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Get your golden ticket! The chocolate factory is back in business with Timothée Chalamet at the helm.
Terry Seymour of “Extra” sat down with Timothy and Hugh Grant in London to talk about “Wonka,” which Timothy calls the role of a lifetime.
“This is a tone and a character that I never thought I would have,” Chalamet said.
The film is a prequel to the original 1971 classic Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
Timothy said, “This movie is actually a sister film to Gene Wilder’s ’71 movie…some of the musical numbers from that movie are in this movie.”
Chalamet plays a younger version of Willy. He said, “Willy is ambitious, Willy is naive in a way. He’s full of hopes and dreams. He doesn’t have those qualities that you see in other Willy Wonka movies.”
Hugh said he saw some of Gene Wilder in Chalamet, joking that they “had the same slightly crazy look in their eyes.”
“I take that as a great compliment,” Timothy replied.
When asked if he had ever imagined playing an Oompa Loompa, Hugh jokingly replied, “I never thought I would sink this low, this far.”
The role required Hugh to dance and sing. He admitted, “It’s always torture. I saw a 63-year-old British guy with his head between his legs and thought it would be funny.”
As for Timothy, he said the world of “Wonka” is a pretty switched-up one.
“The two physically demanding movies I did before, ‘The King’ and ‘Dune,’ were obviously physically demanding, war scenes and battles,” he recalled. “It was like the physical demands crept up on me because there’s an element of play and fun to it. We’ll see if we do 13 takes of a dance number and maintain that generous spirit.” .This required a different energy.”
Telly also asked Chalamet about his headline-grabbing press tour fashion, including his lavender latex outfit.
Hugh teased, “There was an awkward moment in Japan where we both wore the same red latex jumpsuits. It was panic, wasn’t it?”
“We flipped a coin and ended up wearing it,” Timothy joked.
“Wonka” will be released in theaters on December 15th.
