Wonka (2023) Production Notes

Based on the extraordinary character at the center of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, "Wonka" tells the wondrous story of how the world's greatest inventor, magician and chocolate-maker became the beloved Willy Wonka we know today.

Based on the extraordinary, iconic character at the center of Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, one of the best-selling children’s books of all time, “Wonka” tells the wondrous story of how a young chocolate-maker, armed with nothing but a hatful of dreams, manages to change the world, one delectable bite at a time.

From Paul King, writer/director of the “Paddington” films, David Heyman, producer of “Harry Potter,” “Gravity,” “Barbie” and “Paddington,” and producers Alexandra Derbyshire (the “Paddington” films, “Jurassic World: Dominion”) and Luke Kelly (“Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical”), comes an intoxicating mix of magic and music, mayhem and emotion, all told with fabulous heart and humor. Starring Timothée Chalamet in the title role, this irresistibly vivid and inventive big screen spectacle will introduce audiences to a young Willy Wonka, as he becomes the world’s greatest inventor, magician and chocolate-maker.

Starring alongside Chalamet are Calah Lane (“The Day Shall Come”), Emmy and Peabody Award winner Keegan-Michael Key (“The Prom,” “Schmigadoon”), Paterson Joseph (“Vigil,” “Noughts + Crosses”), Matt Lucas (“Paddington,” “Alice in Wonderland,” “Little Britain”), Mathew Baynton (“The Wrong Mans,” “Ghosts”), Oscar nominee Sally Hawkins (“The Shape of Water,” the “Paddington” films, “Spencer”), Rowan Atkinson (the “Johnny English” and “Mr. Bean” films, “Love Actually”), Jim Carter (“Downton Abbey”), with Oscar winner Olivia Colman (“The Favourite,” “The Lost Daughter,” “The Crown”), and Hugh Grant (“Paddington 2,” “Bridget Jones’s Diary,” “Notting Hill,” “Four Weddings and a Funeral”). The film also stars Natasha Rothwell (“White Lotus,” “Insecure”), Rich Fulcher (“Marriage Story,” “Disenchantment”), Rakhee Thakrar (“Sex Education,” “Four Weddings and a Funeral”), Tom Davis (“Paddington 2,” “King Gary”) and Kobna Holdbrook-Smith (“Paddington 2,” “Zack Snyder’s Justice League,” “Mary Poppins Returns”).

Simon Farnaby (“Paddington 2”) & Paul King wrote the screenplay, based on a story by King and characters created by Roald Dahl. Michael Siegel, Cate Adams, Rosie Alison and Tim Wellspring are serving as executive producers. King’s behind-the-scenes creative team includes director of photography Chung-hoon Chung (“Last Night in Soho,” “The Handmaiden,” “Oldboy”); Oscar-nominated production designer Nathan Crowley (“Tenet,” “Dunkirk”); editor Mark Everson (the “Paddington” films, “Johnny English Strikes Again”); Oscar-winning costume designer Lindy Hemming (the “Paddington” films, “The Dark Night,” “Casino Royale,” “Topsy-Turvy”); and composer Joby Talbot (the “Sing” films). Neil Hannon of the band The Divine Comedy wrote the original songs for the film.

Warner Bros. Pictures Presents, in Association with Village Roadshow Pictures, a Heyday Films Production, a Paul King Confection, “Wonka,” set to open in theaters and in IMAX internationally beginning 6 December 2023 and in North America on December 15, 2023; it will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures.

CRAFTING THE SCUMDIDDLYUMPTIOS WORLD OF "Wonka"

Filming at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden began in the fall of 2021 and shot for 21 weeks on more than 50 incredible sets built across three sound stages, a massive backlot and an aircraft hangar, and also involved shooting at more than 10 stunning locations.

Alongside Main Unit shooting, the dance and music teams rehearsed daily with principal cast, as well as dancers, crowd, stunts and the flying team, and that schedule was as busy as the Main Unit. (Second Unit that shot alongside the Main was named “Oompa Loompa Unit.”) To realize the world Paul King had imagined, art, set decoration, construction and props crafted a romantic, fairytale city on the Leavesden backlot, and built on and adapted beautiful locations in and around England—from a small village in Oxfordshire, to a 1950s ballroom and the iconic St. Paul’s Cathedral. King described the city to his creative team as “the best of Europe,” and production designer Nathan Crowley—working closely with set decorator Lee Sandales and property master Jamie Wilkinson—gave Paul exactly that, fashioning a charming town with a mix of Belgian, Czech, Dutch, French, German and Swiss architecture. The resulting combination of set builds (borrowing from real-world structures) and location work augmented the scale of the town and authenticated the vision. The lightness of the limestone in the Bath and Oxford locations was emulated through the set builds, enhancing the romance of the newly constructed.

This is a blended vision of Europe in place, with the design vernacular running all the way through the set decoration and graphics, while also being reflected in the language and signage. While based in a real world, the heightened reality is created by lighting, color and, of course, performance (singing and dancing, too!), and lifts the world into the realm of fantasy where Wonka magic can happen.

King and his team mapped this island city out to the smallest detail, starting with a ruined castle at the top and an ornate town square in the middle, with cathedral to one side and opposite, the famed Galeries Gourmet. From the square, cobbled streets lead down to the docks and over the bridge and down the alleyways to Mrs Scrubitt’s Bruges-style workhouse laundry.

Another network of streets is revealed underground, where Wonka secretly escapes the laundry to peddle his chocolates in the square. Building the storm drains on a soundstage limited the space available, but Crowley applied old school techniques to expand the space, forcing the perspective with back-lit painted backings and mirrors.

TOWN SQUARE

This was an epic build, some 900m x 900m across Leavesden’s biggest backlot, and took around eight months to complete. Inspired by the Old Town Bridge Tower—a beautiful Gothic gateway guarding Charles Bridge in Prague’s Old Town—Crowley built a fairytale entrance into the square.

On one side of the square sits the cathedral, with Crowley playing to the beauty of St. Paul’s (where interiors were shot) by taking cues from the Cathedral and mixing in some Prague churches, with St. Nicholas Church in Prague’s Old Town Square a key influence.

For shooting in the interior of the Cathedral (in the Nave and Choir), St. Paul’s was closed for a first-time three-day stretch, with production working around-the-clock to prep, shoot and strike within the 72 hours. Special permission was obtained to open the Great West Door, which is normally only used as a pass-through for the current reigning monarch.

For the square itself, production built 12 functioning shops, two restaurants, two al fresco restaurants, and dressed in a food market and a florist, with each shop boasting its own personality. Sandales brought the square to life sourcing items to dress the establishments from markets to antique firms, as well as rental companies in the UK and Europe.

To cap it all, a practical fountain was constructed in the center of the square, and SFX was charged with transforming it into a winter wonderland by adding a dusting of snow.

GALERIES GOURMET

Opposite the cathedral behind grand iron gates sits the Galeries Gourmet, home to the shops of the Chocolate Cartel, along with other high-end merchants and one currently vacant space. Influenced by the neo-Renaissance architecture and design of spaces like the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan, Crowley created a glass-domed arcade with an octagonal intersection.

Key to King and his team was making Slugworth, Fickelgruber and Prodnose visually identifiable within the context of their world by a signature color, incorporated into their costumes and expressed through graphics. Their grand shop windows are filled with chocolate boxes and individually-designed chocolates: a navy-blue Victorian gothic design displaying Slugworth’s round chocolate in Spécial Chocolat; a green Art Deco-inspired print displaying Fickelgruber’s square chocolate in Feinste Schokolade; and a yellow 1940s geometric print displaying Prodnose’s square-round chocolate in Cioccolato di Qualità.

Other shop windows in the Galeries are filled with the most delectable gourmet items imaginable, from the finest cheeses to deluxe caviar to premium wines. Every window was dressed with passion and care, along with a huge amount of bespoke velvet drapery made on-site at Leavesden. Marble walls and an elaborate mosaic floor completed the design. Practical requirements demanded production build a temporary stage for the Galeries Gourmet set to accommodate the flying action for the Hoverchoc sequence, constructed on the backlot adjacent to the town square to give production a huge composite and geographically correct set at 45m x 45m and 25m high.

