Richard E. Grant found starring in 'Downton Abbey' very "odd".
The 'Withnail and I' actor has long been a fan of the ITV period drama so jumped at the chance to play art historian Simon Bricker in the upcoming fifth series of the show, but once he found himself on set with the likes of Dame Maggie Smith and Elizabeth McGovern, the experience became totally surreal.
Speaking at the Fragrance Foundation Awards 2014 in London last night (15.06.14), he explained: "It's just slightly odd when you've been a fan of the show and you suddenly find you're one of the characters. It's like going through the fourth wall. I had a really enjoyable time."
Richard revealed he had already finished filming his guest role, which spans four episodes and sees him play a friend of the Crawley family.
However, he denied recent reports he had got into trouble with show creator Julian Fellowes for being "very naughty" by posting pictures of himself on set on Twitter.
He said: "That was fabricated. There's an embargo on the storylines but I didn't actually reveal anything."
Following on from his recent guest role on hit show 'Girls', Richard revealed he has landed yet another major US TV gig.
The 57-year-old actor teased: "I'm about to go to Israel for five months for an American TV series."
Richard was wearing a snazzy Union Jack print jacket at the fragrance event to celebrate the success of his first scent, Jack.
He joked: "My perfume's called Jack and it comes with a Union Jack bag, so I'm a one man brand."
Alesha Dixon, Jodi Albert and 'Strictly' dancers James and Ola Jordan joined Richard on the red carpet at The Brewery last night.

Jennifer Lopez is "fearless" with love.
The 'I Luh Ya Papi' hitmaker - who is in a relationship with dancer Casper Smart and has been married three times - is not "afraid" to venture into a new relationship and knows life is never easy so will always "push" herself to do better to make herself happy.
She said: "I am fearless with love; You have to be. You can't be afraid to fall and try again; That's not just in love, that's in life. You have try and keep pushing.
"It's not an easy road but you have to keep going every day. You're almost there and all of a sudden you're there.
"I feel the same way about love; You have to keep pushing through and eventually there will be light."
Jennifer's new album 'A.K.A.' is inspired by the "physical and emotional" journey she has been on since splitting from third husband Marc Anthony - the father of her six-year-old twins Max and Emme - in July 2011, and she admits she has since discovered she is much "stronger" than she thought.
She told Billboard magazine: "It's been a transitional couple of years for me. After I left 'American Idol' the fist time, I went through the break-up with Marc and then I decided to take on a world tour for the first time.
"It was an experience. A physical and emotional journey. When I got back I realised, 'Wow I survived all of that and I'm OK. I'm actually better and stronger than I thought I was. I need to get back in the studio.'
"Everything that I learned about myself and [about] love is what this album became."

Justin Bieber reportedly called a woman a "b***h" for trying to take his picture.
The 'Believe' hitmaker got into an altercation with Melinda Giel-Murray at Circle K Stables in Burbank, California on Monday (12.05.14), just hours before he allegedly tried to take a woman's phone at a mini-golf course.
Melinda told TMZ she was at the stables with her horse when the 20-year-old star arrived to go riding, and as soon as she pulled out her camera, Justin freaked out.
In video footage, he can be heard pointing out Melinda and saying: "...that b***h over there".
The rider went on to say four of the star's security guards surrounded her and tried to "intimidate" her, but she stood her ground and told them there was no law against her taking photographs.
The 'Beauty and a Beat' hitmaker - who she described as acting "very strange and nervous" - then drove to another part of the stable to mount up, which he did without a shirt on.
It was revealed earlier this week that police are investigating claims the Canadian star tried to steal a woman's phone at Sherman Oaks Castle Park.
The unnamed woman claimed Justin demanded to see her phone so he could delete the pictures however when she refused he grabbed it from her bag.
She began "wrestling" with the star for the phone, and although he "ripped it out of her hands" he wasn't able to access the pictures because the phone was locked.
Justin then demanded she unlock it and she proved she hadn't taken any snaps.
The singer has not yet been questioned by police over the alleged incident, but later took to twitter to apparently deny the claims.

Bono celebrated his 54th birthday with a star-studded party on May 10.
The U2 frontman invited everyone from Pharrell Williams to Jared Leto to help him mark the special day with a giant houseparty at the band's manager Guy Oseary's house in Los Angeles.
A guest informed Us Weekly: "There were a lot of surprise performances - Herbie Hancock came to surprise him, he got up on stage to sing ... and then Williams joined him to sing 'Happy'."
Pharrell told Bono on stage: "You've changed the world with everything you do. You give people hope, especially with your song 'Sunday, Bloody Sunday.' "
Bono replied: "Well, if we just keep singing 'Happy,' we won't need songs like 'Sunday, Bloody Sunday!'"
Party-goers were treated to a special underwater performance from illusionist David Blaine, who attempted to hold his breath in a glass tank for over 10 minutes.
While he failed to complete the impossible feat, he apparently did manage to smoke an e-cigarette and eat a banana underwater.
The bash also marked father-of-four Bono's daughter Jordan's 25th birthday so he arranged a special performance from her favourite rapper ASAP Rocky, who serenaded her with 'Happy Birthday'.
Meanwhile, Bono was surprised by his friends Charlize Theron and Sean Penn, who sent him an unusual gift since they couldn't attend the event in person.
The Irish singer was stunned to see a shaving cream performer arrive at the party, who amazed him by transforming his body into different characters using just shaving cream.

