Timothée Chalamet says high school videos didn’t “exclusively” land him ‘Wonka’ role
The director of Wonka, Paul King, previously claimed he cast Timothée Chalamet in the role of the famous fictional chocolatier because of a series of YouTube videos the actor posted when he was still in high school.
The videos include a pre-fame Chalamet singing and dancing. Furthermore, one clip sees the actor perform a rap song about the art of statistics, while another documents a talent show performance of the Nicki Minaj song ‘Roman’s Revenge’.
“I know, damn… they sort of did, in Paul’s words,” Chalamet told Variety at the London premiere of Wonka regarding how the videos helped him land the titular role. “That wasn’t exclusively what got me the part. He also liked the other movies I did!”
“This being the 21st century, his adolescence is very well-documented on YouTube,” King added. “I’m so glad to come from a time when that was not the case for me, or I would never be allowed to go out in public again. But he may have just had the edge on me in the singing and acting department.”
Chalamet is the third actor to portray Willy Wonka, following Gene Wilder’s effort in 1971’s Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory and Johnny Depp’s in 2005’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
In a previous interview, King said of Chalamet’s character: “He’s cynical in some ways, and he knows that there are plenty of rotten nuts out there who need to go down the rubbish chute, but, equally, he believes in goodness, kindness, and hope. There was a kernel of that I really held on to. But this is somebody who’s clearly been damaged by cruelty. He’s a certain age, and he’s had the slings and arrows of life, and to dig into that was a real challenge.”
Wonka will be released on December 15th in the US and December 8th in the UK. Watch the trailer below.
Never Miss A Scene
The Far Out Film Newsletter
All the latest film news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.