WONKA’S CHOCOLATE SHOP

The interior of Wonka’s Chocolate Shop was a separate build on Leavesden’s S Stage. A romantic and enchanted candy land, this was Dahl-inspired design at its best. Moving, rotating theatrical elements bring an extraordinary imagination to life.

The filmmakers based the design on Willy’s childhood memories: the centerpiece of the shop is a cherry blossom tree, a beautiful tree Willy and his mother used to sail past on their barge. The rotating tree is reached via a bridge and features a curved trunk, which Willy walks up into the twirling treetop surrounded by pink-tinged, cotton-candy clouds. A chocolate barge moves along a candy river with white- and cream-topped theatrical blue waves, where Willy and Noodle clink “cheers” with chocolate teacups. A pink Turkish Delight-road winds around the shop.

Everything growing in the magical garden is meant to be edible: enormous roses, meadow flowers, grass, bushes, lollipops and cotton candy clouds. Art teams followed a simple rule in fabricating and dressing elements into the set—“if it doesn’t look truly edible, don’t use it.” A huge amount of research and development work went into finding artificial flowers and greenery, along with the right processes to make something appear edible and delicious—sculpting, test painting, sugar coating, glazing, chocolate dipping. (More on the edible chocolate below.)

SCRUBITT & BLEACHER

The entire enterprise of Scrubitt & Bleacher was realized on Leavesden’s F Stage: the shop “lobby”—with its long counter and laundry-stuffed shelves; the wash house; Willy’s room; and Noodle’s room. All are connected by a series of corridors, circular staircases, chute and dumb waiter, and also feature little turrets and the infamous coop.

Shiny reflective tiling brought light into the wash house basement, where Willy lands amongst the laundry workers who have met the same fate as he. The space is densely dressed in all manner of laundry devices: enormous copper vats, a huge mangle, irons and ironing boards, baskets, basins and buckets.

The team also constructed a magnificent Rube Goldberg-type contraption of Willy’s devising, which uses a chain reaction to perform a simple task and is dog-powered.

CATHEDRAL VAULT / CARTEL LAIR

Built on Leavesden’s I Stage, this concealed vault was comprised of several separate sets, including the vault control room, the chocolate tank, the confessional booth access, secret elevator and vault corridor.

The Crypt itself was an elaborate build created on a radius with an ornate Art Deco- and Russian-inspired dress. Pipes, valves and gauges line the walls, like a high-tech machine room, and it is furnished with appointments hearkening a grand gentleman’s club—a bar, chocolate machines, camelback sofas, wingback chairs (in dark chocolate leather, naturally) and 1930s-inspired chandeliers that look like giant jellies.

At the far end of the room, a small submarine-style watertight door is secured with a wheel, through which the nefarious chocolatiers access the chocolate tank—a tiled tank resembling a swimming pool of melted chocolate.

OTHER SETS

The interior of the narrowboat of Willy’s childhood was also constructed at Leavesden, with the charming set comprised of many elements lifted from old caravans. Other constructions included: the boat on which Willy arrives (above- and below-deck), various storm drains, and multiple locations within the zoo (the welcome lodge, giraffe enclosure and other corridors).

There were also a few days’ shooting at the Cardington Hangar, where the Flying by Foy team rigged multiple trapezes for Chalamet and Lane to rehearse and shoot their high-flying duet, dancing in the zoo and then being lifted airborne by colorful balloons.

PRACTICAL LOCATIONS

• Goring Gap, a unique location in the British Isles situated between two separate Areas of Outstanding Beauty (a picturesque valley occupied by the river Thames, with a riverbank in the Chilterns and, on the other side, in the North Wessex Downs) provided the backdrop where young Willy (played by Colin O’Brien) performs magic for his Mamma (Sally Hawkins) on the narrowboat that is their home on the river. Scenes with the narrowboat were also shot at Sutton Bridge, a picture-perfect stretch of the Thames with weeping willows and a beautiful stone bridge.
• Lyme Regis’ harbor offered the perfect location for the town’s docks and where the boat carrying Willy lands. The historic harbor wall (known as The Cobb) and the seaside town with its beautifully preserved period buildings tied in perfectly with the overall look of the film. Lyme Regis proved a challenging location, as the busy working port is home to many small fishing businesses. Production had to shut down the harbor for three days, stopping all access in and out, which meant negotiating with 40 different companies to mutual satisfaction. Holidaymakers and hundreds of fans were also more than happy to gather in hopes of catching a glimpse of Chalamet.
• In the beautiful and elegant city of Bath, the stunning honey-colored Georgian architecture complimented the Leavesden build and was a perfect location to situate exterior shots near the cathedral, along a colonnade and a riverbank. Oxford provided its historic Radcliffe Camera, part of the Bodleian Library, and another riverside location.
• Other locations included: London’s The Rivoli Ballroom, a beautiful original 1950s example and the only one left in London (for a comedy club and telephone exchange); and Eltham Palace, an English Heritage property with a beautiful 1930s Art Deco interior (which provided a perfect environment for interiors in the Slugworth house and factory).

SINGING, DANCING AND…FLYING

Music adds to the magic of the Willy Wonka story, with six original songs from Neil Hannon (with lyrics by Hannon, along with Farnaby and King), alongside the much-loved “Pure Imagination” and the “Oompa Loompa” theme. The six new songs are: “A Hatful of Dreams,” “You’ve Never Had Chocolate Like This,” “Scrub Scrub,” “Sweet Tooth,” “For A Moment” and “A World of Your Own.”

The film’s music department counted composer Joby Talbot, songwriter Hannon, music supervisor James Taylor and music producer Charlie Rosen among its ranks, as well as a music editor, on-set ProTools operator and a music assistant on set every day. There was also a vocal coach, recording mix engineer and assistants working with cast and in the background.

Vocal preparation began a full four months before the commencement of principal photography, which involved coaching and researching with cast, Rosen’s arranging the tracks from piano demos to fully-produced demos and pre-recording vocals and instruments. Taylor and Rosen created a sound for “Wonka” by paying particular attention to instrumentation, bringing in the sounds of such instruments as an accordion, a banjo and dulcimer.

Once the sound was established and the tracks were built, it was time to move on to adding the vocals from the actors, pre-recording the songs at Abbey Road—the tracks were then played back during filming, with some live recordings on set also taking place. An on-site studio allowed talent to record any immediate changes, offering the possibility for adjusting the vocals along the way.

In addition to all the vocal and musical preparation, cast members began working with choreographer Christopher Gatelli at the same time they began their singing prep. Gatelli came to King’s attention with his work choreographing the funny 1940s barroom routine in 2016’s “Hail, Caesar!” Gatelli worked to create a visual language and dance style for “Wonka” by incorporating a variety of styles to suit the music—tap, waltz, even a Broadway-esque showstopper with kickline.

When airborne choreography was required, the Flying By Foy team worked with the filmmakers and Gatelli, coming up with technical ways to achieve the creative ideas involved in King’s vision; Foy was represented in a core team of three.

The biggest flying sequence takes place once Willy supplies Hoverchocs to customers in the town square, and the resulting number becomes an aerial ballet for the up to 20 performing, hovering in individual positions and traveling at different speeds and heights (with a camera descending through them). Foy’s proprietary system of harnesses and suspension provides for exact repetition of the movements for each take with everything timed to the millisecond; they were able to finesse the light touch look King wanted with full control over the performers’ movement all the way. This control also enabled the seamless combination of flying and dancing with Willy and Noodle’s sky-bound duet.

CHOCOLATE

If one is making a film about the creation of the world’s best chocolatier, one should perhaps bring on a real-life chocolatier to help create the hundreds of chocolates consumed onscreen in the course of the movie. Enter Gabriella Cugno, officially in the set decorating and props team, but in essence, the behind-the-scenes Wonka of “Wonka.”

After being sent the script, Cugno took a crack at making six confections (with up to four different designs each) for King, taking care to make sure the outside “signaled” the inside and conveyed the magic of the sweet. After a show-and-taste, King chose his favorite of each and gave instruction for the design of the remaining chocolates.

Per King: “Everything that is eaten in the movie is not only edible, but delicious. I promise. When the characters eat flowers or leaves, they’re edible. They’re great. And there was an amazing thing on set one day... I was remembering the bit where Gene Wilder [as Willy Wonka] eats the teacup. We had a shot and I was like, ‘Oh, if only I’d thought of this, we could have a chocolate cup that Willy could make.’ And Gabriella went, ‘Oh, I can do that.’ And I went, ‘We’ve got an hour before we film it.’ ‘Don’t worry.’ And she went away and made half a dozen, because obviously you need multiple takes. Blue, perfect little cup and saucer, made of different blue leaves all formed into the shape. And you just go, ‘I need you in my life.’”

