Screen legend Richard E Grant has faced plenty of discomfort in his long and distinguished career.
But nothing compared to tottering about in high heels as a drag queen for his latest film.
Richard, 62, memorably played a drugged-up out of work actor in a rain-sodden England in 1987’s cult hit Withnail and I.
For Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Richard’s outfits were far more flamboyant and brought a new set of challenges.
He plays Loco Chanelle in the big-screen adaptation of the award-winning stage musical.
Richard, nominated for an Oscar in 2018 for Can You Ever Forgive Me? said playing a drag queen is terrifying.
“I had a hard time in heels,” he admitted. “I could not even stand in them, not after ten minutes. They were Jimmy Choo heels.
“I was hobbling around like a 95-year-old. I was in agony. I don’t know how women wear them.
“I will now wear flats permanently for the rest of my life.”
And getting the rest of the look for shooting was not easy either.
He said: “It took me two hours to get into all my gear. I had lots of make-up for the part so when I had a drink I had to take sips through a straw.”
But the film’s director, Jonathan Butterell, reckoned Richard relished playing dress shop owner Hugo and his drag queen alter ego Loco. Jonathan said the star in drag looked extraordinary.
During filming he said: “Richard’s loving it. It’s something he’s never done before.
“He has watched, I think, a million episodes of RuPaul’s Drag Race to learn how the kids are doing it, and also studying the story of the drag queens of the late 80s and 90s.
“By the time he’s got heels and a wig on he’s about 8ft tall.”
Inspired by the 2011 BBC 3 documentary Jamie: Drag Queen at 16, the film follows young Jamie as he overcomes prejudice and bullies on his council estate in Sheffield to work toward his dream to wear a dress to the school dance.
Like Richard, Max Harwood, 21, who beat 3,500 hopefuls to land the starring role of Jamie, had coaching to walk in heels.
Sharon Horgan, co-creator and star of hit sitcom Catastrophe, plays Jamie’s teacher Miss Hedge. Happy Valley’s Sarah Lancashire is his mother Margaret.
Corrie favourite Shobna Gulati reprises her role of Ray from the cast of the original musical.
It opened at Sheffield’s Crucible in 2017 before moving to the West End in London and was nominated for five Laurence Olivier Awards in 2018.
That year it won Best New Musical at the WhatsOnStage Awards. The film is out on October October 21.
