Wonka: How Stanning Got Timothée Chalamet The Role Without An Audition
The first "Wonka" trailer puts Timothée Chalamet's version of the titular chocolatier on full display. Audiences will see the prequel to "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and how Willy Wonka became the eccentric, slightly maniacal businessman we all know and love. And director Paul King didn't have anyone else in mind for the role but Chalamet.
To fill a role as iconic as Willy Wonka, who's been portrayed by Gene Wilder and Johnny Depp in the past, the right actor needed to be brought on board. Timothée Chalamet is the current "it boy," but Warner Bros. looked into casting Ryan Gosling, Donald Glover, and Ezra Miller, too. But for King, Chalamet was the only option, and according to Rolling Stone, he got the offer without having to audition. King mentioned, "It was a straight offer because he's great and he was the only person in my mind who could do it." At a young age, Chalamet already has an impressive resume, with roles in "Lady Bird," "Beautiful Boy," and "Little Women." But the thing that really sealed the deal was all thanks to YouTube.
Timothée Chalamet's YouTube videos proved he could sing and dance
Most people would probably be embarrassed if old videos of them on YouTube reached a prospective employer. But for Timothée Chalamet, they landed him the role of a lifetime.
Like previous iterations featuring the character, "Wonka" will be a musical, so naturally, whoever landed the lead needed to be able to sing and dance. Fortunately, Paul King wasn't just a fan of Chalamet's current work; he also saw old videos of him performing in high school. King went on to say, "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."
As a younger performer, Chalamet came of age at a time when social media played a part in his life before he became famous. So his early videos showed what he could do, even if he's never really gotten a chance to show it off in his main filmography. That was a big selling point for Chalamet to join "Wonka," as King referenced, "When I spoke to him he was quite keen. He'd done tap dancing in high school and he was like, 'I'd quite like to show people I can do that.'" Not only will viewers learn more about Willy Wonka's origins, but for some, they'll get to see Timothée Chalamet tap dance for the first time, which should be just as magical.