Since the chocolate also had to be believably made by Willy with his portable chocolate-making case (a props marvel in and of itself), Cugno worked closely with the props team to design the molds. She primarily used darker chocolate (because of its stronger properties) and observed dietary requirements (there were vegan versions as well).

The final tally of chocolates created for “Wonka” included: 900 Hoverchocs, 80 Silver Linings, 85 Big Night Outs, 150 Giraffe Milk Macaroons, 400 Forty Second Sweets (Broadway Show), 200 Hair Repair Éclairs and 80 Mamma’s Wonka Bars.

In addition, limited numbers of edible flora had to be created for the Wonka’s Chocolate Shop sequence. These included a blue ball flower (15 flowers were constructed using 300 handmade petals each, 4,500 petals total); 50 purple flowers; 80 red roses; and six of the famous last-minute chocolate teacups. Other confections included edible versions of purple and orange mushrooms, purple roses, large orange leaves, cherries, cherry blossoms, soil, honeycomb, bees, pears and tree bark. Wonka’s shop also boasted doughnuts, ice creams and a sweet version of spaghetti and meatballs.

Though not nearly as showy as her other creations, Cugno also crafted around 400 very conventional chocolates (simply molded and painted) that served as the confections sold by the Cartel.

And every single chocolate crafted for “Wonka” was completely hand-tempered and handmade, with all natural ingredients, no artificial flavors or preservatives.

Something which would make Willy Wonka very proud indeed.

ABOUT THE CAST

Oscar nominee TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET (Willy Wonka) had his breakout performance in Luca Guadagnino’s “Call Me By Your Name,” for which he received SAG Award, BAFTA Award and Academy Award nominations. Chalamet was the youngest “Best Actor” Oscar nominee since 1939. He won the Independent Spirit Award for “Best Actor” and received “Best Actor” Awards from the New York Film Critics, the Los Angeles Film Critics and numerous other critics groups. That same year, he appeared in Greta Gerwig’s six-time Oscar-nominated film “Lady Bird,” opposite Saoirse Ronan, and in Scott Cooper’s “Hostiles,” opposite Christian Bale.

Up next, Chalamet will star in Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part Two,” the highly anticipated sequel to “Dune,” which is set to release in theaters in March 2024. Chalamet will also star as the title character in Warner Bros. Pictures’ “Wonka” for director Paul King. The movie will release in theaters on December 15, 2023.

Last year, Chalamet starred in Luca Guadagnino’s “Bones and All,” alongside Taylor Russell, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival to rave reviews and a 10-minute standing ovation. In 2021, Chalamet starred in Legendary Pictures’ and Warner Bros. Pictures’ nine-time Oscar-nominated film “Dune,” directed by Denis Villeneuve. Chalamet also starred opposite Frances McDormand and Lyna Khoudri in the Wes Anderson film “The French Dispatch,” which set a record for the top opening theater average of the COVID-19 pandemic era. Chalamet appeared in Adam McKay’s “Don’t Look Up,” alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence. The film received four Academy Award nominations, including “Best Picture,” and hit a record high of 360-million hours of viewing during its first 28 days on the Netflix.

In 2018, Chalamet starred opposite Steve Carell in Felix Van Groeningen’s film “Beautiful Boy,” for which he received Screen Actors Guild and BAFTA Award nominations for his performance. Previously, he appeared in David Michod’s “The King,” Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar” and starred in Julia Hart’s “Miss Stevens.”

Chalamet’s television work includes a leading role on season two of the acclaimed series “Homeland,” opposite Damian Lewis and Claire Danes, which won the SAG Award that year for “Best Ensemble in a Drama Series.” His theatre credits include the off-Broadway production of John Patrick Shanley’s “Prodigal Son,” for which he won the Lucille Lortel Award and was nominated for Drama Desk and Clive Barnes Awards for “Best Actor.”

CALAH LANE (Noodle) is a young star on the rise and was cast in the role of Noodle in Warner Bros. Pictures’ “Wonka” as the result of a global casting call. Lane was previously seen in the features “Seberg” and “The Day Shall Come.” Her television credits include “Firebuds,” “Family Reunion,” the NBC hit “This Is Us,” Ryan Murphy’s “Hollywood” and Showtime’s “Kidding,” starring Jim Carrey.

Emmy, Peabody and Webby Award-winning actor, writer and producer KEEGAN-MICHAEL KEY (Chief of Police) is known for his extraordinarily diverse skill set and wide-ranging talent in both comedy and drama. Key redefines what it means to be a multi-hyphenate in the worlds of film, television and theater.

In 2023, Key released a slew of projects, including Illumination and Nintendo’s smash hit, “The Super Mario Bros. Movie”; the second season of award-winning comedy series “Schmigadoon!” for Apple TV+; and his bestselling book, The History of Sketch Comedy, which he co-wrote along with Elle Key. Key also stars in “Wonka” opposite Timothée Chalamet, hitting theaters in December 2023.

In addition, Key had a busy 2022 slate hosting the NFL Honors, starring in the Netflix comedy series “The Pentaverate,” Judd Apatow’s “The Bubble,” Steve Levitan/Hulu’s Critics Choice-nominated series “Reboot” (in which he also received an individual Best Actor in a Comedy Series nomination), and lending his voice to a number of animated projects, including Henry Selick’s Critics Choice-nominated film “Wendell & Wild,” Disney+’s “Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers,” Disney+’s “Pinocchio” and Amazon Prime’s “Hotel Transylvania 4: Transformania.” Additionally, he narrated the pre-curser to his bestselling book, The History of Sketch Comedy, for Audible, in which he co-wrote the series alongside director, Elle Key.

Additional credits include Netflix’s “Dolemite Is My Name,” Paramount’s “Playing With Fire” and Disney’s “Toy Story 4” and “The Lion King.” Additionally, he hosted and executive produced both CBS’ “Game On!” and National Geographic’s “Brain Games.”

Key came to worldwide attention as co-creator and co-star, alongside Jordan Peele, of Comedy Central’s groundbreaking sketch series “Key & Peele,” which won the 2016 Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Sketch Series.

PATERSON JOSEPH (Slugworth) is a familiar face and distinctive voice in the UK and around the globe, thanks to his extensive work in all media.

Along with Paul King’s “Wonka,” his feature film credits include Richard Eyre’s “The Other Man,” Karyn Kusama’s “Æon Flux” with Charlize Theron, Michael Hurst’s “The Baby Juice Express,” Joel Hershman’s “Greenfingers,” Danny Boyle’s “The Beach” and Jim Sheridan’s “In the Name of the Father.”

Joseph’s robust television credits include “Boat Story,” “That Dirty Black Bag,” “Noughts + Crosses,” “Vigil,” “Timeless,” “Relik,” “Peep Show,” “You, Me and the Apocalypse,” “The Leftovers,” “Safe House,” “Baybylon,” “Law & Order: UK” and “Julius Caesar,” to name but a few.

The performer’s voice is a familiar presence from his work as a podcaster, presenter and narrator, along with voicing multiple characters in several gaming platforms.

Actor, author, comedian, presenter and writer MATT LUCAS (Prodnose) is one of the most recognizable personalities in British television.

Lucas first came to prominence as George Dawes in the seminal comedy ”Shooting Stars.” However, he is perhaps best known for his work alongside David Walliams, co-creating the three-time BAFTA-winning BBC comedy, ”Little Britain.” Matt has starred in numerous critically acclaimed projects, with film credits including ”Alice in Wonderland,” “Paddington” and “Bridesmaids,” with theatre projects including ”Les Misérables.” Matt’s television credits include co-hosting the award-winning ”Great British Bake Off” for Channel Four and Sky Max’s ”Fantasy Football.” Additionally, Lucas has created a string of bestselling children’s books, including Thank You, Baked Potato and his debut musical novel, The Boy Who Slept Through Christmas.

