10 Movie Roles That Almost Were Cast VERY Differently
5. Robert De Niro As Willy Wonka (Charlie & The Chocolate Factory)
The early to mid 2000s were a strange time to be a Robert De Niro fan. When he wasn't method acting a cartoon baddy in The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle, he was appearing in a slew of family friendly comedies or middling and forgettable dramas. Against this backdrop, it's not hard to see him appear in the 2005 reimagining of Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
De Niro was one of a number of names considered in the casting process for the new film, which included some obvious choices like John Cleese, Rowan Atkinson and some more leftfield ones like Nicolas Cage and The Rock. But let's focus on De Niro, just what on Earth would that film have looked like?
He has the range to portray the simmering rage that you'd expect from a reclusive confectioner forced to deal with a group of spoilt brats. De Niro's Wonka would have nailed the character's hard centre (sorry) but it's hard to imagine him possessing the twinkle needed to sell this world of pure imagination. In the event, Tim Burton was brought on-board as director and the casting of Johnny Depp was practically a contractual obligation.