Willy Wonka has fascinated and maybe even creeped out a generation or two after a lot of generations had a lot of sweet teeth. But the magician and chocolate maker is back in a new prequel musical.
The incredibly talented Timothée Chalamet is Willy now.
I met him and the rest of the cast in Beverly Hills to talk sweets and get sweet.
Timothée Chalamet is Willy Wonka.
But in “Wonka,” this Willy isn’t as dark as the iconic original, from 1971’s “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.”
Timothée Chalamet: “This is the Willy before whatever happens, and that’s where my curiosity lies. Because something happens to this guy, I don’t know what it is, to make him what we see in the Gene Wilder film, sort of darker, as you put it, and disturbing and sort of without empathy sometimes.”
Or even in Johnny Depp’s 2005 take.
Timothée Chalamet: “This guy is the opposite. This guy loves humans, loves having a community and people to love and that love him.”
“Wonka” is the musical prequel story, of how the world’s greatest inventor, magician and chocolate-maker became the candyman we know today. But with Hugh Grant as an oompa-loompa, and Keegan-Michael Key as chief of police, this plot is super sweet.
Alex Miranda: “Tell me something that you haven’t said to each other that is very sweet that you feel about one another.
Keegan-Michael-Key: “Aww.”
Timothée Chalamet: “Keegan brings joy to my heart, seriously. You know that feeling you get when you’re a kid and you’re at school and the other kid comes into the classroom that you know is going to crack you up, and you know is going to make the day better. I don’t know.”
Alex Miranda: “That’s so sweet.”
Timothée Chalamet: “Yeah.”
Keegan-Michael Key: “I just wanna.”
Alex Miranda: “I feel the same way.”
Keegan-Michael Key: “Haha that’s very sweet. I wanted to say Timmy is a revelation to me. As far as talent goes, he really is the best thing going in the business right now. You are our James Dean.”
Timothée Chalamet: “Thank you.”
That’s a recipe for success. But how about…
Alex Miranda: “If you could make your own piece of candy…”
Keegan-Michael Key: “You know when you wake up in the middle of the night or the morning and you’ve been sleeping and you look at your phone, and you realize you’ve got four more hours to sleep?”
Alex Miranda: “Yes. It’s the best.”
Keegan-Michael Key: “Yes, that feeling is in the chocolate”
Timothée Chalamet: “For me, it would be the feeling of the confusion you feel when filling out an IRS tax form.”
Alex Miranda: “Don’t even get me on that.”
Keegan-Michael Key: “Haha.”
Timothée Chalamet: “And the feeling of biting into a prop that you think is real chocolate but isn’t.”
Alex Miranda: “How many times did that happen?”
Timothée Chalamet: “Twice.”
And the leading man tells me he didn’t hold back on set, not even for his beauty mogul girlfriend Kylie Jenner.
Alex Miranda: “Did you even eat any candy?”
Timothée Chalamet: “Yeah yeah. There was a ton of candy.”
Alex Miranda: “Because you’re a very fit guy. I mean, how much of this was really consumed?”
Timothée Chalamet: “Fit is generous. Not as much as Keegan.”
Keegan-Michael Key: “We were eating a lot of chocolate. We did eat a lot of chocolate.”
“Wonka” hits theaters this Thursday and if you want to see it for free on your schedule, at any theater, just email your name and phone number to giveaways@wsvn.com and you could win.
Good luck.
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