MATHEW BAYNTON (Fickelgruber) is an award-winning British actor, writer and producer. He is well-known for the highly celebrated sitcom “Ghosts,” which ran for five seasons. Baynton co-created, wrote and starred in the series alongside the creative collective Them There, who met on “Horrible Histories” and went on to collaborate on “Yonderland” and the feature film “Bill.” Mathew also co-created, wrote and starred in the award-winning BBC series “The Wrong Mans,” alongside James Corden.

This December, he will be seen starring in Warner Bros. Pictures’ “Wonka” and will also appear in BBC’s adaptation of Agatha Christie’s “Murder Is Easy.” “Ghosts” will return for its final episode this Christmas following the success of season five earlier this year. In 2024, Mathew will appear as Eliot Ward in the TV adaptation of Holly Jackson’s New York Times Bestseller “A Good Girl’s Guild to Murder” for the BBC, opposite Emma Myers and Anna Maxwell Martin.

In theatre, he will be making his highly-anticipated Royal Shakespeare Company debut as Bottom in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” with a run of performances beginning in January 2024 until 30 March 2024. Baynton’s other TV credits include “The Split” (BBC), “Quacks” (BBC), “Gavin & Stacey” (BBC), “Peep Show” (C4) and “You, Me and the Apocalypse” (Sky Arts). Mathew’s other film credits include “The Falling,” “Telstar” and “Hereafter.”

Award-winning actor SALLY HAWKINS (Mamma) has garnered honors and acclaim for her body of work, with memorable, singular and compelling performances across projects in multiple genres.

For her work in Guillermo del Toro’s multiple-Oscar-winning “The Shape of Water,” Hawkins received an Academy Award nomination for “Best Actress,” along with additional nominations from SAG, BAFTA, Critics Choice, Evening Standard, Golden Globes, London Critics Circle and National Society of Film Critics, along with many others.

Her performance in Woody Allen’s “Blue Jasmine” garnered an Academy Award nomination for “Best Supporting Actress,” along with nominations from BAFTA, Critics Choice, Empire Awards, Golden Globes, Independent Spirit Awards, London Critics Circle and National Society of Film Critics, among others. Hawkins received a Golden Globe, a London Critics Circle award, a New York Film Critics Circle Award and a National Society of Film Critics Award for her role of Poppy in Mike Leigh’s “Happy-Go-Lucky.”

Most recently, Hawkins was seen portraying amateur historian Philippa Langley, who defies the academic establishment by locating the remains of Britain’s King Richard III in Stephen Frears’ “The Lost King.” Her other recent credits include Gil Kenan’s “A Boy Called Christmas”; Craig Roberts’ “The Phantom of the Open” and “Eternal Beauty”; Pablo Larraín’s “Spencer”; and Michael Dougherty’s “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” and Gareth Edward’s “Godzilla.”

“Wonka” marks Sally’s third collaboration with filmmaker Paul King, having portrayed Mary Brown in both “Paddington” and “Paddington 2.” Hawkins has also been a regular collaborator with several filmmakers, including Mike Leigh (“All or Nothing,” “Vera Drake,” “Happy-Go-Lucky”), Woody Allen (“Cassandra’s Dream,” “Blue Jasmine”) and Richard Ayoade (“Submarine,” “The Double”).

Sally’s additional film credits include Aisling Walsh’s “Maudie,” Morgan Matthews’ “A Brilliant Young Mind,” Phil Morrison’s “All Is Bright,” Mike Newell’s “Great Expectations,” Cary Joji Fukunaga’s “Jane Eyre,” Nigel Cole’s “Made in Dagenham,” Mark Romanek’s “Never Let Me Go,” Gurinder Chadha’s “It’s a Wonderful Afterlife” and Lone Sherfig’s “An Education.”

Her television credits include “Mammals,” “The Hollow Crown,” “Persuasion,” “Little Britain,” “Fingersmith,” “Byron” and “Tipping the Velvet,” among others, in addition to lending her voice to such animated fare as “The Smeds and the Smoos,” “The Snail and the Whale,” “Stick Man,” “Room On the Broom” and “Little Crackers.”

Sally recently served as executive producer on Adrian Shergold’s thriller “Cordelia,” starring Antonia Campbell-Hughes and Johnny Flynn.

ROWAN ATKINSON (Father Julius) is an actor and writer widely regarded as among the funniest and most influential in British comedy history.

After several years garnering critical acclaim, Atkinson found national prominence with “Not the Nine ‘O’ Clock News.” Atkinson followed this by taking on the eponymous, starring roles in “Blackadder” and “Mr. Bean,” both of which he co-created. The ongoing, worldwide success of these characters and others, including Johnny English, have secured his place in the British Comedy firmament.

JIM CARTER (Abacus Crunch) is probably best known as Carson the Butler in the hugely popular, multi-award-winning series “Downton Abbey,” for which he received four Emmy nominations.

Carter began his career in repertory theatres before joining the Royal National Theatre to appear in, amongst others, Sir Richard Eyre’s award-winning production of “Guys and Dolls,” Bill Bryden’s “Passion Plays” and Sir Peter Hall’s “Oresteia.” His work with other theatre companies followed, including “The Wizard of Oz” for the Royal Shakespeare Company.

He is a regular face on British television, ranging from one-off dramas to series and serials. His notable appearances include roles in Jon Amiel’s “The Singing Detective”; Mick Jackson’s “A Very British Coup”; “Stalin,” with Robert Duvall; “A Dangerous Man,” with Ralph Fiennes; “Dinotopia” for Hallmark; “Jack and the Beanstalk” for the Jim Henson Company; the award-winning “The Way We Live Now”; and “Cranford” for the BBC.

His recent credits include “Knightfall” for The History Channel and “King Lear,” opposite Anthony Hopkins, for BBC2. Carter also has a wealth of film credits, including two “Downton Abbey” films; “The Good Liar”; “Swimming with Men”; Michael Bay’s “Transformers: The Last Knight”; Simon Curtis’s “My Week with Marilyn”; Jon Amiel’s “Creation”; “Red Riding Year of Our Lord 1980” and “Red Riding Year of Our Lord 1983”; “The Oxford Murders”; “The Golden Compass”; “Casablanca Driver”; “Ella Enchanted”; “Bright Young Things”; “102 Dalmatians”; John Madden’s Oscar-winning “Shakespeare in Love”; “Brassed Off”; “Richard III,” with Ian McKellen; Nicholas Hytner’s “The Madness of King George”; “Black Beauty”; Nicolas Roeg’s “The Witches”; Ken Russell’s “The Rainbow”; Gene Wilder’s “Haunted Honeymoon”; “A Private Function,” with Maggie Smith; and “Top Secret!”

NATASHA ROTHWELL (Piper Benz) was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series for Mike White’s critically acclaimed series “White Lotus,” which also won the 2022 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series. Rothwell is currently in production on her Hulu/Onyx series “How to Die Alone,” which she will write, star in and produce through her production company Big Hattie Productions. She can be seen in Warner Bros. Pictures’ “Wonka” and heard in Disney’s upcoming animated feature “Wish.” She is best-known for work as a series regular, writer and producer on HBO’s “Insecure,” for which she won a Peabody Award and the 2022 NAACP Image Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy. Natasha was a 2021 Sundance Screenwriters Lab Fellow and has previously written for “Saturday Night Live” and penned screenplays for Netflix, Paramount and HBO Max. In 2020, she founded Big Hattie Productions and is currently creating under that banner at ABC / Disney.

Her additional acting credits include “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” “Bojack Horseman,” “Bob’s Burgers,” “American Dad,” “The Simpsons,” “Love, Simon,” “Sonic the Hedgehog” and “Wonder Woman 1984.”

RICH FULCHER (Larry Chucklesworth) can next be seen in the Warner Bros. Pictures’ “Wonka,” in which he appears alongside Timothée Chalamet, Keegan-Michael Key and Rowan Atkinson. Fulcher is an American comedian and author who is best known for co-starring in the British comedy series “The Mighty Boosh,” alongside comedy duo Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding. Rich was a star and major writer for the BBC Three sketch show “Snuff Box.”

