Timothee Chalamet says he had to “loosen up” to play Willy Wonka, but says making the Roald Dahl prequel was a “joyful” experience.
Speaking to Sky News at the world premiere in London, he explained: “It was very different because I’d never worked on something that was so light in tone and so generous and joyful, and it felt like a gift.”
Embracing his inner eccentric chocolatier, he said, took him back to his childhood.
Timothee Chalamet in London for the premiere of the new Wonka film
“I had to loosen up and play like I did in high school, which I hadn’t done in like 10 years or so, that was a learning curve,” he said.
It was filmmaker Paul King’s idea to cast Hugh Grant in the diminutive role of Oompa Loompa, inspired by Dahl’s original writing.
“They don’t really have much dialogue in either of the movies but they do have these extraordinarily long poems that Dahl wrote that are sarcastic and funny,” King said.
“As I was reading them I heard Hugh Grant’s voice…. and I thought he might look pleasingly ridiculous and I think I’m right!”
Grant might himself be pleased to learn he has a new number one fan in Chalamet.
“It was a dream working with Hugh Grant, he’s a legend,” he said. “He’s got a wicked sense of humour and he’s super charming.
“I’m a stan.”
Timothee Chalamet with Hugh Grant in the Wonka. Pic: Warner Bros
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Sadly for the Gen Z pin-up, he says he didn’t get to work with Grant much on set.
“I didn’t see him that much because it was all CGI, you know, so in reality it was a tennis ball on a stick that was like a foot off the ground.”
Wonka is out in cinemas on 8 December
