Never say never! Richard E. Grant is a longtime Barbra Streisand fan, and the Can You Ever Forgive Me? star finally got his moment with the icon, 76, at the 91st Academy Awards on Sunday, February 24.
The actor, 61, was spotted taking a selfie with Streisand at the Oscars ceremony after he and his costar Melissa McCarthy talked to the 10-time Grammy winner. Grant, who wore a red suit to the ceremony, was all smiles during their interaction.
The Downton Abbey alum showed his love for Streisand during the awards show too. When the singer took to the stage to introduce one of the night’s nominees, BlacKkKlansman, Grant grabbed his chest and yelled, “Wow!”
“Being Oscar nominated was pretty amazing, but meeting with @barbrastreisand and having a proper conversation was an absolute astonishment,” he wrote on Instagram on Monday, February 25. “40 carat Gold.”
He isn’t a new fan of the Brooklyn native. In fact, Grant wrote Streisand a letter when he was only 14 — and took a selfie in front of her house last month.
“Anyone who’s a lifelong fan of someone will understand what it felt like for me to take this snap outside @barbrastreisand‘s house in Malibu, having written to her when I was 14 years old,” he captioned his selfie on Instagram at the time. “I asked Security for permission, and he said, ‘It’s a public road, but thanks for asking’. My wife @joandialect has generously accommodated my lifelong fandom.”
He also included a screenshot of his letter, which invited the actress to his family home if she was feeling “tired and pressurized” by her fame.
Streisand tweeted a response to Grant’s letter last month. “Dear Richard, what a wonderful letter you wrote me when u were 14,” she said. “And look at u now! You’re terrific in your latest movie with Melissa. Congratulations and love Barbra.”
In addition to finally meeting Striesand at the Academy Awards, the nominee also posed for pics with Chadwick Boseman, Emilia Clarke and Octavia Spencer.