Recently, he has also produced, written on and provided voices for Matt Groening’s Netflix series “Disenchantment.” Rich has guest-starred on Comedy Central’s “Another Period,” “Kroll Show,” “Drunk History” and IFC’s “Comedy Bang! Bang!” Additionally, he frequently appeared on FX’s hit “The League,” Hulu’s “The Hotwives of Orland,” Adult Swim’s “NTSF:SD:SUV” and “Children’s Hospital,” Comedy Central’s “Jon Benjamin Has a Van,” “The Sarah Silverman Program” and “Review With Forrest McNeil.” He has also appeared as a talent show judge in the third season of the hit British TV drama “Skins” and the final episode of the USA TV series “Monk.” He has voiced characters on “Star Trek: Lower Decks” (Paramount+), “Central Park” (Apple TV+) and “Rick and Morty” (Adult Swim). In film, Rich provided a voice for Sony’s “Arthur Christmas” and had a supporting role in Matt Walsh’s improv-based feature, “High Road.” Rich has also developed a show with Carousel for UCP.

RAKHEE THAKRAR (Lottie Bell) most recently shot Arian Labed’s latest feature “Sisters.” She will soon appear in Warner Bros. Pictures’ “Wonka,” opposite Timothée Chalamet and Olivia Colman. Thakrar’s television credits include a leading role in Quay Street series “The Hoard”; the series regular role of Miss Sands in the hit Netflix series “Sex Education”; “Rules of the Game” opposite Maxine Peake for BBC One; “Karen Pirie” for ITV; “The Girl Before” for HBO Max / BBC; and Hulu’s “Four Weddings and a Funeral.”

Her feature credits include “My Happy Ending,” opposite Andie MacDowell and Miriam Margolyes, directed by Sharon Maymon and Tal Granit. Her theatre credits include Margaret Perry’s “Paradise Now!” at the Bush Theatre, which was nominated for an Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Affiliate Theatre. Rakhee also plays the eighth Doctor’s companion, Bliss, in Big Finish’s “Doctor Who: The Time War” audio dramas. She was nominated for Best Serial Drama performance at the 2016 National Television Awards for her work on “Eastenders.”

TOM DAVIS (Bleacher) is a writer, actor and comic best known for his BAFTA and Royal Television Society award-winning comedy series “Murder in Successville” and seasons one and two of the BBC One hit comedy “King Gary.” Davis can recently be seen in the critically acclaimed series “The Curse” for Channel 4, which he co-wrote. Tom co- hosts the hit podcast “The Wolf and the Owl” with 15 million yearly listeners and is currently on a major UK tour with his comedy show, “Underdog.”

Tom will next be seen in “Wonka” for Warner Bros. Pictures, starring opposite Timothée Chalamet and Olivia Colman. His other notable projects include ITV’s “Action Team,” with a cast that included Vicky McClure, Derek Riddell, Stephen Graham and Jim Howick; “The Virtues,” directed by Shane Meadows (C4); “Redknapp’s Weekend Warm Up” (Sky/NOW TV); “The Morgana Show” (C4); “Bad Education” (BBC3/Netflix); “Drunk History” (Comedy Central); “Cockroaches” (ITV2); “Big School” (BBC1); “Plebs” (ITV2); “A League of Their Own: European Road Trip” (Sky One); and “Judge Romesh” (Dave).  In film, Tom has been seen in “The Bad Education Movie,” “Free Fire,” “Prevenge” and “Paddington 2” as the memorable T-Bone.

KOBNA HOLDBROOK-SMITH (Officer Affable) won the Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his incredible performance as Ike Turner in “Tina: The Tina Turner Musical.” He can also be seen co-starring in Disney’s “Mary Poppins Returns,” opposite Emily Blunt, Ben Whishaw and Lin Manuel-Miranda. His other credits include feature films “Justice League,” “Paddington 2,” “Ghost Stories” (opposite Martin Freeman), “The Commuter” (opposite Liam Neeson) and Marvel’s “Dr. Strange,” along with television work in the BBC One series “The Split,” “Capital,” Sky series “The Last Panthers,” and “The Worricker Trilogy,” with Christopher Walken and Bill Nighy.

Alongside his screen work, Kobna has an acclaimed list of stage credits including most recently “The Effect” at the National Theatre. Other credits include “Hamlet” (Barbican), “Rosencrantz & Gildenstern Are Dead” (National Theatre), “Edward II” (National Theatre) and “The Low Road” (Royal Court). He can recently be seen in “Red Election” (Disney+), “Ragdoll” (BBC), “Accused” (Fox) and “His Dark Materials” (BBC & HBO).

Upcoming, OLIVIA COLMAN (Mrs Scrubitt) will be seen in Paul King’s “Wonka,” alongside Timothée Chalamet, for Warner Bros. Pictures. Following, Colman will star in Thea Sharrock’s “Wicked Little Letters,” starring opposite Jessie Buckley. Set in the 1920s, the film is based on a true story and follows two neighbors (Colman and Buckley) who come together to solve a mystery. Colman and Ed Sinclair’s South of the River Pictures also produce the film. Studiocanal will release the film in the UK on February 23, 2024, and Sony Pictures Classics will handle US distribution.

Olivia will soon start production on Conor McPherson’s “Girl From the North Country,” based on the Bob Dylan jukebox musical of the same name with Woody Harrelson, Chlöe Bailey and Tosin Cole. Set in 1934 against the backdrop of Duluth, Minnesota during the Great Depression, the drama revolves around a group of wayward travelers whose lives intersect in a guesthouse filled with music, life and hope. Following, Olivia will film Alex Huston Fishcer and Eleanor Wilson’s “Wicker,” opposite of Dev Patel. Taking place on the outskirts of a village by the sea, the comedy follows a perpetually ridiculed fisherwoman (Colman), who is fed up with her small-minded neighbors and commissions herself a husband to be made from wicker (Patel). In an otherwise conservative town, this unconventional romance sparks outrage, jealousy and chaos.

Most notably, Olivia won the 2019 Academy Award in the category of Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role as Queen Anne in Yorgos Lanthimos’s critically acclaimed “The Favourite,” opposite Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz. The same year she also won the Golden Globe for the category of Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy); the BAFTA award in the category of Best Leading Actress; British Independent Film Award in the category of Best Actress; the Critics’ Choice award in the category Best Actress in a Comedy; and the Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the 2018 Venice Film Festival. “The Favourite” marked her second collaboration with Lanthimos, following her role in his dystopian romantic comedy, “The Lobster,” for which Olivia received a British Independent Film Award in the category of Best Supporting Actress, and a nomination for an Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Comedy Performance. In 2021, Olivia was seen in Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut,” The Lost Daughter,” with Dakota Johnson and Jessie Buckley. For this role, Olivia won the Gotham Award in the category of Outstanding Lead Performance and received nominations for an Academy Award, Golden Globe, SAG Award and Critics Choice Award.

In 2011/2012, Olivia won the Best Actress prize at the British Independent Film Awards, Evening Standard British Film Awards, Critics Circle Awards and Empire Awards for her brilliant performance in Paddy Considine’s feature directorial debut “Tyrannosaur,” opposite Peter Mullan and Eddie Marsan. The film also won the World Cinema Special Jury Prize for Breakout Performance at the Sundance international Festival the same year.

Her other film credits include: Sam Mendes’ “Empire of Light”; Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado’s “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish”; Stephen Donnelly’s “Scrooge: A Christmas Carol”; Florian Zeller’s “The Father,” for which she received an Academy Award, Golden Globe, SAG and Critics Choice Award nomination; Emer Reynolds’ comedy “Joyride”; Eva Husson’s “Mothering Sunday”; Will Sharpe’s “The Electrical Life of Louis Wain”; Sarah Smith, Jean-Philippe Vine and Octavio E. Rodriguez Ron’s “Gone Wrong”; Michael Rianda and Jeff Rowe’s “The Mitchells vs the Machines”; Britt Poulton and Dan Madison Savage’s thriller “Them That Follow”; Kenneth Branagh’s “Murder On the Orient Express”; Phyllida Lloyd’s “The Iron Lady,” opposite Meryl Streep; Rufus Norris’ “London Road”; Roger Michell’s “Hyde Park on Hudson”; Steven Knight’s “Locke”; James Griffiths’ “Cuban Fury”; and Edgar Wright’s “Hot Fuzz.”

