2. Gene Wilder - Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory
Roald Dahls novels were always filled with a macabre sense of humor that had an undercurrent of danger and fear. Think about the novel in which Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is based off. Outside the sugary sweet coat exterior, comes a novel filled with violence in which kids are flattened, sucked up tubes and much more. Gene Wilder has that dark core underneath his sweet, gentle complexion. His bright blue eyes are comforting but when agitated it can be quite scary. Look at the way Willy Wonka is introduced in the film. He lulls the audience both on screen and off screen to an uncomfortable state as he prods out with a severe limp and a cane just to fool them. Ultimately this culminates with the unpredictability that is evident throughout the character of Wonka which Wilder encapsulates. And Pure Imagination is such a wonderful song.