Jackass star Jason Acuña has criticised Hugh Grant’s casting as an Oompa Loompa in the new Wonka movie.
In a teaser for the forthcoming prequel to the 1964 Roald Dahl novel, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, viewers see Wonka meeting Grant’s CGI-ed character for the first time.
After a young Wonka reveals he doesn’t know who the people from Loompaland are, the 62-year-old, who is playing the small humans that are workers at Wonka’s factory, is seen taking out an instrument before dancing in a bid to inform him.
In response to Grant’s role in the film, Acuña, known by his stage name “Wee Man”, reacted sceptically to the British star’s casting in a now-viral TikTok.
The 50-year-old, who has dwarfism, said in the post: “So I guess, Hugh Grant, you’re now identifying as a little person. Interesting.”
The American star’s comments echo those made by actor and comedian George Coppen, who spoke out against the casting in the wake of the film’s trailer.
Coppen, best known for his role in Netflix’s The School for Good and Evil, said that he believed the role should’ve gone to an actor with dwarfism.
He told the BBC: “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.
“A lot of actors [with dwarfism] feel like we are being pushed out of the industry we love. One door is being closed but they have forgotten to open the next one.”
He also expressed his opinion on Instagram following the trailer’s release and noted that in the previous two movies based on Dahl’s novel, the 1971 and 2005 incarnations, Oompa Loompas “have been played by dwarves but this time round they have decided to take work away from us”.
Coppen said that while “some people will say that roles like this are demeaning and we should be playing more ‘normal’ roles”, he added: “We aren’t getting offered those roles.”
The film tells of the “vivid, mythical beginnings of the imaginative young inventor before he becomes the renowned scrumdiddlyumptious Mozart of chocolate,” according to Warner Bros.
It also stars a plethora of other big names, including Olivia Colman, Sally Hawkins, Rowan Atkinson, Matt Lucas and Keegan-Michael Key.