On television, most recently, Olivia was seen in Marvel’s “Secret Invasion,” alongside Samuel L. Jackson and Emilia Clarke. The limited series follows Nick Fury (Jackson), who uncovers a conspiracy by a group of renegade alien Skrulls planning to gain control of Earth by posing as different humans around the world. Olivia plays the role of Sonya Falsworth, a high-ranking MI6 agent and an old ally of Fury’s, who looks to protect the United Kingdom’s national security interests during the invasion. Earlier this year, she was also seen in FX/BBC’s “Great Expectations,” alongside Shalom Brune-Franklin and Fionn Whitehead, in the adaptation of Charles Dickens’ acclaimed novel of the same name. She played the iconic role of Miss Havisham, whose ambitions stem from her jilted revenge against men, where she enlists an eager orphan named Pip (Brune-Franklin) as her newest pawn in this game of manipulation.

In 2021, Olivia won an Emmy Award in the category of Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Queen Elizabeth II in season four of the critically acclaimed Netflix Original series “The Crown,” opposite Tobias Menzies and Helena Bonham Carter. This is a reprisal of her role from season three, for which she won a Golden Globe Award in the category of Best Performance by an Actress in a Drama Television Series in 2019. Across both seasons, she also received nominations for a BAFTA, SAG and Critics Choice Awards.

Also on the small screen, Olivia also won a Golden Globe in the category of Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television, for her portrayal of Angela Burr in the BBC/AMC’s “The Night Manager.” In 2013, Colman was the double award winner at the Television BAFTA’s, winning Female Performance in a Comedy Programme for her reoccurring role in BBC’s “Twenty Twelve,” as well as Best Supporting Actress for her role in BBC’s “Accused.”

Her other television credits include lending her voice to the Netflix series “Heartstopper”;  the HBO/SKY limited series, “Landscapers,” which South of the River Pictures co-produced; the BBC/Amazon’s award-winning “Fleabag,” for which she garnered an Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actress and a Television BAFTA nomination in the category of Best Female Performance in a Comedy Programme; ITV’s “Broadchurch,” which ran for three seasons and for which she won a Television BAFTA for Leading Actress; BBC’s “Rev,” for which she received a Television BAFTA nomination in the category of Best Female Performance in a Comedy Programme; PBS/BBC Studios’ “Les Misérables”; Netflix’s “Watership Down”; Channel 4’s “Flowers,” “Peep Show” and “Greenwig”; BBC’s “The Thirteenth Tale,” “The Secrets” and “Exile”; Sky Atlantic’s “Mr. Sloane”; and ITV1’s “The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher II.”

Onstage, Olivia’s credits include “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” (Lyric Theatre), “England People Very Nice” (National Theatre), “Hayfever” (Noel Coward Theatre) and, most recently, Lucy Kirkwood’s “Mosquitoes” at the National Theatre, directed by Rufus Norris, for which she won Best Actress in the 2018 Whatsonstage Awards.

Olivia has been awarded the title of Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for her services to drama, and a BFI Fellowship.

 

HUGH GRANT (Oompa Loompa) has received awards and acclaim for his work in a wide range of films, which have grossed more than $2.5 billion combined, worldwide.

Grant will next be seen in the highly anticipated “Wonka,” alongside Timothée Chalamet, Keegan-Michael Key, Rowan Atkinson and Sally Hawkins. The film focuses on the enigmatic Willy Wonka and the candymaker’s origins. Grant will play the iconic role of the Oompa-Loompa and the movie is set to release on December 15, 2023.

Most recently, Grant can be seen in the “Dungeons & Dragons” film adaptation, starring alongside Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez and Regé-Jean Page. The actor plays the rogue villain Forge Fletcher. The actor was also recently seen in Guy Ritchie’s “Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre,” alongside Jason Statham, Aubrey Plaza and Josh Hartnett.

Upcoming, the actor is set to appear in Jerry Seinfeld’s “Unfrosted,” a film comedy that is inspired by a joke he told on the stand-up stage about the world-shaking invention of Pop-Tarts. He will also appear in the upcoming HBO limited series “The Regime” in a guest-starring role. He joins previously announced cast members Kate Winslet, Matthias Schoenaerts and Andrea Riseborough in the drama, which is said to “tell the story of one year within the walls of the palace of an authoritarian regime as it begins to unravel.” Most recently, the actor wrapped production on A24’s new horror film “Heretic” by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, in which he is set to star.

Grant notably starred in HBO’s hit limited series “The Undoing,” starring opposite Nicole Kidman as an acclaimed pediatric oncologist, devoted husband to Grace (Kidman) and doting father, whose past undergoes scrutiny when he suddenly disappears, leading to a chain of terrible revelations. The show made HBO history as the network’s first-ever original series to grow consistently every week over the course of its season, with the finale becoming the most watched night of viewing for an HBO original series since the finale of “Big Little Lies.” Grant received Emmy, Critics Choice, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild nominations for his performance.

In 2021 and 2020, Grant appeared in Netflix’s “Death to 2021” and “Death to 2020,” mockumentaries by “Black Mirror” creators Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones. Also in 2020, Grant starred in Guy Ritchie’s “The Gentlemen,” a gangster feature exploring the collision between old-money European wealth and the modern marijuana industrial complex. The actor played the sleazy and relentless journalist, Fletcher, who also serves as the narrator of the story. Prior to that, Grant starred in the Stephen Frears-directed drama “A Very English Scandal,” which garnered strong critical acclaim for his performance as the scandalous British politician, Jeremy Thorpe, and earned him Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild and Critics’ Choice nominations, as well as his first Emmy nomination.

In 2018, Grant appeared as Phoenix Buchanan in the box office sensation “Paddington 2,” which grossed $228 million worldwide and received a 99% Rotten Tomatoes rating. For his role, Grant received nominations from BAFTA and The Evening Standard Awards, and won the London Film Critics’ Circle Award for Supporting Actor of the Year. Grant was also seen in Stephen Frears’ comedy “Florence Foster Jenkins,” in which he starred opposite Meryl Streep. His performance received critical acclaim, earning him Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild, BAFTA and Critics’ Choice nominations, as well as the Best Actor Award at The Evening Standard British Film Awards.

Prior to this, Grant starred in Marc Lawrence’s romantic comedy “The Rewrite,” and in Guy Ritchie’s film adaptation of the eponymous series “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” In 2012, he starred in the ambitious drama “Cloud Atlas,” from directors Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski and Tom Tykwer, playing multiple roles throughout the film. That same year, he lent his voice to the lead role of The Pirate Captain in the animated film “The Pirates! Band of Misfits” from director Peter Lord, and, in 2009, starred opposite Sarah Jessica Parker in Marc Lawrence’s “Did You Heart About the Morgans?”

His other film credits include Lawrence’s “Music and Lyrics” (2007); Paul Weitz’s “American Dreamz” (2006); Sharon Maguire’s “Bridge Jones’s Diary” (2001) and its sequel, “Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason,” directed by Beeban Kidron (2004); Richard Curtis’ ensemble comedy hit “Love Actually” (2003); and Marc Lawrence’s “Two Weeks Notice,” opposite Sandra Bullock.

Grant won a Golden Globe Award and a BAFTA for his performance in Mike Newell’s “Four Weddings and a Funeral” in 1994, and was nominated for Golden Globes for his performances in Roger Michell’s “Notting Hill” (1999) and Chris Weitz’s “About a Boy” (2002). Among his many feature film credits are Mike Newell’s “An Awfully Big Adventure” (1995), Christopher Monger’s “The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain” (1995), Ang Lee’s “Sense and Sensibility” (1995), Kelly Makin’s “Mickey Blue Eyes” (1999), Woody Allen’s “Small Time Crooks” (2000) and Michael Apted’s “Extreme Measures” (1996), which he also produced.

In addition to his Golden Globe and BAFTA honors, Grant has received the Peter Sellers Award for Comedy, Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival and an Honorary César Award. Grant is also on the board of Hacked Off, which was started in response to the News International phone hacking scandal and campaigns for a free and accountable press.

ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS

PAUL KING (Director / Screenplay by / Story by) is a BAFTA-nominated writer/director who works in both film and television. His most recent feature, “Wonka,” is an original prequel to the beloved Roald Dahl novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, starring Timothée Chalamet in the title role, and will debut in theaters worldwide in December.

