Richard E. Grant Quotes

I've never been aware of the difference between so-called posh actors and working-class actors.

Everybody should have an equal chance - but they shouldn't have a flying start.

We live in a system that espouses merit, equality, and a level playing field, but exalts those with wealth, power, and celebrity, however gained.

I didn't want to land an audition because I was 'The daughter of...' I never wanted to give anyone the opportunity to say, 'You only got the role because of who you are.'

I think the debate around nepotism is futile because I am an outsider and I know that there is no compensation of talent.

No, I never felt cornered because I was not a big director's son or a star's son.

George Karl's son probably wouldn't have made it to the NBA if he wasn't a coach. He would have never got the opportunity.

Equal opportunity for all, special privilege for none.

In a country where there is no privileged class, genius and industry may attain the highest honors.

A meritocracy increases inequality --- by its very nature, it has to.

Monopoly and privilege must be destroyed, opportunity afforded, and competition encouraged. This is Liberty's work.

You can’t be a minority in this society without having someone express disapproval of affirmative action.… We have to prove ourselves and we have to work hard doing it.

It is the greatest of all advantages to enjoy no advantage at all.

Whatever we do, whatever our backgrounds, we've all had some kind of advantage somewhere along the way. Some break that might have gone to someone else. Some edge or inside track we couldn't have counted on.

I reject the idea that the guy who comes out of Yale and goes to work in the projects in Newark is good, and the guy who goes to work for a white-shoe law firm is bad. We're all mountain rangers. We all have peaks and valleys.

The days of noblesse oblige are long behind us, so our elite's entire claim to legitimacy rests on theories of equal opportunity and upward mobility, and the promise that 'merit' correlates with talents and deserts.

It's amazing how uncreative some people can be in this industry. They look at you and go, 'She's not right for the role'... but you've got to give someone a chance to show they're an actress. It's very frustrating.

Government cannot ensure equal results because every individual differs.

I'm all for diversity - but diversity for deserving people.

After a point, it doesn't matter where you come from. There are many star kids who haven't done well in the industry and rank newcomers who have done amazingly well.

The Honours List is accused of being too top heavy, rewarding those born with a silver spoon in their mouth - as if hereditary titles and accidents of birth are incompatible with democracy. But if you stop to think about it, what is more democratic than nature?

But the truth is the meritocracy is a lie. Those born into wealth and privilege will always be able to game the system for their own benefit and their children's own benefit.

I don't want to take names, but there are some people who get everything served on a platter. This is a movie, this is your role, and you have to do it. Some people have to strive so hard to reach where they have and want to.

Some young people can rely on a privileged background and great connections to get work experience, but I don't believe anybody can be guaranteed success nowadays.

I am not arguing for a utopian society; equal opportunity for all, though ideal, is unrealistic.