Dwayne Johnson has got to be one of the hunkiest leading men in Hollywood, so you might expect his childhood onscreen crush to be a leading lady.
TORONTO, ONTARIO – SEPTEMBER 08: Dwayne Johnson attends ‘In Conversation With… Dwayne Johnson’ during the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival at Royal Alexandra Theatre on September 08, 2025 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for TIFF)
But Johnson’s first “cinematic” crush was actually someone quite different.
In an interview with W Magazine, the former WWE star stated, without hesitation, that he was “enamored” with Gene Wilder in “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.”
“My cinematic crush would have been – I don’t mean this in a weird way [chuckles] – I was just always so enamored with Gene Wilder,” he said. “Interestingly enough, first, because I always loved Richard Pryor growing up. I loved Richard Pryor. I loved Elvis. I thought I was both when I was a kid. And then I watched ‘Stir Crazy’ and there was something about Gene, and I was like, ‘Wow.’”
He continued, “And then when I saw ‘Willy Wonka…’ I think ‘Willy Wonka’ was the thing that really grabbed me about Gene Wilder. I think it was the tenderness in his soul. And I don’t know if I was thinking that when I was 10 years old, but there was just something captivating.”
American actor Gene Wilder (1933 – 2016) as Willy Wonka in the film ‘Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory’, 1971. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)
One of his favorite moments from Wilder’s performance is at the end the end of the film, when Charlie wins the chocolate factory.
“Gene is just staring at this kid with a smile, and he says, ‘Hey Charlie, do you know what happened to the boy who suddenly had everything he ever wanted? He lived happily ever after,’” Johnson recalled fondly.
The Willy Wonka admiration runs so deep, Johnson almost landed the role in the 2004 remake directed by Tim Burton.
“Some cool history – back in the early 2000’s, iconic director, Tim Burton had considered me to play Willy Wonka is his remake, ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,’” he wrote on Instagram in 2020. “I remember thinking “HOLY S–T, IM IN.”
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 17: Dwayne Johnson, wearing Ralph Lauren, attends ELLE’s 2025 Women in Hollywood Celebration presented by Ralph Lauren and Bvlgari with support from evian, Hendrick’s Gin, and Lucid Motors on November 17, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for ELLE)
He continued, “But that was many years ago when I was just starting out in Hollywood with no foundation of global box office strength or any real acting experience to even pull it off. The role, of course went to Johnny Depp, who at that time was the biggest star in the world. The rest was history.”
Johnson said he was grateful to have been “considered” by Burton “as I was just breaking in to the business with no idea what the future had in store.”
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