Wonka might be making the headlines right now, but it’s still got a long way to go to become as beloved as the 1971 hit Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
Based on Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the movie was an instant classic, and its reputation only continues to grow. This is especially true of Gene Wilder’s performance as Willy Wonka, the magical chocolatier who seemed to both adore and despise children in classic unsettling Dahl style (and who has proved an enduring meme icon).
If you’re rewatching the movie for the holiday season, or if you simply want to know more about this iconic flick, then check out our actors and character guide for Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory below!
Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka
The Blazing Saddles star showed his range with this excellent performance as the eccentric, mysterious, and quasi-magical chocolatier and factory owner whose bars inspire devotion. After years in reclusion, he hides five golden tickets in his chocolate bars, promising that the recipients of the shimmering pieces of paper will be given the chance to tour his factory. Mischievous and a little unnerving, he’s an iconic character if there ever was one.
Jack Albertson as Grandpa Joe
Tony, Oscar, and Emmy-winning actor Albertson took on the role of Grandpa Joe, the chocolate-loving, bedridden grandpa of Charlie Bucket who is given a new lease of life once his grandson wins that elusive golden ticket. Although he doesn’t stop Charlie from breaking Wonka’s rules, overall he’s one of the film’s good guys (despite plenty of internet jokes about him faking his frailty until he has the chance to tour a chocolate factory!)
Peter Ostrum as Charlie
Playing Charlie was Ostrum’s only role as an actor, but when you start at the top why bother carrying on? He’s now a veterinarian, and for years told people it was his brother who played the iconic role instead of him. Charlie Bucket is a poor kid who loves chocolate, and winds up not only getting a golden ticket but also Wonka’s entire empire as he “wins” the morality game the chocolatier sets up.
Roy Kinnear as Mr. Salt
An absolute legend of the screen and stage, Kinnear was a huge fan favorite no matter what his role was. He sadly died while on set for the Three Musketeers, but his legacy lives on. In this film, he played the father of Veruca Salt and the owner of a nut factory who put his employees to work trying to find a golden ticket for his spoiled daughter.
Julie Dawn Cole as Veruca Salt
This was Cole’s biggest role, and she played it excellently. In the book and film, Veruca Salt is the spoiled daughter of Mr Salt and one of the golden ticket winners, who eventually falls down a garbage chute after being deemed a “bad egg.”
Leonard Stone as Mr. Beauregarde
Stone was a well-regarded character actor with over a hundred appearances on the big and small screens. In the film, he played the self-promoting car salesman father of one of the golden ticket winners, Violet.
Denise Nickerson as Violet Beauregarde
Nickerson hit her acting peak with this role, but she did manage a decent career afterwards, appearing in soaps and other smaller productions. In the movie, she plays Violet, a gum-chewing child who is turned into a blueberry (a scene that has since become very popular online) after she ignores Wonka’s rules.
Nora “Dodo” Denney as Mrs. Teevee
Aside from appearing in Willy Wonka, Denney appeared in a number of other television shows and films. Here, she played the role of Mrs Teevee, the squeamish pushover of a mother who lets her son watch television all day. In the book, both she and her husband escort their son through the factory, but in the 1971 adaptation it’s just her.
Paris Themmen as Mike Teevee
Like most of the child actors in the film, this was Themmen’s main role. However, he also later appeared in Star Trek: Voyager, and has been on several celebrity versions of game shows. In the book and film Mike is the angry, overly talkative kid who cannot stop watching television, eventually being turned into a mini version of himself, then stretched out by Oompa-Loompas.
Ursula Reit as Mrs. Gloop
Reit mostly worked in Germany, and after she retired seemed to vanish mysteriously. In this film, she plays the mother of the glutinous Augustus Gloop, who enables her greedy son to do as he pleases.
Michael Böllner as Augustus Gloop
Michael Böllner wasn’t fluent in English when he landed this role, but since then has grown proficient in the language. He isn’t an actor at the moment, but seems to look back on this experience fondly. He played Augustus Gloop, the greedy, chocolate loving golden ticket winner who is the first to leave the factory after he falls into the chocolate river.
Diana Sowle as Mrs. Bucket
Sowle didn’t have many roles after this, but one of her most notable was a voice acting part in Fallout 3. In the film, she plays Charlie’s hardworking mother, who inspires him to look on the bright side of life despite the Bucket family’s poverty.
Aubrey Woods as Bill
Woods had a long and successful career on the stage and screen. In this film he portrayed Bill the sweet shop owner, known for singing the song “The Candy Man.”
Günter Meisner as Mr. Slugworth / Mr. Wilkinson (voiced by Walker Edmiston)
Meisner was a polygot who appeared in German, French, and English language films, and was known for portraying Hitler in several different productions. Here, he plays the role of Wonka’s rival Mr Slughorn, who tries to convince the ticket winners to bring him Wonka’s latest invention so he can copy it. However, at the end of the film it transpires that he was actually Wonka’s employee, Mr Wilkinson.
Although he could speak English, the character was voiced by a man nmed Walker Edmiston, who remained uncredited until recently.
