Wonka star Calah Lane talks bringing a new story to life with Timothée Chalamet

There's only one word on the lips of film fans this Christmas and that is "Wonka". Arriving amidst plenty of hype and rave reviews, this new tale from Paddington director Paul King charts the early days of author Roald Dahl's beloved chocolatier Willy Wonka, played by Dune star Timothée Chalamet. As he begins his journey to opening his own shop, Wonka meets many characters including young orphan Noodle, who is brought to life by newcomer Calah Lane.

Ahead of the film's release, Total Film sat down with Lane to discuss the new movie, working with Chalamet, and, of course, her favorite chocolate. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Total Film: Was the world of Willy Wonka something that you were aware of before this script came your way? Had you read the book or seen the film?

Calah Lane: This is crazy, but I thought that the Johnny Depp version was the original. I had that in my mind. When I got the audition, my mom asked: "Have you seen the original?"

I said, “Yeah, it was the one with Johnny Depp, right?"

She said, "No, it’s the one with Gene Wilder."

I said, "What’s that?"

I then watched that, and was like, "Oh, so this is the original."

I had no idea that Gene Wilder was in the first one.

The first one is a bit freaky in places and dark. Did you like it?

I did like it. I definitely liked the part where the boy gets stuck in the tube and he needs to fly up. That part is definitely funny to me.

The Johnny Depp version, I like that one, too. I think they’re different from each other, but I feel like they’re both good.

You auditioned for this. Can you tell me a little bit about that process?

So, I had four auditions. By the third audition, that’s when I knew it was Willy Wonka. I didn’t know it was Willy Wonka for the first two auditions. They had our names as Nutmeg and Johnny. They didn’t have it as our regular character names.

But on the third audition, I found out that it was actually Wonka, and I was like, "What?" And then I had a screen test that I did in England, and I actually found out that I was going to the screen test at the Harry Potter section of Universal Studios. I was like, "What? This is so cool!"

When we got back to our house – like, two weeks after we came back from the screen test – the director, Paul [King], called me, and he said that he would love to have me do the role. We were screaming at the top of our lungs. 

Were you aware that it would be Timothée [Chalamet] at that point, or did you not know who Wonka would be?

I think I did know during the screen test. I actually had a Zoom call with him at the beginning of that, but it was when he was filming Bones and All.

Oh, wow. Very different film.

He went from Bones and All straight to Wonka.

Which are totally different movies.

Yeah.

So, tell me about working with him. How did you find your chemistry together? Was it easy to do that and be partners?

Yeah. It was definitely very easy. When we first got onto set, we would give each other a high five. He’s definitely a fun person to be around. He’s always making me laugh. I mean, always. We were always telling jokes to each other. 

We actually had this one joke that we used to always tell each other. It was about Home Alone, the original one. He would say that when he found out that he was home alone, he said, "I’m home alone."

But I told him he did not say that. He said, "I made my family disappear." We had an argument about that for at least a month.

Did he give you any advice when you were working together?

Yes, he definitely stayed in character. I kind of noticed that about him. He really stayed in character during the whole time. Well, off set, he’s not in the character. But when he’s on set, when they say cut, he’s still in character. I was like, "Wow. How do you do that?"

He watched a lot of videos of Gene Wilder. He watched everything. He was really into character.

Do you think you’re going to do that, going forward?

Yes, definitely. 

Tell me, did you take anything home as a souvenir? Did you keep any part of your costume, or anything else?

I kept something from my costume – it’s like a headband. They actually gave me the script. And they made a book for me. It’s really, really pretty. And they also gave me some pieces of from the set... like a flamingo. It’s origami.

I wanted to ask as well – what is your favorite chocolate?

I like Hershey’s chocolate. I know you guys don’t like it. In London, it’s different.

It doesn’t taste good in London. But that’s OK.

I love chocolate. The only thing about me – I don’t like chocolate ice cream, but I love chocolate cake. I love chocolate cookies. I love all that. But I just don’t like chocolate ice cream. I don’t know why. But I’m definitely a chocolate girl.

So, this is the perfect job for you.

Yes, definitely.

Wonka arrives in UK cinemas on December 8 and US theaters on December 15. You can also check out our interview with leading man Timothée Chalamet, and keep your eyes peeled for more chats with the cast and filmmakers on the site and on the Inside Total Film podcast later in the week.