In 2009, King wrote and directed his first feature film, “Bunny and the Bull,” starring Simon Farnaby and Edward Hogg. He then directed David Walliams and Matt Lucas’ mockumentary “Come Fly With Me,” which earned nominations for a number of awards, including a BAFTA for Best Comedy and a British Comedy Award for Best Sketch Show. King directed all three series of “The Mighty Boosh,” earning him a BAFTA nomination for Best Director in 2004. The BBC comedy aired in the U.S. on Adult Swim.

King then went onto co-write and direct “Paddington” in 2014 for Heyday Films and STUDIOCANAL, a film which received both critical and commercial success worldwide, including BAFTA nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best British Film. King next co-wrote and directed “Paddington 2,” released by Warner Bros. Pictures in 2017 to great critical acclaim. The beloved sequel also received multiple BAFTA nominations, as well as a coveted 99% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes.

DAVID HEYMAN (Producer) is the Academy and BAFTA Award-nominated producer of Quentin Tarantino’s ”Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood,” starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie and Al Pacino; Noah Baumbach’s ”Marriage Story,” which starred Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson and Laura Dern; and Alfonso Cuarón’s ”Gravity,” starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney.

Heyman also produced all eight film adaptations of J.K Rowling’s hugely successful Harry Potter books, as well as the three ”Fantastic Beasts” films.

Among his other film credits are the two Paul King-directed ”Paddington” films, based on Michael Bond’s universally beloved books, the first of which starred Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Julie Walters, and featuring Nicole Kidman; the sequel, which reunited Bonneville, Hawkins and Walters and featured Hugh Grant and Brendan Gleeson; the comedies ”We’re the Millers,” starring Jennifer Aniston and Jason Sudeikis, and ”Yes Man,” starring Jim Carrey and Zooey Deschanel; Francis Lawrence’s science fiction thriller ”I Am Legend,” starring Will Smith; and Mark Herman’s Holocaust drama ”The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas,” starring Vera Farmiga and David Thewlis. His most recent films include Noah Baumbach’s acclaimed 2022 adaptation of Don DeLillo’s ”White Noise,” starring Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig, and ”Barbie,” starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, directed by Greta Gerwig.

ALEXANDRA DERBYSHIRE (Producer) completed an undergraduate course in film and photographic arts in London and started her career collaborating on many documentary films, including “Choppers on Patrol” and “Blast Force” for Discovery Channel and the Chrissie Hynde biography “No Turn Left Unstoned” for Initial TV. This experience led to several producing roles on IMAX documentaries including “Rolling Stones to the Max” (directed by Julian Temple), “Wildfire!” and multi-award-winning “Bugs 3D” (both directed by Mike Slee).

Over the past twenty years Derbyshire has worked as a freelance producer on many feature films, including “Anna Karenina” (directed by Joe Wright, starring Keira Knightly and Jude Law) and “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” (directed by Tomas Alfredson, starring Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Benedict Cumberbatch and Tom Hardy), both for Working Title Films. She also served as executive producer on “Jurassic World: Dominion” (directed by Colin Trevorrow and starring Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas – Howard, Laura Dern, Sam Neill and Jeff Goldblum) Derbyshire was also executive producer on “Paddington” and “Paddington 2” (written and directed by Paul King and produced by David Heyman). and they have teamed up again on “Wonka.”

Derbyshire developed a passion for storytelling and the magic of cinema from an early age and feels extremely fortunate to have a career doing what she loves.

Former CEO of the Roald Dahl Story Company, LUKE KELLY (Producer) was responsible for the expansion of the company from a literary estate to a diverse rights management and production company across live events, stage, television, film, digital, partnerships, merchandising and publishing.

Commercially, during his near decade at the helm, Kelly drove a tenfold increase in the company revenue before leading the successful strategy and execution of the sale of the company to its new stewards, Netflix.

Creatively, Luke has acted as an executive, producer or executive producer across 19 television, film and stage productions in partnership with Disney, Warner Bros., Sony, Netflix, the BBC and others. Luke helped generate and steward the recent and upcoming slate of Roald Dahl releases, such as Wes Anderson’s “Henry Sugar,” “Matilda the Musical” film, “Revolting Rhymes”, “The Witches” musical at the National Theatre and Warner Bros. Pictures’ “Wonka.”

Luke is currently on the board of Yoto, an interactive audio platform for children, and is a trustee of the global charities Partners in Health and The Fantastic Peach Charitable Trust, focused on giving towards children’s educational, health and anti-hate causes.

SIMON FARNABY (Screenplay by / Basil, Zoo Security Guard) is an actor and writer whose starring film credits include “Burke and Hare” (John Landis, 2010); “Your Highness” (David Gordon Green, 2011); “Bill” (Richard Bracewell, 2015), for BBC Films, loosely based on the early life of William Shakespeare; and “Bunny and the Bull” (Paul King, 2009), for Film 4. Farnaby also appeared in writer/director King’s critically acclaimed, BAFTA-nominated hit “Paddington,” and reprised his role for the equally acclaimed sequel, “Paddington 2,” which he co-wrote with King, receiving two BAFTA nominations himself. His work will next be seen on the big screen in December in Warner Bros. Pictures’ and King’s “Wonka,” an original film based on the beloved character as the center of Road Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which Farnaby again co-scripted with the director, and also plays an onscreen role.

Most recently, Farnaby’s work could be seen on the big screen in Craig Roberts’ 2021 comedy “The Phantom of the Open,” co-written by Farnaby, based on his own book, which stars Mark Rylance as Maurice Flitcroft, the worst golfer in the world. He also appeared in Marc Forster’s “Christopher Robin” in 2018; “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” for director Gareth Edwards, in 2016; and in the same year, “Mindhorn,” for director Sean Foley, in which he starred as Clive and co-wrote alongside longtime collaborator Julian Barratt.

His TV credits include “The Mighty Boosh,” as a core member of the supporting cast; the BAFTA-winning “Detectorists”; the quadruple BAFTA and double Comedy Award-winning “Horrible Histories”; “Jam and Jerusalem”; and “The Midnight Beast.” Along with the five other principal members of the cast of “Horrible Histories,” Farnaby is also the co-creator, writer and star of “Yonderland,” an eight-part family fantasy comedy series that premiered on Sky One in 2013.

Also in 2013, Farnaby presented a documentary entitled “Richard III: The King in the Car Park,” tracing the discovery and identification of the remains of the last Plantagenet king. The program won a Royal Television Society (RTS) award for best documentary and was nominated for a BAFTA.

CHUNG-HOON CHUNG (Director of Photography) is a Korean American cinematographer based in both Seoul and LA. He came up in the industry as director Park Chan-wook’s longtime DP partner, shooting two out of Park’s vengeance trilogy: “Oldboy” and “Lady Vengeance.” He continued to work with director Park on critically acclaimed projects including “Thirst,” “Stoker” and “The Handmaiden.”

His work ranges from award-winning smaller projects to big blockbusters, having shot the 2015 Sundance Jury winner “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” with director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon for Searchlight, “IT” with Andy Muschietti for New Line Cinema and “Zombieland: Double Tap” with Ruben Fleischer for Columbia. Chung-hoon then continued to thrive on projects including “Uncharted” with Ruben Fleischer for Columbia and “Last Night in Soho” with Edgar Wright for Focus Features. He’s recently shot “Wonka” with Paul King for Warner Bros. Pictures and is currently shooting “Heretic” with Scott Beck and Bryan Woods for A24.

NATHAN CROWLEY (Production Designer), a renowned production designer, began his career in Islington, London, and honed his skills at the Brighton School of Art. His early twenties saw him transition to Hollywood, where he quickly made his mark as an art director on “Bram Stoker’s Dracula,” embracing practical in-camera techniques.

Crowley’s career path led him to Dublin, Ireland, to work on films directed by Barry Levinson and Joel Schumacher. His return to the United States was a turning point, as he began a significant collaboration with Christopher Nolan on the film “Insomnia,” kicking off a series of successful projects.

His work has earned him a host of accolades, including Academy Award nominations for “The Prestige,” “The Dark Knight,” “Interstellar,” “Dunkirk,” “First Man” and “Tenet.” He has also received BAFTA nominations for his work with Nolan on “Batman Begins,” “The Dark Knight,” “Interstellar,” “First Man” and “Dunkirk.” In television, his skills were recognized with an Emmy nomination for HBO’s “Westworld.”

Recently, Crowley expanded his portfolio with film adaptations of “Wonka” and “Wicked.” His talents also extend to the art world; he has designed four exhibitions for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute in New York City that accompany the Met Gala and worked with Sofia Coppola on “La Traviata” at the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma.

