle and is ‘sleeved’ inside a vintage style Union Jack calico drawstring bag with a luggage label attached to personalise once opened.

Richard will be on counter from 2 – 3pm to meet visitors, to sign bottles and to explain more about the inspiration behind Jack Covent Garden.

I’ve also included a picture of REG’s character in Dig (below), sourced from the show’s Facebook page.

DiscoveryUK.com – 20th March, 2015

Celebrated actor Richard E. Grant talks about how he pursued his dream of acting and how he makes his world bigger.