Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Audition Preparation

 

Before my audition I needed to research the character, I wanted to portray, ‘Willie Wonka’. I really wanted to try and push myself for the main part in ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’, as I truly like the film versions I have already seen. Therefore, my research focused in on the film versions of ‘Willie Wonka’, in particular the original 1971 version.

Gene Wilder’s portrayal of the character was phenomenal, there was a particular depth to the character as he was clearly a crazy personality, but you could see the cunning and intelligence underneath this. I did also look at the 2005 version of ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ and Johnny Depp’s portrayal of the character. I must admit that this is not my favourite version of this story and whilst Johnny Depp is a brilliant actor in his own right, I do prefer Gene Wilder’s portrayal of ‘Willie Wonka’. 

For me the 2005 version deviates from the original text a bit too much. Yet it was necessary for me to see the difference in portrayals and what I could add from each one and what I could do to make sure my own version of the character was not the same as what came before it.

I ended up testing out many different ways to play the character.

I am excited to try such a different character for myself, compared to my previous roles this year. I have truly tried to get a full idea of the character and understand what I could add to my audition to highlight this, such as my mannerisms. This could be a huge part of my performance if I can correctly show it.

Please Click Here to see the 1971 trailer for 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'