Known for his practical approach to production design, Crowley excels in creating immersive, detailed worlds, combining traditional and modern techniques. His range is evident in his work, spanning from the Batman trilogy and “Interstellar,” to “Wonka” and “Wicked.”

MARK EVERSON (Editor) is a BAFTA-nominated and Royal Television Society Award-winning film and television Editor. His most recent project is “Wonka” for Warner Bros. Pictures, directed by longtime associate Paul King. The pair most famously collaborated on the acclaimed family movie “Paddington” and the sequel “Paddington 2,” both receiving BAFTA nominations. Everson’s other credits include Mark’s first foray into musicals in the film adaption of the West End’s “Everybody’s Talking about Jamie,” as well as “Dora and the Lost City of Gold.”

Mark is known for his highly-acclaimed catalogue of comedy: he had the honor of teaming with one of his comedy heroes, Rowan Atkinson, on “Johnny English Strikes Again” for Working Title Film. Aiding another major name in British comedy, Mark helped bring Steve Coogan’s legendary Alan Partridge character to the big screen in “Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa” for BBC Films. Going full circle, Mark’s first feature was Paul King’s debut “Bunny and the Bull,” which screened as part of the Official Selection at the Toronto International Film Festival and London Film Festival in 2009.

Mark’s television credits include the longest-running Channel 4 comedy series “Peep Show,” for which Mark was twice nominated for an RTS Craft and Design award, while Mark won an RTS award for his editing of “Pete Versus Life” in 2010. His other TV work includes “Toast of London” and “The Mighty Boosh,” which earned Mark a nomination at the BAFTA TV awards in 2008.

JAMES A. TAYLOR (Music Supervisor) is a breakthrough music supervisor, specializing in on-set music supervision. He has worked on films alongside some of the brightest new talent, as well as vastly experienced actors and directors and is equally at home on a large film set, on location or in the recording studio.

Based in London, Taylor began his career supervising and music directing shows on the West End, in the United Kingdom and all around the world. As a talented pianist and conductor, James trained as a performer and songwriter, and completed studies in sound recording and engineering for the prestigious Tonmeister degree.

In the last few years, James has been a key part of the music in some of the world’s biggest movie musicals, from working with actors to supervising music departments for films including Disney’s live-action adaptation of “Aladdin”; “Yesterday,” directed by Danny Boyle; “Cats”; and Netflix’s musical films “Jingle Jangle” and “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio.” His upcoming projects include the musical film “Greatest Days,” featuring the music of the popular band Take That; the highly-anticipated Warner Bros. Pictures’ feature film “Wonka,” starring Timothée Chalamet; and Ellen Kuras’ directorial debut, “Lee,” which debuted at the Toronto Film Festival.

JOBY TALBOT (Music by) is one of the most diverse composers working today. His career spans classical concerts, ballets, operas and scores for film and television. In addition to numerous orchestral commissions, Talbot’s work as a leading dance composer includes “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” “A Winter’s Tale” and most recently, “Like Water for Chocolate,” all in collaboration with the renowned choreographer Christopher Wheeldon. His most recent opera, commissioned by the Dallas Opera, “The Diving Bell and The Butterfly,” is based on the memoir of journalist Jean-Dominque Bauby, which was also the subject of the 2007 film directed by Julian Schnabel. Talbot’s latest film score is for the upcoming “Wonka,” reuniting Talbot with songwriter Neil Hannon—both members of the band The Divine Comedy. His other film credits include both of the scores for Illumination’s “Sing” franchise, “The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy,” “Hunky Dory,” “Is Anybody There?,” “Penelope” and “Son of Rambow.”

NEIL HANNON (Original Songs by) is best-known as the songwriter and driving force behind the band The Divine Comedy. Over 12 albums (and counting), his trademark orchestral pop, intelligent lyrics and legendary live shows have turned him into something of a national treasure.

Born and raised in Northern Ireland, Neil Hannon signed his first record deal aged 19. His first albums “Liberation” and “Promenade” were critically acclaimed, but it was 1996’s “Casanova” and lead single “Something For The Weekend” that brought widespread fame. Then in 1998, “National Express” became the band’s most beloved and highest charting single. Two decades later and the critically acclaimed album count is at 12, with songs like “Our Mutual Friend,” “A Lady Of A Certain Age” and “To The Rescue” joining the pantheon of Hannon’s most renowned work. Last year, the group’s longevity was confirmed when “Charmed Life, The Best Of The Divine Comedy” reached no.5 in the UK album chart. Neil Hannon has written extensively outside of The Divine Comedy. His work for theatre includes a musical adaptation of “Swallows and Amazons” for the Bristol Old Vic, which has since become a perennial favourite both in the UK and internationally. His classical pieces “To Our Fathers In Distress” and “As The Sun Brightens, The Shadows Deepen” were recently performed in Belfast by the Ulster Orchestra and recorded by the BBC for broadcast in 2024. He contributed songs and score to 2022’s found-footage sci-fi film “LOLA,” and has written original songs for the forthcoming Warner Bros. Pictures’ film “Wonka,” starring Timothée Chalamet.

Neil lives in County Kildare, Ireland with wife Cathy Davey and a large quantity of rescue animals. He is currently writing a new Divine Comedy album.

Born in Pembrokeshire, Wales in 1948, LINDY HEMMING (Costume Designer) speaks English, Welsh and Italian. Hemming studied at the Royal College of Dramatic Art.

As a costume designer, she has worked extensively in theatre, including designing for Open Space Theatre, Hampstead Theatre, the Royal National Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company (at Aldwych, Stratford and the Barbican), on Broadway (where she received a Tony nomination for “All’s Well That Ends Well” in 1983) and for several productions in London’s West End.

In 1983, she began working in television and then film. She has worked with Mike Leigh on multiple projects: “Abigail’s Party,” “Meantime,” “High Hopes,” “Life Is Sweet” and “Topsy-Turvy,” for which she won an Academy Award.

Among the many other films she has designed are “My Beautiful Launderette,” “The Krays,” “Four Weddings and a Funeral,” five James Bond films (from “Goldeneye” to “Casino Royale”) and “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.” She also designed all three of Christopher Nolan’s Batman Trilogy—”Batman Begins,” “The Dark Knight” and “The Dark Knight Rises”—and both “Wonder Woman” and “Wonder Woman 1984” for Patty Jenkins.

Hemming won the Costume Designers Guild Award for both “The Dark Knight” and “Wonder Woman.” “Wonder Woman” was also the first superhero film to be nominated for Critics Choice Award for Best Costume Design. Her other awards and nominations include BAFTA nominations for “Four Weddings and a Funeral” and “The Dark Knight,” and winning a BAFTA Wales Sian Phillips Award for her work in film. “Wonka” marks her third collaboration with Paul King, having also designed both “Paddington” films.

GABRIELLA CUGNO (Chocolate Designer) has a huge passion for chocolate, creativity and incredible flavor.

Cugno has been a pastry chef and chocolatier for 15 years, working at high-end restaurants, patisseries, chocolateries and world-renowned five-star hotels throughout her career. Within this time, she has won various prestigious awards, including UK & Ireland “Junior Chocolate Master” and The Royal Academy of Culinary Arts “Young Pastry Chef of the Year.” Her work has taken her to such places as Europe, the Far East and the Caribbean, where she has taught masterclasses, consulted, catered for events and worked directly with cocoa farmers and cocoa producers to develop recipes for delicious chocolate.

The most recent destination her work has taken her is the Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden (UK), where she served as the official chocolatier for “Wonka,” where she designed and made the chocolates for the movie. Cugno states, “It was a magical experience where I could combine my artistic background with chocolate in so many different ways. Being creative and artistic with chocolate is what excites me the most. I just love the process of reading the script or having an idea, to brainstorming, designing and making the chocolates, to then having the final piece complete, then adding an additional layer of making it edible for someone to eat. It awakens all senses and transforms a piece of art or food into something extra special.”

She continues, “Chocolate is just incredible with the things that can be created with it. It can bring so much joy to so many people, and for me, it is an entire experience, from opening the box, to the smell, the feeling, and the burst of delicious flavor and texture. It is such a treat and I really love that my work allows me to share these experiences with others.”