The children’s shows that inspired Johnny Depp’s Willy Wonka
Even though the world was hardly clamouring for Roald Dahl’s literary creation to become a staple of cinema beyond the beloved 1971 classic Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, the fact Tim Burton and Paul King’s additions to the character’s oeuvre combined to earn over a billion dollars at the box office would make it pretty clear the confectionary magnate can draw in a huge audience.
Following up Gene Wilder’s iconic performance – which may or may not have carried distinct serial killer vibes – was a tall order, although mileage varies as to whether or not Johnny Depp pulled it off to a satisfying degree. It was ironic that the casting call drew so many names into its orbit, though, only for Burton to settle on the actor everybody expected him to hire anyway.
The most interesting candidate by far was Dwayne Johnson, who confirmed he’d met with Burton about playing the part, but that’s an entirely different conversation for a different time. On the surface, Depp’s subtly sinister but effusively cheery performance conjured Michael Jackson above all others, but the star denied that was the case.
“Everybody’s entitled to think what they want, even while being violently wrong,” he said to IGN. “The weird thing is, that actually never occurred to me, that there would ever be any kind of connection to Michael Jackson. It never entered my mind. I still don’t quite understand it. I guess I can on one level because of the makeup and the children and the fantasyland kind of thing. But it seems weird to me.”
To get into the right mindset, Depp began revisiting the children’s shows of his childhood, stumbling upon the recurring theme that as an adult, he wasn’t entirely convinced the hosts and assorted characters would be anywhere near as effervescent in real life as they were when the cameras were rolling.
“I distinctly remember, even at that age, their speech pattern and their kind of musical quality of the way they’re speaking to the camera, to the children,” he explained. “I thought, even then, it was really strange. I thought it was super bizarre because it was all, ‘Hello, children. How are you? You know, that kind of thing.” Armed with the cynicism of adulthood, Depp went to work.
He would then name Bob Keeshan’s title figure from Captain Kangaroo, Fred Rogers of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood fame, and Albert Lewis of The Uncle Al Show as “that main part of the ingredient.” Moreover, even television personalities that weren’t playing a role made their way into his Wonka thinking.
“Game show hosts that I remember seeing and watching and thinking, ‘My God! They can’t be like that at home’. They can’t actually be like that,” he continued. “Which sort of led me to believe that they put on a mask to get that all-important positive smile,” which he described as “the other side of Wonka.” It definitely wasn’t Michael Jackson, then, at least according to Depp, but instead a by-product of his formative years as a small screen viewer, and the unnerving positivity displayed by the hosts.
