Wonka: Hugh Grant casting criticised by actor with dwarfism

An actor with dwarfism has criticised the makers of the new Wonka film for giving the role of an Oompa-Loompa to Hugh Grant.

George Coppen believes the role should have been given to an actor with dwarfism, as there are relatively few parts for actors with the condition.

Oompa-Loompas were played by actors with dwarfism in two previous films based on Roald Dahl's book.

The BBC has asked the makers of Wonka to comment.

George said he first started thinking about the issue when he watched The Hobbit and saw James Nesbitt playing the dwarf Bofur.

"A lot of actors [with dwarfism] feel like we are being pushed out of the industry we love," he 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."

George, who is 26 and lives in Derby, follows in the footsteps of his actor father Willie Coppen.

Willie started acting when he heard the makers of Return of the Jedi were looking for people to play Ewoks.

He then went on to act in films including The NeverEnding Story and Willow, before taking a hiatus from acting to have children.

Willie and George then both appeared in Disney's 2022 TV series revival of Willow.

George's best known role so far is playing Sweet Cupid in fantasy film The School for Good and Evil.

Wonka will not be released in UK cinemas until December, but Hugh Grant has been pictured as an Oompa-Loompa in the first official trailer.

"They've enlarged his head so his head looks bigger. [I thought] what the hell have you done to him?" said George.

Wonka tells the backstory of chocolatier Willy Wonka, played by US star Timothée Chalamet, and is set before the opening of his famous chocolate factory.

At the end of the trailer, Wonka meets Hugh Grant's green-haired and orange-faced character, who is trapped in a glass jar, saying: "So you're the funny little man who's been following me?"

He responds: "I will have you know that I am a perfectly respectful size for an Oompa-Loompa."

In Roald Dahl's original 1964 novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the Oompa-Loompas were depicted as black African pygmies.

However, this attracted criticism for having overtones of slavery, and by 1973 they had been re-written as having fair skin.

In the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, starring Gene Wilder, the Oompa-Loompas were played by actors with dwarfism and had orange skin and green hair.

In the 2005 film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, starring Johnny Depp, the Oompa-Loompas were all played by Deep Roy and did not have orange skin or green hair.

The BBC has contacted the makers of Wonka and Hugh Grant's publicist for comment.

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