Original Willy Wonka actor on viral AI disaster, fame and value of pure imagination

Julie Dawn Cole was given a golden ticket when she starred in the 1971 classic Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. She played spoiled brat Veruca Salt (pictured above in red), judged a bad egg after making it very clear that she wants a golden goose that lays golden eggs – and wants one NOW. 

Last year, Willy Wonka shot back into public consciousness after a severely underwhelming live experience in Glasgow went viral around the world. A musical based on the debacle opens at the Edinburgh Fringe, featuring original ‘Sad Oompa Loompa’ Kirsty Paterson, whose forlorn expression and cheap costume turned her into an instant meme, and with Cole, now 66, as narrator. “Here was me, planning my retirement, enjoying my garden and my grandchildren, and this has happened,” she says. 

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Big Issue: What did you think when you heard about the disastrous Willy’s Chocolate Experience in Glasgow? 

Julie Dawn Cole: I think at the time I was at a chocolate expo in America. 

Where else would you be? 

That’s where I live my life, of course. People were saying, ‘Oh my god, have you seen it? Oh, these poor people. Are you anything to do with it?’ No, no… nothing to do with me. People were ripped off, the police were called, it was horrible.

How does it go from that to a show at the Fringe? 

The producer Richard Kraft who I have known for a good few years said, I’m going to write a show about this. They were recording tracks and he shared them with me. And I was thinking, ‘Oh, they’re rather good.’ Then he asked me to record a publicity video because he wanted to take the show to Edinburgh. I said, ‘I’ll try and get up there to see you.’ And he said, ‘Well, could you come along and narrate?’ I like the music. It’s very witty. It’s not about Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, it’s about your 15 minutes of fame and being involved in jobs that turn out to be disasters. 

What job was that for you? 

It was a terrible pantomime. It was the worst job I ever did. 

Oh no, it wasn’t. 

Oh yes it was. I was playing Cinderella and it was suggested that we should cut the part where Cinderella meets Prince Charming in the forest. Well, then we have no plot, do we? The opening matinee ran for four hours and the evening’s audience were coming in before we’d finished the first performance. It was terrible. 

Does the Glasgow fiasco represent what happens if you rely on AI and cease to value pure imagination? 

Absolutely. There is a serious point. I have conversations with my friends about the fear of creativity being stifled by AI and ChatGPT. How do we know what to believe any more? The AI-generated script for Willy’s fiasco shows that maybe we’re not ready for AI just yet. It is a warning. This nonsense is what can happen if you give it free rein. So it gives me heart that actually there is no substitute for creativity and art. 

Is it true your big number in the film, I Want It Now, was shot on your 13th birthday? 

It was shot over five days I think. But the final bit going down the chute was my 13th birthday. 

It seems symbolic of what happens to some kids when they become teens. 

You have an adorable child, they go into their bedroom and the next morning come out a troll.  

Do you think we see more Verucas now? 

I do think, because of media and reality TV, there is a generation that is more entitled. I go to Comic Cons and people come up and say, “My husband calls me Veruca because I want this and I want that.” It’s tongue in cheek, but we do live in a world where everybody wants everything instantly. I’ve got three grandchildren now. They will not be allowed to behave like Veruca. Not at all.

Are they fans of the film? 

The eldest two – they’re almost five and almost three – have watched bits because I thought I need to educate them. When their mummy was little, she told her teacher at school that her mummy was very spoiled and got everything she wanted, which is not what you want your kid’s teacher to believe about you. 

In a film of big characters, Roy Kinnear was underappreciated. What are your memories of him?

Such a wonderful man. I was probably more thrilled to be working with Roy than I was with Gene [Wilder], because I knew Roy from British TV. He was a big star, a comedic genius, worked with The Beatles for goodness sake. He looked after me, became like my surrogate dad while we were on location in Germany. Kind, kind man.

A couple of months ago, in June, you posted pictures of you with Peter Ostrum who played Charlie Bucket and Paris Themmen who was Mike Teavee at the White House. How did you get that ticket? 

We were invited to be guests at the National Press Club in Washington and they said, “Would you like to go around the White House?” So we did. It was wonderful, seeing secret service men behaving like kids when they’re talking into their sleeves going, “Hey guys, look who’s coming through, the Wonka kids are coming through!” It was very funny. What a great privilege. This is the joy that Willy Wonka has brought to my life. It’s opened a lot of crazy opportunities. 

It’s been a bit of a golden goose? 

If there was one movie to be in, this was a good one. 

Willy’s Candy Spectacular: A Musical Parody plays at the Pleasance Dome as part of the Edinburgh Fringe, 9-26 August.

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