Timothee Chalamet says he never would have believed that he’d ever get to play Willy Wonka

Los Angeles: Actor Timothee Chalamet is still in a bit of a shock because if someone told him that one day, he’ll be essaying the role of the eccentric and sketchy chocolatier Willy Wonka in ‘Wonka’, he’d never have believed it.

At the film’s Tokyo premiere, donning a panda jumpsuit he was joined by co-star Hugh Grant.

The ‘Dune’ actor had few words to say, though they were heavy and heartfelt. “Paul King wrote a beautiful script here, about a young Willy Wonka who follows his dreams,” Chalamet said, as per ‘Variety’.

“If you would’ve told me when I was 12 years old, when I was 10 years old watching the Johnny Depp version of Willy Wonka that I’d get to be here in Tokyo promoting this movie as Willy Wonka, standing next to Hugh Grant, I would’ve told you you were lying. So, I guess like the movie, follow your dreams”, he shared.

Taking the role of Willy Wonka is no easy feat as the previous performances of the iconic character from Roald Dahl’s classic book have been iconic.

Chalamet is currently the third actor to portray Willy Wonka, after Gene Wilder in the 1971 classic ‘Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory’, and then by Johnny Depp in the 2005 film ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’.

Directed by Paul King, apart from Chalamet and Grant, the film stars Calah Lane, Keegan-Michael Key, Paterson Joseph, Matt Lucas, Mathew Baynton, Sally Hawkins, Rowan Atkinson, Jim Carter, Tom Davis and Olivia Colman. The movie will hit theatres on December 15.

–IANS