Chalamet’s Charm: From High School YouTube Videos to Wonka

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Wonka director, Paul King shared how Timothée Chalamet’s High School YouTube Videos landed him the Willy Wonka role.

In his earlier days, Timothée Chalamet was lighting up the internet with his singing and dancing videos. From a statistics rap to Nicki Minaj’s “Roman’s Revenge” performance, these hidden gems undoubtedly prove that Chalamet was always destined for stardom.

Director Paul King confessed to Rolling Stone that Chalamet’s viral videos helped in casting him as Willy Wonka. At the London premiere, Chalamet added that the clips played a part, but that wasn’t the only reason why he got the role.

When asked about the videos by Variety, Chalamet admitted, “I know, d*mn… they sort of did, in Paul’s words.” Timothee later added, “That wasn’t exclusively what got me the part. He also liked the other movies I did!”

Paul King later commented, “This being the 21st century, his adolescence is very well-documented on YouTube. 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.”

Timothée Chalamet is the latest actor to step into the Willy Wonka role of Roald Dahl’s character from his 1964 novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Gene Wilder brought the character to life in the 1971 Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Additionally, Johnny Depp took the role in another twist for the 2005 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Moreover, Chalamet described Wonka as a homage to Gene Wilder’s iconic performance of Willy Wonka in the 1971 classic. “It’s sort of untouchable, it’s like a perfect performance, so this is the accompaniment,” Chalamet added.

The Warner Bros. production is set to be a musical that will unveil the origin of Willy Wonka. In addition to Chalamet, the star-studded cast includes, Hugh Grant, Calah Lane, Keegan-Michael Key, Paterson Joseph, Matt Lucas, Mathew Baynton, Sally Hawkins, Rowan Atkinson, Jim Carter, Tom Davis, and Olivia Colman.

The upcoming film, Wonka, is set to be released on December 15 in the U.S.