Timothée Chalamet’s Willy Wonka Casting Secret Is Extra Sweet

Call Timothée Chalamet by this name: a triple threat.

Director Paul King recently revealed that the Dune actor didn’t have to audition to land the starring role of Willy Wonka in upcoming musical film Wonka, which traces the backstory of the chocolate mogul. In fact, King revealed Chalamet’s golden ticket stemmed from his singing and dancing talents.

“It was a straight offer because he’s great and he was the only person in my mind who could do it,” King told Rolling Stone in an interview published July 11. “But because he’s Timothée Chalamet and his life is so absurd, his high school musical performances are on YouTube and have hundreds of thousands of views.”

The performances in question? Videos of the then-teenage King star belting out songs from Sweet Charity during a performance at his Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School. 

“So I knew from stanning for Timmy Chalamet that he could sing and dance really well,” King added. “And I knew that was in his arsenal, but I didn’t know how good he was. When I spoke to him he was quite keen.”