Actors who portrayed Willy Wonka

These are actors who have played Willy Wonka.

By Gladys W. MuturiPublished 4 months ago • 5 min read

Timothee Chalamet as Willy Wonka

These were actors who played the role of a man who fulfilled our world of pure imagination or should I say Roald Dahl's creation. Started as a best-selling novel to film adaptations to a Broadway musical adaptation. These actors played the charming, gentle, and funny chocolatier Willy Wonka.

Timothee Chalamet

Well, first, I had to start with Timothee Chalamet, since the film Wonka is now number one at the box office. In the newest film, directed by Paul King, Chalamet portrays young Willy Wonka and how he became the beloved chocolate maker, including when he first met the Oompa-Loompas on one of his earliest adventures. The film premiered recently on December 15 making its way to the top box office.

Trailer

King previously told People magazine of Chalamet’s performance as Willy Wonka:

“Obviously, he’s walking in the footsteps of some truly phenomenal performers who played the role before, so the bar was set very high. I think what’s so remarkable about his performance is not only that he is funny and mischievous and quite mysterious, as well — just like the Willy Wonka that people will know — but also, he brings such heart to the role and he’s a brilliant actor. He’s incredibly emotionally intelligent and can bring a great deal of emotional truth to the role.”

Gene Wilder

Our beloved true original Willy Wonka

In 1971, Wilder portrayed Wonka in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. The film contains 14 songs including "Pure Imagination" which became a fan favorite song. In a 2002 interview with Larry King, Wilder was offered the role by director Mel Stuart.

“I was offered the part. I read the [Roald Dahl] book. And Mel Stuart, the director, came to my home in New York,” Wilder explained at the time. “He said, ‘You wanna do it?’ and I said, ‘Well, I’ll tell you, I will do it if I can come out, and all the crowd quiets down, and I am using a cane.’ Oh, my God. Willy Wonka is crippled. ‘And I walk slowly and you can hear a pin drop. And my cane gets stuck in a brick. And I fall forward onto my face and do a forward somersault and jump up, and they all start to applaud.’”

The film wasn't a success however his performance was praised by critics and fans alike who watched Willy Wonka. During the 2010s, his Wonka character would become a popular internet meme.

Sadly, Wilder passed away in 2016 at the age of 83 from complications of Alzheimer's disease. According to his family members, he never revealed his diagnosis to the public because he didn't want to disappoint his fans. After his death, Freeform premiered the film leaving a touchy tribute to Wilder after the end credits roll to the end.

Wilder was a childhood icon playing the role of Wonka better than Depp (no offense to Johnny Depp) !!!!!

Johnny Depp

In a Tim Burton-directed film, Depp was cast as Willy Wonka. The film tells the same story sticking with Dahl's novel and Depp as Wonka with a weird-looking Lord Fa haircut. His performance received mixed reviews even Gene Wilder (the original Willy Wonka), before his passing wasn't too fond of Depp portraying Wonka and the remake. In 2013, Wilder was being interviewed by Robert Osborne on the 92nd Street Y stage (recovered via Esquire), when he was asked his opinion of Tim Burton's 2005 remake.

"I think it's an insult. ... To do that with Johnny Depp, who I think is a good actor and I like him, but I don't care for that director. He's a talented man, but I don't care for him for doing stuff like he did."

At least, he didn't shame him but called out Tim Burton.

During an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2012, Depp shared his inspiration for the character, saying,

“The idea behind Will Wonka, certain ingredients you add to these characters like Willy Wonka for example. I imagined what George Bush would be like incredibly stoned. And, thus was born my version of Willy Wonka.”

Crispin Glover

After the 2005's Charlie and the Chocolate, Comedian Crispin Glover portrayed as parodied Depp like Willy Wonka in the comedy parody 2007 film Epic Movie. In Epic Movie, Glover portrays Wonka as a creepy cannibalistic freaky deeky chocolatier. And how about that dance break? The film, directed by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, spoofs the previous years’ popular movies, including The Da Vinci Code, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and The Pirates of the Caribbean.

Douglas Hodge

Before it made its way to Broadway, it was adapted in 2013 for a musical at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London’s West End. Douglas Hodge stepped into the role of Willy Wonka for the show, directed by Sam Mendes. The musical ran for three years and seven months before closing in January 2017.

Christian Borle

Now on the Broadway musical scene.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was adapted for a musical on Broadway in 2017 with Tony Award Winner Christian Borle taking on the role of Willy Wonka. The production opened in April 2017 and closed in January 2018 after 305 regular performances at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre.

Noah Weisberg

After the Broadway musical closes, Noah Weisberg plays as Wonka for the US National Tour. The U.S. tour first launched in September in Buffalo, New York, before closing in October 2019 in Tampa, Florida.

Cody Garcia

Following Weisberg’s run, Cody Garcia took on the role of the chocolate maker in the second U.S. national tour of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which kicked off in January 2020 and featured Non-Equity actors. Matt Lenz directed the tour, based on the national tour’s original direction by O’Brien. Though the musical was paused in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it resumed in October 2021 in Syracuse, New York, before closing its curtain for the final time in June of the following year in Salt Lake City, Utah.