Emily Blunt took Tom Cruise to a "sex club".
The 31-year-old actress - who has three-month-old daughter Hazel with husband John Krazinski - and her spouse invited her 'Edge of Tomorrow' co-star to join them for Matt Damon's birthday celebration, but while the actor was expecting a "civilised dinner", they were planning a night at notorious London nightspot The Box.
Speaking to talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, Emily said: "It was the disgusting Matt Damon's birthday party. What a loser. John, my husband, wanted to do something crazy for him.
"I don't know if you've heard of this club called The Box? It's kind of a burlesque sex club. There's weird things that go on and make you cringe.
"Tom loves Matt, and Tom wanted to come. He thought it was going to be a nice, civilised dinner. So I emailed him and was like, 'Tom, change of plan. We're now gonna go to this club called The Box. Just wanted you to know, you may not be comfortable with this. It's kind of like a sex club.' "
However, the 'Mission: Impossible' star proved to be a good sport and was happy to join the group at the club.
Emily added: "He emailed back and went 'Jesus Christ! Well just don't let me walk out of there alone!' which we didn't."

Nicolas Cage will star in supernatural thriller 'Pay the Ghost'. The 50-year-old star will play a New York University English professor whose 8-year-old son mysteriously vanishes from a Halloween day parade, reports Variety.com. The film will be dir...

Penelope Cruz plans to take a step back from acting.
The 40-year-old star - who is currently producing 'Ma Ma'- wants to do more work behind the camera where she'll be focussing on making a movie to build a "future in cinema".
She told Variety.com: "I want to build what could be my future in cinema, not always being in front of the camera. I'd also like to direct a feature, maybe 10 years from now. For now, I'm directing commercial and video-clips - I love that. And it's the best way to learn. I want to go slowly, step by step. I'm following the whole production process very closely, from the film's inception."
Cruz also stars in 'Ma Ma' as Magda, a mother who tries to overcome a tragedy she's experienced, and insists she likes playing characters who are different to herself.
She added: "Maybe, she battles for things because all sorts of things happen to her. She's optimistic. But her pace and energy are different. Acting interests me a great deal more than playing someone very much like myself. The further away she is from me, the more possibilities that offers as an actress. That's acting - the beauty of risk, facing up to the unknown, placing yourself in the skin of someone you invite into your life for a time, someone who isn't you."
Cruz last hit the big screen in last year's 'The Counselor' alongside A-List cast including Michael Fassbender, Cameron Diaz, Javier Bardem and Brad Pitt.

Halle Berry will star in thriller 'Kidnap'.
The 47-year-old actress - who has two children, seven-month-old son with husband Olivier Martinez and six-year-old daughter Nahla from her previous relationship with Gabriel Aubry - will play a mother who is on a mission to rescue her kidnapped son, it has been reported.
Luis Prieto will direct from a script by Knate Gwaltney, while Lorenzo di Bonaventura's Di Bonaventura Pictures is producing alongside Erik Howsam.
Lotus Entertainment, who are selling the project internationally, are delighted to be joining forces with Bonaventura who worked on 2013's 'Red 2', 2014's 'Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit' and forthcoming 'Transformers: Age of Extinction', among other projects.
The company's chiefs Bill Johnson and Jim Seibel said: "Lorenzo is a renowned producer in the blockbuster action world, and we're very excited to be working on such an exciting high-concept project with him. We look forward to seeing him join forces with the incredible talent of Halle Berry and Luis Prieto on a project that is sure to appeal to audiences worldwide."
Berry will also executive produce with Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, Joey Tufaro, Claudia Bluemhuber, Colin Bates, Florian Dargel, Johnson and Seibel.
Berry will next hit the big screen in 'X-Men: Days of Future Past' where she will reprise her role as Storm.

