Timothée Chalamet has wasted no time getting down to business promoting his new movie Wonka, after the Hollywood actor’s strike came to an end this week.
During a promotional video for Saturday night’s SNL episode, the actor suddenly launched into: “Willy Wonka, chocolate, chocolate man, Willy Wonka, chocolate!”
“Sorry, the actors strike just ended, I can finally promote my movie,” he told viewers.
The SAG-AFTRA strike ended on Thursday, after the union said it had reached a tentative deal with Hollywood studios.
The deal, which is now headed to the union’s national board on Friday for approval, comes one month after the Writer’s Guild of America ended its own strike after reaching a deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.
Now, actors are free to promote their movies and projects – something they could not do for the last 118 days amid ongoing negotiations.
Dune 2 was supposed to be Mr Chalamet’s next big screen hit, but the strike led to the movie’s delay until March 2024.
Wonka, starring American-French actor Mr Chalamet, features a whole host of British stars including Hugh Grant, Rowan Atkinson and Olivia Coleman.
An adaptation of the Roald Dahl classic, it is based on a new, original story about Willy Wonka before he made a name for himself in the chocolate industry.
With only over a month to go before the movie’s US release on 15 December and UK release on 8 December, Mr Chalamet used the SNL promo as a chance to promote his upcoming project, repeating “Wonka” and “chocolate” as many times as he could in the brief clip.
Timothee Chalamet in the SNL promo— (SNL/X)
Mr Chalamet is hosting this week’s Saturday Night Live– his second time taking the helm of the show after an appearance in 2020.
In a short sketch posted on SNL’s social media on Wednesday, the actor is seen whirling around the SNL stage while the studio is being fumigated.
As cast members Mikey Day and Sarah Sherman bang on the window, warning the actor that the air is poisonous, he nonchalantly replies: “It’s fine; I grew up in New York. I’m immune.”
Timothee Chalamet feverently promotes his the upcoming movie, Wonka, after strikes ended— (Warner Bros. Pictures)
This week’s episode will also feature music from indie supergroup boygenius.
Saturday Night Live returned to our screens for its’ 49th season last month after a long hiatus.
The last episode before its return aired on 15 April after TV, film and radio writers and those in solidarity went on strike to protest the unstable pay packages and the threat of AI.
The sketch show, which has been running for almost five decades, came back on 14 October with past cast member Pete Davidson hosting the show and music from rapper Ice Spice.
