Dwayne Johnson would be Willy Wonka before Johnny Depp in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”

Now that Dwayne Johnson is one of the most recognized movie stars in Hollywood, it is good to remember that this has not always been the case, and that his fame is also largely due to his past as a WWE fighter. And when he started his acting career, The Rock nearly landed one of Johnny Depp’s most important roles, Willy Wonka in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”.

It was the year 2005 that Johnny Depp starred ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’, in collaboration with one of his favorite directors, Tim Burton. Together they made one of the most loved and remembered adaptations of Roald Dahl in modern cinema. But initially, the family film had other plans and before Depp got the role, there was another perspective.

In 2020, Dwayne Johnson said Tim Burton considered him for the role of Willy Wonka, via a post on his Instagram account, while he was watching the original version of Gene Wilder. “The Rock” admitted that he was flattered that the director took it into consideration, but over the years he believes the best thing has been that Johnny Depp has stayed in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”.

In the end, Dwayne Johnson is grateful that Johnny Depp has remained as Willy Wonka: “I remember thinking, ‘Hell, I’m in!’ But it happened many years ago when I was just starting out in Hollywood with no global box office strength or real acting experience to do it.”

Dwayne Johnson is glad not to stay in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”

Dwayne Johnson’s Hollywood debut came years later in “The Mummy 2”, starring Brendan Fraser, whom he recently thanked for giving him a chance on the big screen, after seeing him succeed again in his comeback with “The Whale” . “The fact that Tim considered me (although I’m sure he did for 7 seconds) meant a lot to me.”

While he hasn’t stayed with one of what may be the most curious characters of his career, Dwayne Johnson is grateful he didn’t stay on “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, even though it was his greatest desire to make the long-awaited debut. on the big screen: “I’ll always raise my glass to dreams that don’t come true, because sometimes they’re the best thing that never happened.”

As for Johnny Depp, at the time of the premiere of ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’, the success of ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl’ had made Depp’s name one of the hottest in all of Hollywood, which made it easier for the actor to want to work with Tim Burton again.