The Foo Fighters will star in a documentary following the making of their new album.
The five-piece band have announced an eight-part TV series airing on HBO and directed by the band's frontman Dave Grohl.
Each episode will follow the 'Rope' rockers' journey to a different US city - Chicago, Austin, Nashville, Los Angeles, Seattle, New Orleans, Washington DC and New York - where they'll visit legendary studios to record tracks for their eighth album.
The documentary will act as a follow up to Dave's award-winning directorial debut 'Sound City' which followed the history of the recording studio 'Sound City Studios' in Los Angeles, California and opened to commercial and critical acclaim in January last year.
Michael Lombardo, president of HBO Programming, said: "Dave's heartfelt passion for this project is contagious and his talent as a musician and filmmaker is undeniable. We are excited to go on this journey with him and the Foo Fighters for this insider's look at how regional music inspired them to create their own new music."
The album - which is yet to be named - has been described by Dave as "a love letter to the history of American music" - and features vocals from local musical guests from each of the eight cities.
Speaking to BBC Radio 1's Zane Lowe about their latest offering, he previously said: "I know what it sounds like and I honestly think the entire concept is really going to take people by surprise and it sounds nuts."

The Beach Boys will embark on a tour to mark the 50th anniversary of their single 'Fun Fun Fun'.
The 'Good Vibrations' hitmakers have announced they will be celebrating the landmark anniversary of their 1964 track by reuniting for a number of shows in the United States and the United Kingdom, and percussionist Mike Love has confessed they're doing it for their fans.
He said: "Year after year, it's been a great source of inspiration to see the happiness our music has brought to multiple generations of Beach Boys fans in so many parts of the world."
The band will introduce singer and guitarist Jeffrey Foskett, who's worked with the group since 1981, as a permanent member of the group as they begin their tour in Louisville, Kentucky on May 24 followed by a number of performances at European festivals, including two shows at London's Hampton Court Palace in June.
Foskett replaces Love's son Christian who left the band to pursue a solo career, and the official line-up for the anniversary tour will include Love, Foskett, David Marks and founding members Al Jardine and Brian Wilson.
The band previously reunited in 2012 to mark the 50th anniversary of the group itself.

Prince wowed fans by becoming a DJ to mix-up his own tracks during the opening night of his 'Hit and Run Part II' tour.
The legendary musician kicked off the run of concerts at Birmingham's LG Arena on Thursday night (15.05.14) and he jumped into a booth mid-concert and began mixing up several of his songs, including 'The Most Beautiful Girl In The World' and 'When Doves Cry' with 'Sign O' The Times', which sent the crowd wild.
After a false start when the lights went down twice but came back on again, Prince stepped onto the stage and released a handful of white and purple balloons before launching straight into 'FunkNRoll', backed by his all-female band 3RDEYEGIRL.
'Take Me With You', 'Raspberry Beret' and 'U Got That Look' got the fans on their feet before he began gyrating and sliding across the stage to hit 'Kiss', changing the lyrics to, "You don't need to watch Real Housewives".
After 'Let's Go Crazy' whipped the audience into a frenzy, he announced "soundcheck's over", as fans screamed with excitement.
Confetti cannons were let off and track 'Guitar' went down a storm, while the band proved not only can they play, but the women can sing.
Prince - dressed in loose-fitting white trousers and a white long-sleeved top with the band's artwork emblazoned on it - also thanked the audience for not trying to take photographs of him on stage.
"We want to see your faces," he said, before asking them to use their mobiles to create a spectacular sea of twinkling lights.
A slowed down version of 'Little Red Corvette' and '1999' were highlights of the incredible 34-song set, along with 'Purple Rain', which he played as more confetti showered the audience.
"Glad to be of service," he told fans, "I told you we were coming back".
After the encore he came back on stage again and announced the band had a strict curfew but were going to play until they were cut off, powering through a cover of Wild Cherry's 'Play That Funky Music'.
Prince - who in February thrilled London with a series of surprise guerilla gigs - takes his arena tour to the Manchester Phones 4u Arena tonight (16.05.14) and Saturday (17.05.14), The SSE Hydro in Glasgow on May 22 and Leeds' First Direct Arena on May 23.

Britain's Prince Harry joked with a landlady and offered to buy her pub for £650,000.
The 29-year-old prince ended up at Pat's Maritime Inn in Devon, south west England with a group of mates on a stag weekend and liked the place so much he offered to purchase it.
Pat Seddon told The Daily Star newspaper: "Harry told me how much he liked the pub and I joked he could buy it.
"I told him how much I would sell it for, £650,000, and he said he would have the cash ready."
However, after she showed real interest the flame-haired royal backed out of the deal.
She explained: "He said he had only £6.50 in his pocket at the moment so, of course, it was a no."
Pat also insisted the stag party was "behaving wonderfully" unlike typically rowdy pre-wedding parties.
She added: "They did tell me they were on a stag weekend and introduced the groom. But they were behaving wonderfully, not like your usual stag party.
"Everyone was impeccable. I have no idea what Harry specifically was drinking.
"There was lots of drinks going to the table but it was for a lot of boys. There were a lot of beers and spirits going back and forth."