Following his star-making performance in 2017’s Call Me By Your Name, Timothée Chalamet’s videos during his time in LaGuardia High School went viral. They featured the Oscar nominee singing, dancing, and rapping. The videos also caught the attention of acclaimed filmmaker and Wonka director Paul King.
In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, King confirmed that Chalamet was his only choice for the leading role of Willy Wonka. The filmmaker decided to immediately offer the project to the Dune star without even auditioning him because he was already aware of Chalamet’s musical abilities after watching his high school performances on YouTube.
“It was a straight offer because he’s great and he was the only person in my mind who could do it,” King said. “But because he’s Timothée Chalamet and his life is so absurd, his high school musical performances are on YouTube and have hundreds of thousands of views. So I knew from stanning for Timmy Chalamet that he could sing and dance really well.”
Who’s the Cast of the Wonka Movie?
Based on the character created by Roald Dahl, Wonka will focus on a young Willy Wonka and his adventures prior to opening the world’s most famous chocolate factory. The prequel will be led by Timothee Chalamet as a young version of the eccentric Chocolate Factory owner. The character was previously portrayed by Gene Wilder in the iconic 1971 film, and Johnny Depp in the hit 2005 version.
Joining Chalamet are Hugh Grant, Rowan Atkinson, Matthew Baynton, Jim Carter, Olivia Colman, Tom Davis, Simon Farnaby, Rich Fulcher, Sally Hawkins, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Paterson Joseph, Keegan-Michael Key, Calah Lane, Matt Lucas, Colin O’Brien, Natasha Rothwell, Rakhee Thakrar, and Ellie White. As seen in the official trailer, Grant will be portraying an Oompa-Loopa.
Wonka is directed by Paddington filmmaker Paul King from a screenplay he co-wrote with Simon Farnaby. Producers include David Heyman, Luke Kelly, and Alexandra Derbyshire.
The musical prequel is scheduled to arrive in theaters on December 15.