FILM · 1987 · UK
Withnail & I
- Directed by
- Bruce Robinson
- Runtime
- 108 min
- Studio
- Handmade Films, Cineplex-Odeon Films
91 archived facts 7 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026
Two out-of-work actors -- the anxious, luckless Marwood and his acerbic, alcoholic friend, Withnail -- spend their days drifting between their squalid flat, the unemployment office and the pub. When they take a holiday "by mistake" at the country house of Withnail's flamboyantly gay uncle, Monty, they encounter the unpleasant side of the English countryside: tedium, terrifying locals and torrential rain.
91 Interesting Facts About Withnail & I
Interesting Facts (9)
- #001
Daniel Day-Lewis was offered but declined the role of Withnail. Among the other actors who tested for it were Kenneth Branagh and Edward Tudor-Pole.
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Originally written by Bruce Robinson as a novel. Its conclusion is quite different from the film's: after his soliloquy in the rain at the park, Withnail returns to the flat he shared with Marwood, loads the rifle he took from Monty's country home, pours some wine (also taken from Monty) down its barrel, then puts the muzzle to his lips and drinks. He then pulls the trigger on the gun, killing himself.
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Production Story (38)
- #010
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Michael Elphick (Jake) was an old friend of director Bruce Robinson and was offered the part without needing to audition. Elphick could only spare one day to film his role (which was filmed in Hertfordshire) so for the Cumbrian location shots of Jake walking away from Monty's cottage, Robinson had to double for him.
- #012
- #013
The first preview screening appeared to be a total disaster - the audience sat there stony-faced, never laughing once. It was only after the screening had concluded that a distraught Bruce Robinson discovered that the audience was comprised entirely of non-English speaking German tourists who were all staying at a hotel nearby.
- #014
Handmade Films kept back £30,000 of Bruce Robinson's fee to pay for the scenes when Withnail and Marwood are driving through the rainstorm to get to Uncle Monty's cottage. The producers didn't believe these scenes were needed, but the director considered them essential. He was never reimbursed his money after the film's success.
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"Fork It!" was the line that secured Richard E. Grant the part of Withnail. Director Bruce Robinson knew in his head exactly how the line should be uttered by the actor (as with the Policeman's "Get in the back of the van!"), and Grant delivered it exactly how he envisaged without being prompted.
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- #019
Sleddale Hall, the building that stood in for Monty's cottage, was offered for sale in January 2009; a trust has been created by fans who wish to collectively purchase the building for its preservation as a piece of British film history. It was sold at auction for £265,000 on 16 February 2009. The starting price was £145,000. It was bought by Sebastian Hindley, who owns the Mardale Inn in the nearby village of Bampton, which did not feature in the film. Hindley was unable to raise the necessary finances and in August 2009 the property was resold for an undisclosed sum to Tim Ellis, an architect from Kent, whose original bid failed at the auction.
- #020
Paul McGann was Bruce Robinson's first choice for "I", but he was fired during rehearsals because Robinson decided McGann's Liverpool accent was wrong for the character. Several other actors read for the role, but McGann eventually persuaded Robinson to re-audition him, promising to affect a Home Counties accent. He quickly won back the part.
- #021
The name "Withnail" came from man called Jonathan Withnall that Bruce Robinson knew as a little boy. He was a local character who reversed his Aston Martin into a police car in a pub car park. Robinson said he's never been able to spell very well, and spelled his last name "Withnail" by mistake. The character of Withnail was based on Robinson's close friend, actor Vivian MacKerrell who died of throat cancer in 1995. They met at The Central School of Speech and Drama in 1964. The pair lived with David Dundas, Michael Feast and others in a Victorian townhouse bought by Dundas's parents in Camden Town, London.
- #022
First time director Bruce Robinson said that the day before filming began the film crew were all in a cafe where they had agreed to meet up for an introduction to each other. Robinson said he stood up on a table and said, "My name is Bruce Robinson, I am the director of this film and I want you all to know I haven't got a clue what I'm doing. So I want you all to feel free to speak to me of you think I'm doing anything wrong or can do it in a better way once filming starts". He felt that being honest about being a rookie director would help unify the crew and pull in the same direction.
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- #029
In the scene where Withnail tips the lighter fluid bottle to his head, the bottle, which had been filled with water in rehearsals, was filled with vinegar on the day of shooting. Bruce Robinson chose vinegar to get a more realistic expression from Grant; the vomiting scene, however, was required by the script and was faked.
- #030
In the car interiors during the motorway scenes, Paul McGann is at the wheel, while in some exterior shots the director, Bruce Robinson, can be seen. McGann was a little nervous on the motorway because he had just got his licence; also, stalling the car as they set off from London was accidental and was used in the film.
