________________________________ ABOUT THE CAST JOHNNY DEPP (Willy Wonka) has earned both critical and popular acclaim for his unique work in a variety of memorable feature films. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is Depp’s fourth collaboration with director Tim Burton and he is providing the voice of Victor in Burton’s new stop-motion animation feature, Corpse Bride. Recently, the actor received an Academy Award nomination, Golden Globe nomination, Screen Actor’s Guild nomination and BAFTA nomination for his role as J.M. Barry in Mark Forster’s Finding Neverland in which he starred opposite Kate Winslet and Freddie Highmore. Depp also received an Academy Award nomination, Golden Globe nomination, BAFTA nomination and a Screen Actor’s Guild Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow in the action adventure Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. He is currently filming Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest and Pirates of the Caribbean 3. He will next star in Laurence Dunmore’s Libertine, in which he plays a 17th Century womanizing poet opposite John Malkovich and Samantha Morton. Depp’s other screen credits include David Koepp’s Secret Window, Robert Rodriguez’s Once Upon A Time in Mexico, Albert and Allen Hughes’ From Hell, Ted Demme’s Blow, Lasse Hallstom’s romantic comedy Chocolat, Julian Schnabel’s Before Night Falls, Sally Potter’s The Man Who Cried, Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow, Roman Polanski’s The Ninth Gate and Terry Gilliam’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Hailed as the “Best Actor” of his generation for his performance in Mike Newell’s Donnie Brasco with Al Pacino, Depp has also starred in Jim Jarmusch’s Dead Man and in Jeremy Leven’s Don Juan Demarco in which he starred as a man convinced he is the world’s greatest lover, opposite legendary actors Marlon Brando and Faye Dunaway. It was his compelling performance in the title role of Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands that established Depp as one of Hollywood’s most sought-after talents and earned him a Best Actor Golden Globe nomination. He was honored with a second Golden Globe nomination for his work in the offbeat love story Benny & Joon, directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik. Depp reunited with Burton for the critically acclaimed Ed Wood, for which his performance garnered him his third Best Actor Golden Globe nomination. Other films include Lasse Halstrom’s What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?, Emir Kusturica’s Arizona Dream and John Badham’s Nick of Time. Depp began his career as a musician, joining a rock group named Kids, which eventually took him to Los Angeles. When the band broke up, he turned to acting and earned his first major acting job in Nightmare on Elm Street. He went on to earn roles in several films including Oliver Stone’s Academy Award-winning Platoon. Depp then won the role that would prove to be his breakthrough, as undercover detective Tom Hanson on the popular Fox television show 21 Jump Street. He starred on the series for four seasons before segueing to the big screen in the lead role of John Waters’ Cry Baby. Depp starred and made his feature directorial debut opposite Marlon Brando in The Brave, a film based on the novel by Gregory McDonald. Depp co-wrote the screenplay with his brother, D.P. Depp. ________________________________ Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is the second time that FREDDIE HIGHMORE (Charlie Bucket) has played Helena Bonham Carter’s child. His very first film role was playing her son in Women Talking Dirty. Last year, the British 13-year-old was seen in Marc Forster’s Finding Neverland alongside Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet and Dustin Hoffman; Two Brothers directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud; and Five Children and It with Kenneth Branagh. Highmore has appeared in a number of television productions including in the U.K., the BBC film Happy Birthday Shakespeare and ITV’s mini series I Saw You, as well as The Mists of Avalon in the U.S. He is currently shooting Arthur and the Minimoys for Luc Besson in France. ________________________________ A familiar face to many for his countless appearances on the stage, television and big screen, Irish actor DAVID KELLY (Grandpa Joe) trained at the acclaimed Abbey Theatre School in Dublin. Recognized for his role in Kirk Jones’ Waking Ned Devine, Kelly was nominated by both the Golden Satellite Awards and the Screen Actors Guild Awards for his outstanding performance as Michael O’Sullivan. The Screen Actors Guild also nominated Kelly and the cast members, Ian Bannen, Fionnula Flanagan, Susan Lynch and James Nesbitt for their outstanding performances. Kelly’s feature film credits include Alex De Rakoff’s The Calcium Kid, Kevin Allen’s Agent Cody Banks II, Peter Howitt’s Laws of Attraction, David Blair’s Mystics, Barry Skolnick’s Mean Machine, Joel Hershman’s Greenfingers, Ordinary Decent Criminal, Mike Newell’s Into the West, Suri Krishnamma’s A Man of No Importance, Peter Yates’ The Run of the Country, Terence Young’s The Jigsaw Man, Roman Polanski’s Pirates and Aislung Walsh’s Joyriders. His most memorable television work includes the cult British TV comedies Fawlty Towers with John Cleese and Robin’s Nest with Richard O’Sullivan. In addition to appearing in numerous dramas for the BBC and ITV, Kelly’s other television drama series include Z Cars, Emmerdale, Heartbeat and Ballykissangel. Theatre highlights over his long career include the world premiere of Brendan Behan’s The Quare Fella; Samuel Beckett’s one-man piece Krapp’s Last Tape, in New York’s Lincoln Centre as well as in Chicago and Melbourne, Australia; the world premiere of