Movies - TV
Tim Burton Toyed With The Idea Of A Dwayne Johnson Willy Wonka Film
By MATT RAINIS
From his role as the singing demigod Maui in “Moana” to the literal tooth fairy in “Tooth Fairy” to the villainous Black Adam, there’s no role that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson can’t conquer. However, some of his roles are more surprising than others, like the time he was considered by director Tim Burton for the leading role in the 2005 film “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”
In a 2020 post on Instagram Johnson revealed he was once almost considered to play Willy Wonka. In the post, Johnson says “Some cool history – back in the early 2000s, iconic director, Tim Burton had considered me to play Willy Wonka in his remake, ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.’ I remember thinking ‘HOLY S**T, I’M IN.’”
However, as enthusiastic as Johnson was, he didn’t get the part; in the post, Johnson revealed, “…that was many years ago when I was just starting out in Hollywood with no foundation of global box office strength or any real acting experience to even pull it off,” so the role went to Johnny Depp, “who at that time was the biggest star in the world.”