Casting Hugh Grant as an Oompa-Loompa in the upcoming musical Wonka is not sitting well with some actors.
While actual dwarf actors played the characters in previous Willy Wonka films, Grant breaks that tradition in the new version.
Dwarf actor George Coppen told the BBC that he feels the choice was an insult to tradition. The new film deals with the fabled candy maker’s earliest days and stars Timothée Chalamet.
“A lot of actors [with dwarfism] feel like we are being pushed out of the industry we love,” Coppen said. “A lot of people, myself included, argue that dwarfs should be offered everyday roles in dramas and soaps. But we aren’t getting offered those roles.
“One door is being closed, but they have forgotten to open the next one.”
Coppen, who appeared in the Disney+ version of “Willow,” also complained about the digital effects used on Grant.
“They’ve enlarged his head so his head looks bigger. [I thought] what the hell have you done to him?” Coppen said.
The Oompa-Loompas have been depicted in various ways in prior films and in the Roald Dahl books they’re based on.
Wonka, which also stars Keegan-Michael Key, Matt Lucas, Sally Hawkins, Rowan Atkinson and Olivia Colman, open in theaters Dec. 15.
Warner Bros. has not commented on Coppen’s statements.