Behan’s Joan Littlewood’s Theatre Workshop production of Waiting for Godot; the Hal Prince production of They Might Be Giants and The Crucible. During the 1960s, Kelly toured in GB Shaw’s Candida and Mrs. Warren’s Profession in Stockholm, Amsterdam and Oslo. He appeared in the Paris and Zurich productions of James Joyce’s Stephen D and W.B. Yeats’ The Countless Cathleen. He also worked with Robert Ryan in John Neville’s company at the Nottingham Playhouse. Recent theatre work includes the Gate Theatre U.S. Tour of Krapp’s Last Tape; the American tour of Playboy of the Western World, which earned him a Helen Hayes Award nomination; Moon for the Misbegotten in Buffalo, New York; Ghosts in Huntington, Long Island; Tartuffe and Sunshine Boys at the Gate Theatre, Dublin; and The Crucible at the Abbey Theatre. In 2003 the Irish Times awarded Kelly a Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to the Irish Theatre. ________________________________ British actress HELENA BONHAM CARTER (Mother Bucket) has lent her talents to a wide array of diverse feature films such as David Fincher’s provocative Fight Club, Tim Burton’s new version of The Planet of the Apes and the dark comedy Novocaine, directed by David Atkins...more Biog. | Gallery | Mailing Address ________________________________ NOAH TAYLOR (Father Bucket), one of Australia’s most talented and prolific actors, is best known for his acclaimed performance as Danny Embling in The Year My Voice Broke and its sequel, Flirting, both directed by John Duigan. He began his career at the St. Martin’s Youth Theatre in Melbourne. His stage performances include leading roles in such productions as The Seagull, Pierrot Lunaire, Bloody Mama, Alien in the Park, The Grim Reaper, The Advertisment, Baron in the Trees and Eric and Verna. Taylor’s television appearances include A Long Way From Home, Bangkok Hilton, Inspector Morse, in the episode Promised Land, and Jon’s Jury. On screen, Taylor has appeared in Wes Anderson’s The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Menno Meyjes’ Max, Simon West’s Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and Lara Croft: Cradle of Life, Cameron Crowe’s Vanilla Sky and Almost Famous, Guy Jenkins’ The Sleeping Dictionary, Richard Lowenstein’s He Died With A Felafel in His Hand, Ben Hopkins’ Simon Magus, Scott Hicks’ Shine, George Whaley’s On Our Selection, Geoffrey Wright’s Lover Boy, Ian Pringle’s The Prisoner of St. Petersburg and Bob Ellis’ The Nostradamus Kid. He will next be seen in Terrence Malick’s The New World. Taylor was nominated for Best Actor by the AFI for his performance in The Year My Voice Broke and Best Supporting Actor for On Our Selection. He has won the Sydney Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor three times: in 1988 for The Year My Voice Broke, in 1991 for Flirting and in 1993 for The Nostradamus Kid. For his outstanding performance as the young David Helfgott in Shine, he received a Best Supporting Actor Award from the Film Critics Circle of Australia and a Best Actor Award by the Fort Lauderdale Film Festival, as well as nominations for Best Supporting Actor from the Australian Film Institute and the Screen Actors Guild. ________________________________ The talent, charm and humor which MISSI PYLE (Mrs. Beauregarde) exudes in each character she portrays has established her as a rising star and one of the most sought-after actresses in Hollywood. She recently wrapped Just My Luck with Lindsay Lohan, proving that she is the girl who is everywhere and with everyone. In addition, Missi stars in the upcoming independent film American Crude, working with an all-star ensemble including Jennifer Esposito and Rob Schneider...more Biog. | Gallery | Mailing Address ________________________________ In a career that spans more than 50 years, British Actor JAMES FOX (Mr. Salt) has established himself as a highly distinguished actor with over 60 film and television roles to his credit. Most recently, he starred in Martha Coolidge’s The Prince and Me, Ismail Merchant’s The Mystic Masseur, Kelly Makin’s Mickey Blue Eyes, James Ivory’s The Golden Bowl and Jonathan Glazer’s Sexy Beast...more Biog. | Gallery | Mailing Address ________________________________ Legendary actor CHRISTOPHER LEE (Dr. Wonka) most recently starred in The Lord of the Rings trilogy from New Line Cinema, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith from Lucas Films. Prior to his roles in these blockbusters, Lee starred in the critically acclaimed independent picture Jinnah, which he considers the most important movie of his career, and the epic BBC miniseries Gormenghast. He was also recently seen in Crimson Rivers II with Jean Reno, as well as Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow. Up next, he will appear in yet another Tim Burton production, Corpse Bride...more Biog. | Gallery | Mailing Address ________________________________ << 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 >> Crew >> Cast >> DVD Release Date >> Bringing Roald Dahl’s Classic Story to the Screen >> Casting Willy Wonka, Charlie Bucket and the Bucket Family >> The Four Rotten Children >> The Oompa-Loompas and Dr. Wonka >> Building Wonka’s World: Inspired Production Design and State-of-the-Art Practical & Virtual Effects Combine for an Unparalleled Atmosphere of Wonder >> The Chocolate River >> The Oompa-Loompas >> The Squirrels >> Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Marks the 11th Collaboration between Tim Burton and Acclaimed Composer Danny Elfman >> Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: The IMAX Experience >> About the Cast >> About the Filmmakers IN DEPTH | GALLERY | BRIEF NOTES | OFFICIAL WEBSITE ROALD DAHL | JOHNNY DEPP | POSTER I | POSTER II | ADVERTISE © 2008 by the appropriate owners of the included material