Timothée Chalamet spent a lot of time practising his singing and dancing skills for Wonka.

The Call Me by Your Name actor plays a young version of eccentric chocolate inventor Willy Wonka in Paul King’s prequel to Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

The role marks the first time fans can see Chalamet singing and dancing on film, and he put in the work to make sure he didn’t disappoint.

“(It took) a lot of practice but (I had) great coaches,” he told Deadline at the world premiere in London on Tuesday night. “I did a lot of hard work with them and now I can do the impression of someone who can sing and dance.”

The reporters noted that Chalamet already had musical talent, as shown in YouTube videos he recorded as a teenager around the time he attended LaGuardia performing arts high school in New York.

Downplaying his skills, the Oscar nominee insisted he “could sort of” sing and dance before shooting the film. He also acknowledged that King thought of him for the role partly due to his YouTube clips.

“They sort of did, in Paul’s words,” he told Variety on the red carpet. “That wasn’t exclusively what got me the part. He also liked the other movies I did!”

The 27-year-old was joined at the world premiere by his co-stars Hugh Grant, Olivia Colman, Calah Lane, Rowan Atkinson and Sally Hawkins.

In an interview with Sky News, Chalamet revealed he was “a stan” of Grant, who plays an Oompa Loompa, but didn’t get to work with the Notting Hill star much.

“It was a dream working with Hugh Grant, he’s a legend. He’s got a wicked sense of humour and he’s super charming,” he shared. “I didn’t see him that much because it was all CGI, you know, so in reality it was a tennis ball on a stick that was like a foot off the ground.”

Wonka will be released in cinemas from 8 December.

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