- #031
- #032
Sleddale Hall, used as Monty's cottage, was put up for sale in January 2009; fans set up a trust to preserve the building as a piece of British cinema history. Sold at auction in February 2009 for £265,000, the building was transferred to the architect Tim Ellis the same year because of financial problems.
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In the scene where they set off for Penrith, after Marwood lowers the lenses of his glasses and drives towards the Jaguar railway bridge, Bruce Robinson's rare Aston Martin DB4 convertible can be seen in the background. The same car also appears in the Bagleys' garage in How to Get Ahead in Advertising (1989).
- #039
Richard E. Grant and Paul McGann say they did not realise for a long time how popular the film was abroad. Grant says he understood the situation in France when, while stopped at the roadside with friends, someone shouted 'Scrubbers!' from a passing car. McGann says he grasped the film's impact when someone in Canada asked him, 'Did you go on holiday by mistake?'
- #040
In a statement he made in 2010, Paul McGann said that some viewers believed the film had actually been shot in the 1960s. McGann stressed that although the film came out of the mid-1980s, it feels as though it belongs to a different era, like a Smiths record. According to him, the production values, iconography and style never make the film look like an 80s production.
- #041
- #042
Although Paul McGann's character is credited on screen only as '...and I', the script names him 'Marwood'. It is a common misconception that the character's first name is Peter; this myth stems from a misunderstanding in a dialogue set while drinking at Monty's house. In the film, the name Marwood can only be made out with difficulty, written backwards on the envelope he receives at Crow Crag.
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- #046
Marwood reads 'Journey's End', the 1928 dramatic play by the English playwright R.C. Sherriff. The play is set in the trenches in France at the end of the First World War and follows a group of British soldiers before a major offensive. Marwood later announces that he has landed the lead role of Captain Stanhope; Withnail, meanwhile, says he will have to cut his hair for a soldier role. In the final scene, Marwood's hair really is short.
- #047
Behind the Scenes (13)
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- #050
The owners of 1960s period vehicles seen on the.motorway coming from and to London (actually filmed in 1986 on a then unopened section of the M25) were contacted by an appeal on a London radio station. The cash strapped producers wanted period correct cars to appear alongside Marwood's Jaguar car in these scenes but didn't know how to go about it in an economical way until a member of the production staff suggested it. The owners of the said vehicles were paid £50 per vehicle for a few hours filming, with the owners driving their own vehicles in the film.
- #051
- #052
In the tearoom scene, Richard E. Grant breaks out laughing. This wasn't scripted, but every time he spoke, he could hear the snorting of the dogs belonging to the old ladies at the table behind. He thought that this was someone laughing and kept corpsing. After too many re-takes, the director gave up and kept the laughter in.
- #053
In the scene where Withnail (Richard E. Grant) ostensibly downs a bottle of lighter fluid, the can, which in rehearsals had been full of water, was full of vinegar. Director Bruce Robinson used vinegar on the take to get a better facial reaction from Grant. The vomiting was scripted and faked.
- #054
During the motorway scenes, in the interior shots of the car, Paul McGann is seen to be driving, but in some exterior shots, the driver is Bruce Robinson, the director. The reason for this is that McGann had only just passed his driving test when the film was made, and so was a bit wobbly on the motorway. Also, as he pulls away in London to set off for Cumbria, he stalls the car. This was unintentional, and was included anyway.
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The owners of the 1960s-era vehicles seen on the motorway on the journey to and from London were reached through an announcement on a London radio station. With a limited budget, the producers tried this method to find period-appropriate vehicles economically, paying £50 per vehicle and filming the owners as they drove their own cars.
Characters & Cast (11)
- #061
Withnail is a ferocious drunk, but he was played by the teetotaler Richard E. Grant. Finally convinced that he needed to get drunk at least once to have the proper insight into the character, Grant "filled a tumbler with vodka and topped it off with a bit of Pepsi", then swilled the whole thing down. He was teased the next day by costar Paul McGann and director Bruce Robinson, who assured him that he would never be so funny on film again.
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Although Withnail is a hardened drunk, Richard E. Grant, who played him, had never touched a drop of alcohol in his life. Convinced he needed to get drunk at least once to gain a suitable perspective for the role, Grant filled a glass with vodka, added a little Pepsi and downed it all in one go. The next day his co-star Paul McGann and director Bruce Robinson teased him, telling him he would never be that funny again.
- #067
During the Covid lockdown in 2020, Richard E. Grant posted a series of videos online titled 'Withnail and Isolation'. In these videos he repeated his lines from the film, and in one clip he delivered the line 'Monty, you terrible cunt!' while maintaining social distance with Bruce Robinson.
