Paris Themmen played the obnoxious, TV-crazed, trigger happy, lucky ticket winner number four in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. I interviewed him in September of 2000 at San Diego's Comic-Con Convention where he was happily satisfying requests for autographed copies of his home-made golden tickets.



I find it an amazing testament to the longevity of Wonka that three decades after playing the role of Mike Teevee, you're here at the San Diego Comic-Con Convention signing autographs for countless fans. I know you were only eleven when you shot Wonka, but did you have any idea then that you were working on a film that would become such a classic.
I didn't actually. It was pretty clear to us that it was a good film and I remember that on set we were joking around that we'd all get Oscars. I think one of the reasons that it has enduring popularity is that it operates on more than one level. If you're a kid, you can watch the blobs of color moving around and there is a lot of stuff for kids. However, it is also very much an adult movie. Not an adult movie as in 'adult film', but it has aspects that adults appreciate as well.

How were you cast for the film?
I started acting when I was six. I was on Broadway when I was eight and doing commercials. Actually, I talked to the director about a year ago and I expected him to say that hundreds of kids had auditioned for the role, but I guess I was like the fifth one they saw. I think that the pool of child actors who were working then was much smaller, so there really weren't many of us around. When he saw me he said 'O.K., great. That's our guy'. They wanted to use me for Charlie I heard but I was too small. I was younger, which is too bad because I really could sing. I sang on Broadway and that type of stuff. Veruca got a song. Charlie got a song. I didn't. That was too bad.

You must have had a blast working on the film, especially as young as you were.
It was definitely very fun to make. We shot it in Munich, Germany. Great sets, props, scripts. I don't have anything but the nicest things to say about all the people involved. It just worked out that Jack Albertson was particularly nice.

Grandpa Joe?
Yeah, he was Grandpa Joe, who's gone now. Roy Kinnear (Veruca's dad, Mr. Salt) is also dead. He died on the set of one of the Musketter movies. He was riding a horse that slipped on the cobbles and he went into a coma and a few days later he was dead.

How's Augustus?
He's doing well. He's an accountant in Munich, Germany. Veruca is mostly a voice-over actress in Sori, England. Peter Ostrum, who played Charlie, is a large animal veterinarian in upstate New York. Denise, who played Violet, just got custody of her child so she's really happy about that after her divorce.

It's common knowledge that the Munchkins from the Wizard of Oz were pretty big partiers when they weren't on set. Did the Oompa-Loompas keep in the tradition?
They were wild. Yes they were. They liked to get drunk. I was 11 so I wasn't hanging and partying with them but I was told that they loved to drink and hang out. I don't think they were smashing up hotel rooms, but they themselves were getting smashed. If you wanted a good time, the Oompa-Loompa's were there to cause that. On set, though, it was strictly professional.

How long have you been doing the convention circuit?
About two years ago I did my first convention and I sort of caught the bug. I personally love science fiction and fantasy, animation, playing games. There is a lot about this world that I just personally enjoy. And, you know, it's easy money obviously. You sit there, you sign a photograph or a replica golden-ticket and by virtue of the fact that you wrote your name on it, it becomes worth ten, fifteen, twenty, fifty, you know, dollars more than it was before you signed it. It's like printing money. There is a down side which is that people tend to ask the same five questions over again, 'was it fun?', 'was gene wilder nice?', 'was it all chocolate?'. It's almost like an acting exercise. If you're on stage in theater, as I was for years, you have to find a way to make it new each time.

Is there a typical Mike Teevee fan?
These days, it spans very much. I get four year-olds, I certainly get people my own age ,which is 41. Actually, I do pretty well with women and girls.

Really?
Well that's the way it is. Not that I'm particularly sexy, but it operates on that level of 'oh, isn't he cute'. Yeah, I do well with the female gender. Also, just men and women who are Gen-X. Marilyn Manson-ish. There is a whole big area of society now which is kind of, well, not marginal, but they like to think they are. They're really into Willy Wonka.

Does the convention circuit leave much time for other work?
I only do this some of the time. The rest of my full-time job these days is casting. I've been running camera in commercial casting sessions in Los Angeles. Actually you're reaching me at a time of transition. On Monday, I have an appointment with Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter, and hopefully I will get that in which case I will be a broker.

Stock broker?
Yeah. I've already been a real estate broker, a travel agent, I've traveled to 40 countries, and I've worked at Disney. I've done a lot of square things as well as creative things. I've worked in film production, acting, dancing. I've worked both sides of it. I'm drifting back now, a little bit more right wing, going for the bucks and going to be a broker for a while.

Speaking of 'going for the bucks', is it true that you were recently a contestant on 'Win Ben Stein's Money'?
Yeah, that's a true fact. The fact is I was on Win Ben Stein's Money and another true fact is that I did not win any of Ben Stein's money. I tanked on that game show. About a year prior to that I was on trivial pursuit and I took them for everything they had, answered all the questions, won $5,000 and a trip to Jamaica for a buddy of mine and I. So I'm pretty good but I sure did blow Win Ben Stein's Money.

What caused all that foam that came out of the Wonka-Mobile?
I don't know if this is still true, but in 1970, if you were going to land an airplane and you lost your landing gear, they had fire extinguisher that they would spread on the airstrip to reduce the friction and that's what this was. And it was very cold. At least a couple people got a rash from it.

I thought your screams seemed pretty realistic.
No, I was acting. That was totally acting. I liked it.

I heard that during the Jim Jones tragedy, all the kids in the suicide cult were placed in front of a television set and Wonka was put on to distract the kids from what was going on around them. Then, they all drank the poison.
Oh! You're kidding me! That's extremely trippy. I never heard that. It doesn't sound that far from what I hear from some people, which is that they use it as a video babysitter. I can remember one couple that used to say that every time they wanted to have sex, that in order to get a little privacy they'd punch in the old Wonka tape and you know, go and do the nasty, and then come back an hour and a half later.

Do you have any kids yourself?
No. No kids.

Ever been married?
Never been married. Never asked anybody. Still looking around.

A lot of people, including myself, think that one of the best scenes in the movie is the brief interaction we see between you and your father. Your father's line 'not 'till your twelve son' is one of the best from the film.
I can tell you some stuff about that line. That was his one line. It took him in any case better than 40 takes to deliver that one line. It worked though, absolutely. The interesting thing is that if they decide to call me for a cameo in a remake, the logical place to put me would be as my own father which would give me that one line. At least I get a good line, so that's cool. I would much prefer that I'd be able to go through the whole movie, though.

How realistic is a Wonka remake?
I've heard for years that maybe it's going to happen. Most recently the rumors have been increasing. The last that I've heard is that they have a director and they have a scriptwriter. The script is by Scott Frank who wrote 'Out of Sight'. The director is the guy who directed 'Pleasantville'. My understanding is that they're not doing it as a musical. They're going to try to stick closer to the book. Honestly, I've got to tell you, most of the people that I discuss the remake with, the vast majority of the Wonka fans say 'terrible idea, don't do that, why would you try to fix it'. In any case, though, it seems like they're trying to take a different tack on it. I'm open to the possibility that they'll do it and they'll do it right. I just have experienced along with all of you the many terrible remakes and so I'm skeptical.

Why remake such a perfect film?
It's the bottom line. That's why.

I first contacted you on paristhemmen.com. How is that going?
It's pretty cool. It's been up for a couple years now. I sell photos on it. I talk about my fellow Wonka players.

Is there anything else in the near future that we should look for from you?
Yeah, I'm going to sell you stocks.

Where are you living now?
West Hollywood...but I'm not gay.