Withnail and I

“Withnail and I. My number one film of all time. Written and directed by Bruce Robinson, first film. Richard E. Grant’s first film. Paul McGann, who plays the character of I. His actual character’s name is Marwood. About two out-of-work actors in... Living in Camden Town, North London, at the very end of the ’60s. And it’s about change in culture and society and people and these guys going through this time in their life. It’s brilliant. It’s hilarious. It’s profoundly poignant and sad.”

“Withnail and I is one of my favorite films in the entire world. When I was young, I was like, "This is going to be my blueprint for living." I’m sober now, so it didn’t go great. But when I first saw this film, I was like, "This is it." On "Dance Fever," I made a video called "Free"—for a song called "Free"—and Bill Nighy was in it playing my anxiety. There’s lots of theories about Withnail and I that Withnail doesn’t actually exist, he’s a kind of figment of I’s imagination.”

“Withnail and I. The greatest movie about getting drunk ever made. And when it’s over, you either never want to drink again or you want to have a ton of drinks. I think that’s a good test to let you know which way you’re breaking. Richard E. Grant, he drinks in this movie like Gabriel Byrne wears a hat in Miller’s Crossing.”

“Withnail and I is a very interesting film, and very personal to me because the character of Withnail was a personal friend of mine and he actually packed boxes for Paul Smith in my very first warehouse. His name was Vivian MacKerrell.... He had the NOPI tape and he used to stand there like this and go, 'Beautiful, beautiful!' Anyway, the film is brilliant. It’s real. The music’s fantastic. You’ve got to listen to it.”

“Withnail and I is right at the top of that list. I was about 22 years old and a friend of mine had a videotape and said, 'I think you'd like this movie.' And I watched it and then I rewound it and watched it again. I'd never done that before. It's proof that you can make one of the funniest movies ever and it's tragic, it's sad, and heartbreaking, and everyone in it is brilliant.”

“This is my number one: Withnail and I. It’s about two out-of-work actors, and obviously that’s something I can relate to very easily. Bruce Robinson himself was an actor, and a lot of his life is in this movie. I would hasten to say that it is Richard E. Grant’s finest film Performance. And the beautiful Paul McGann. The two of them together are as heartbreaking as they are hilarious. But Richard Griffiths as Uncle Monty, with some of the most quotable lines you will ever find.”