November 30, 2023
Timothée Chalamet recently claimed that Wonka is entirely different from Johnny Depp and Gene Wilder’s versions.
The 27-year-old actor and his co-star Hugh Grant told Entertainment Tonight in an exclusive interview how "crazy" it feels to reenact such "an iconic movie."
Talking about playing Willy Wonka, the Roald Dahl character played by Gene Wilder in 1971 and Johnny Depp in 2005, Timothée shared that he grew up watching the former’s version.
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"I grew up on that Gene Wilder film, and I'm hugely admiring of the Tim Burton/Johnny version but this version is different. This is the origin of Wonka,” he stated.
He went on to explain that it’s neither similar to Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory nor to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, "People are suspicious of any new retelling of beloved characters. But I think Paul King, our director, pulled this one off. I'll let people judge for themselves."
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In the prequel, Timothée plays the protagonist alongside Hugh, who portrays the evergreen character of Oompa Loompas.