Timothée Chalamet landed ‘Wonka’ role thanks to embarrassing teenage videos
The latest actor to take on the role of Roald Dahl’s kooky chocolatier, Timothée Chalamet, didn’t have to audition for his role in Wonka. Instead, the rising star was selected based on several embarrassing high school videos, according to the film’s director.
Paul King, the director of Wonka, said in a recent interview that Chalamet was offered the part because he could evidently sing and dance to a degree, ostensibly without self-consciousness. The video clips in question were mostly taken while Chalamet appeared on stage as a student at New York City’s Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art.
“It was a straight offer because he’s great, and he was the only person in my mind who could do it,” King said to Rolling Stone. While Chalamet’s high school clips were varied, his rapper alter ego, Lil Timmy Tim’s track ‘Statistics’ is his most viral pre-fame video.
“I knew that was in his arsenal, but I didn’t know how good he was,” King added in praise of the actor’s talent.
The first trailer for Wonka arrived earlier this week with Chalomet in the iconic role which was previously helmed by Gene Wilder and Johnny Depp. Instead of repeating Dahl’s story of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Wonka will serve as a prequel.
The official synopsis reads: “Starring Timothée Chalamet in the title role, this irresistibly vivid and inventive big screen spectacle will introduce audiences to a young Willy Wonka, chock-full of ideas and determined to the change the world one delectable bite at a time – proving that the best things in life begin with a dream, and if you’re lucky enough to meet Willy Wonka, anything is possible.”
Wonka arrives on the big screen on December 15th and also stars Keegan-Michael Key, Rowan Atkinson, Sally Hawkins, Olivia Colman, Hugh Grant, Jim Carter and Matt Lucas. Watch the trailer below.
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