Olivia Colman reveals which Roald Dahl characters inspired her Wonka villain
Dec. 5, 2023Exclusive: Olivia Colman and Tom Davis took inspiration from other Roald Dahl books
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Wonkamay be a prequel populated with mostly original characters (other than the wannabe chocolatier himself, played by Timothée Chalamet, and Hugh Grant’s crotchety Oompa Loompa), but the movie’s villains take a healthy dose of inspiration from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory author Roald Dahl’s work.
Olivia Colman and Murder in Successville’s Tom Davis play antagonistic double act Scrubbit and Bleacher, the owners of a hotel and wash house who trick their guests into years of servitude in their laundry business with some sneaky paperwork at check-in – and Timothée Chalamet’s Willy Wonka is one such unsuspecting patron.
Director Paul King, who’s best known for his work on thePaddingtonmovies, says it was fun to get stuck into something a little darker. “[Roald Dahl] doesn’t really redeem his villains very much at all, which was great fun for us to get our teeth into,” he tells us. “Especially after Paddington, which is set in a warmer world, to populate this with ghastly creations was quite good.”
Wonka arrives in UK cinemas on December 8, before releasing in the US on December 15. In the meantime, check outour interview with leading man Timothée Chalametanddirector Paul King, and keep your eyes peeled for more chats with the cast and filmmakers on the site and on theInside Total Film podcastlater in the week.
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I’m an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering everything film and TV-related across the Total Film and SFX sections. I help bring you all the latest news and also the occasional feature too. I’ve previously written for publications like HuffPost and i-D after getting my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism.
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