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Handmade Films set aside 30,000 pounds from Bruce Robinson's fee for shooting the scenes in which Withnail and Marwood go to Uncle Monty's house in the rainstorm. Although the producers considered these scenes unnecessary, they were indispensable to the director; despite the film's success, Robinson never got this money back.
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Easter Eggs & References (11)
- #072
Despite Paul McGann's speculation on the DVD commentary that Withnail might have gone to Stowe, both he and Uncle Monty are supposed to be old boys of another public school: Harrow. The first hint of this is the print of Harrow hanging up in the Camden flat (it's the one of the redbrick building just next to the door frame leading to the kitchen), but the real clincher is when later, at Monty's house, Withnail lies that Marwood went to "the other place", to which Monty replies, "Oh, you went to Eton!" Members of Eton and Harrow often refer to pupils of the other in this manner.
- #073
- #074
Although credited on screen only as "...and I", Paul McGann's character is named as "Marwood" in the script. It is widely believed that the character's first name is Peter; although this is incorrect. This myth arose as the result of a misheard line of dialogue when Withnail and Marwood are enjoying drinks at Monty's house. The only occasion Marwood's name appears in the film is when it can be just be made out, written upside down, on the envelope he receives at Crow Crag.
- #075
Near the film's start, Withnail reads a newspaper article about a young actor who's got his big break working for a famous Italian director, and comments bitterly that he'll have got the part because the director fancies him. This is apparently an autobiographical detail from Bruce Robinson, whose first movie role was in Romeo and Juliet (1968), and who has spoken about his unhappy experiences with director Franco Zeffirelli.
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In the grotty apartment shared by the two main characters, there can be seen numerous photos on the wall of the kitchen of classic Hollywood cinema as well as a reproduction poster for Charles Chaplin's Modern Times (1936). A later scene in the bathroom has a poster displayed on the wall of the iconic image of Harold Lloyd hanging from a clock from the side of a building in Safety Last! (1923).
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- #081
In the scene where they set off for Penrith, in the shot where the Jaguar drives away towards a railway bridge after Marwood flips the shades down on his glasses, Bruce Robinson's rare Aston Martin DB4 convertible can be seen parked in the background on the right hand side immediately before the bridge. This car also appears in the Bagleys' garage in How to Get Ahead in Advertising (1989)
- #082
Contains a major spoiler — show
Danny (Ralph Brown) says "We are 91 days away from the end of the decade man". This would place the date of this scene as being about Wednesday October 1st 1969 with the events surrounding the Lake District jaunt having occurred over the last weekend in September and spilling into Monday 29th and Tuesday 30th September 1969 (remember that we are never told how long they were kept in custody by the police).
Deeper Meaning (6)
- #083
Marwood reads "Journey's End," a 1928 dramatic play by English playwright R.C. Sherriff. It is set in the trenches in France at the end of the First World War and follows a band of English soldiers just before a major attack. Marwood later announces he gets the lead part, which is of Captain Stanhope, and Withnail tells him he'll have to get his hair cut because he's playing a soldier. In the final scene, Marwood has his hair cut short.
- #084
Although Paul McGann says in his DVD commentary that Withnail may have attended Stowe, both he and Uncle Monty are in fact alumni of another established school, Harrow. The Harrow edition hanging next to the kitchen door in the Camden flat provides the first clue; the real confirmation comes at Monty's house, when Withnail refers to Marwood as being from "the other place" and Monty replies, "Ah, so you went to Eton!" This is how Eton and Harrow students refer to each other.
- #085
- #086
On the kitchen wall of the dilapidated flat shared by the two main characters hang numerous photographs from classic Hollywood cinema and a reproduction poster of Charles Chaplin's Modern Times (1936). In a scene in the bathroom, a poster of Harold Lloyd's iconic image hanging from a clock in Safety Last! (1923) is on the wall.
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Career & Awards (3)
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Richard E. Grant and Paul McGann have both said that for a long time they had no idea how popular the film was overseas. Grant said he didn't realize until he was in France on a roadside with a few friends and someone shouted "Scrubbers!" from a passing car. McGann said he found out in Canada when someone said to him "Have you gone on holiday by mistake?"
- #091
In 2010, Paul McGann said that he sometimes meets viewers who believe the film was actually shot in the 1960s, saying, "It comes from the mid-1980s, but it sticks out like a Smiths record. Its provenance is from a different era. None of the production values, none of the iconography, none of the style remotely has it down as an 80s picture."
Related pages
- Thor: Ragnarok — Withnail & I comes up in the facts on that page
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