Peter Ostrum has returned to the world of Willy Wonka 55 years after playing Charlie Bucket, although his luck with Golden Tickets has apparently run out.
Ostrum, who starred opposite Gene Wilder in 1971’s Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, makes a surprise cameo in Netflix’s new reality competition Wonka’s The Golden Ticket. He appears during the first episode’s montage showing people opening Wonka bars to discover whether they have been selected for the competition.
The former child actor unwraps his own bar but comes up empty-handed. “Not this time, Wonka,” Ostrum says, according to Entertainment Weekly.
Ostrum’s appearance is one of several connections between the new series and the 1971 movie. Original Oompa-Loompa Rusty Goffe returns with his son, Ben, while Gene Wilder’s Wonka voice has been recreated with permission from his estate.
Ostrum’s Cameo Is Hidden in the First Episode
Netflix keeps Ostrum’s appearance brief rather than introducing him as a celebrity guest. Viewers familiar with the original movie have to recognize him during the opening Golden Ticket sequence.
Showrunner Emer Harkin told Netflix Tudum that securing Ostrum’s participation meant considerably more to the production because of how rarely he has returned to the Wonka world.
“It was so meaningful for all of us to get that blessing,” Harkin said. “To get [Peter] being Charlie and blessing our project in a way that he’s never done since the original movie was seismic for us.”
Ostrum was a child when he was cast as Charlie, the poor newspaper boy who finds the final Golden Ticket and eventually inherits Wonka’s factory. Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory became his only feature-film acting role.
The Original Charlie Bucket Chose Veterinary Medicine Instead of Hollywood
Ostrum did not pursue another movie after Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. He returned to school and eventually chose veterinary medicine, earning his veterinary degree from Cornell University in 1984.
Although he left professional acting behind, Ostrum has occasionally participated in reunions and interviews about the movie and remained connected with several of his former castmates.
His new cameo recreates one of Charlie’s most recognizable moments with a different outcome. In the 1971 movie, Charlie discovers the fifth and final Golden Ticket inside a Wonka bar and takes Grandpa Joe with him into the factory. In the Netflix sequence, Ostrum opens the wrapper and finds no invitation waiting for him.
The series includes other celebrity cameos as well. Chef David Chang, Hot Ones host Sean Evans and filmmaker and content creator Zach King also appear.
An Original Oompa-Loompa Returned With His Son
Rusty Goffe, who played an Oompa-Loompa in the 1971 film, has a larger role in Wonka’s The Golden Ticket. He returned to the factory as part of its new Oompa-Loompa workforce alongside his son Ben.
“To be back here making Wonka’s The Golden Ticket with my son Ben is absolutely mind blowing,” Goffe told Netflix Tudum.
Goffe also advised the production as it developed a new group of Oompa-Loompas with performers of different heights and backgrounds. The new factory includes numerous other recreations from the movie, including the enormous contract guests sign before entering, the forced-perspective hallway, Everlasting Gobstoppers, golden eggs and Wonkavision 2.0.
The Chocolate Room occupies approximately 40,000 square feet and includes an updated version of the chocolate river, while Wonka’s office recreates the original movie’s unusual half-sized furniture.
The competition begins with 12 Golden Ticket winners, each of whom brings a partner into the factory. The contestants face physical, mental and strategic challenges inspired by Roald Dahl’s story and the 1971 film as they compete for what Netflix calls a “lifetime supply of money.”
Wonka’s The Golden Ticket began streaming Sept. 23, with its two-part finale scheduled for Sept. 30.