On Dec. 15, “Wonka”, the origin story of Willy Wonka from “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory”, was released in theaters.

The film stars Timothée Chalamet as Willy Wonka, who along with his friends Noodle (Calah Lane), Piper Benz (Natasha Rothwell), Larry Chucklesworth (Rich Fulcher), Lottie Bell (Rakhee Thakrar and Abacus Crunch (Jim Carter), fight to earn him a spot as a chocolatier in the Galeries Gourmet. This is something Wonka has dreamed about since he was a young child.

Despite years of acting and an Oscar nomination under his belt, Chalamet had never delved into children’s movies. This is hard to tell with “Wonka’s” U.S. box office debut of $39 million.

“Wonka” director, Paul King, revealed that he became interested in Chalamet for the role of the titular character after seeing videos of his performances while he was attending LaGuardia High School, a performing arts school in New York City.

Chalamet’s portrayal of the chocolatier differs from many of his other performances, most popularly as Elio in “Call Me By Your Name”, Kyle in Greta Gerwig’s “Ladybird”, Laurie in the 2019 version of “Little Women” and most recently as cannibal Hal in “Bones and All”.

“Wonka” provides a somewhat shocking performance for Chalamet, as many poked fun at his casting as the lead of the film. The 28-year-old actor put on a great performance and while his singing in the movie is not necessarily Grammy-worthy, it showcased Chalamet’s roots as a ‘theater-kid’ and life-long performer.

Chalamet is nominated for the 2024 Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for “Wonka” alongside Nicolas Cage (“Dream Scenario”), Paul Giamatti (“The Holdovers”) and Matt Damon (“Air”).

“Wonka” continues to be streamed in theaters as people of all ages attend to watch the origin story of an infamous character first developed in 1964.