Hugh Grant to Play an Oompa-Loompa in 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' Prequel, Says Media

The film bosses reportedly refused to cast actors with dwarfism as Oompa-Loompas to avoid causing offence.

Famous British actor Hugh Grant is expected to appear in "Wonka," the upcoming movie prequel to "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," based on the 1964 novel by Roald Dahl.

According to The Sun, Grant is going to play an Oompa-Loompa, one of the miniature workers employed at the factory, with the film bosses apparently refusing to cast actors with dwarfism to avoid offending "small people."

The newspaper points out that originally it wasn't clear if Oompa-Loompas would be featured in the film at all due to them previously being branded as a “racist” creation; in the book, they are described as being “imported” by Willie Wonka from the “very deepest darkest part of the African jungle where no white man had been before."

While Dahl himself reportedly defended his writing, saying in 1973 that it did not occur to him that his "depiction of the Oompa-Loompas was racist," he revised his book that same year, making these characters "white hippies."

As MailOnline points out, it's not immediately clear how Grant, who is 5' 11"tall, is going to portray one of these miniature workers.