Hugh Grant hilariously dissed his Wonka co-star Timothée Chalamet during a stop by The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon on Tuesday, and to his face at that. The Call Me By Your Name Oscar nominee donned a disguise to get an honest answer from Grant, but Chalamet’s ruse may have been too successful.
Near the end of the interview, Fallon admitted he had run out of prompts for the 63-year-old British actor and turned it over to questions from the audience. That’s when Chalamet emerged, clad in a floppy Mario Bros.-style mustache and a mechanic’s suit. Atop his head was a baseball cap emblazoned with Love Actually, one of Grant’s best-known romantic comedies.
“Hey, Hugh, happy to see you,” Chalamet said in a half-Southern drawl. “You’ve worked with some incredible actors throughout your career, and I was just curious—where does Timothée Chalamet rank on that list?”
"I’m assuming this is not part of the show that’s going to be broadcast, so I’ll tell you the truth," Grant replied flatly. "To be honest, I didn’t like him. None of us did.
“There’s something just weird about that whole French [thing],” he continued of Chalamet, who is of French descent and speaks the language fluently. “Timothée Chalamet,” Grant imitated the star, in an exaggerated Gallic accent. “Je suis Francais. Do you like me-eh?”
Chalamet recovered nicely and managed to make it off the set before Grant discovered his true identity. “For sure, I’ll catch you later,” the Ladybird actor managed to spit out after Grant's missive, before disappearing into the wings.
Grant, who described himself as “grumpy” during his sit-down with Fallon, has been on a memorable publicity tear for his latest film. In addition to revealing he “hated” acting the part of an Oompa Loompa in Wonka, Grant labeled himself “too old” and “ugly” to continue making the rom-coms he was once known for.
Wonka hits cinemas on December 15. You can watch Grant’s full Tonight Show appearance below.
