‘Wonka’ could be Timothee Chalamet’s Golden ticket to the Globes

Paul Giamatti will be hoping to use the Golden Globes to press forward with his claims for a first Oscar nomination since his 2006 Best Supporting Actor bid for “Cinderella Man.” He stars this year in “The Holdovers,” which could lead him to a Best Actor nomination and has cemented him as the favorite to win Best Comedy/Musical Actor at the upcoming Golden Globes.

He’s nominated alongside Jeffrey Wright (“American Fiction”), Matt Damon (“Air”), Nicolas Cage (“Dream Scenario”), Joaquin Phoenix (“Beau is Afraid”), and Timothée Chalamet (“Wonka”). Could Chalamet upset the apple cart by claiming a shock win for “Wonka?”

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Chalamet plays the role previously occupied by icons Gene Wilder (1971’s “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory”) and Johnny Depp (2006’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”). In the origin story “Wonka,” Chalamet plays a young chocolatier trying to take down the sinister Chocolate Cartel in the hopes of achieving his dreams of creating his own chocolate empire.

Firstly, the critics did like Chalamet’s performance. His film has an 82% score on Rotten Tomatoes (many skeptics were waiting to tear the film down).

Wendy Ide (The Observer) explained: “Overall, Timothée Chalamet’s fresh-faced take on the central character – bringing a puckish innocence and spry, light-footed energy to one of the most famously jaded misanthropes in children’s literature – works rather well.”

Matt Zoller Seitz (Roger Ebert) opined: “‘Wonka’ is so good at what it does that the question of whether it’s a cynical enterprise becomes moot. It’s as enthusiastic yet inscrutable as Wonka himself, played with an elegantly withholding quality by Chalamet, who in moments of quiet contemplation and madcap inspiration could be Gene Wilder’s long-lost grandchild.”

Ian Freer (Empire) claimed: “Chalamet keeps you invested, treading a nifty line between eccentricity and sincerity, embracing the twinkle of Wilder while avoiding the creepiness of Depp. The most kind-hearted on-screen hero in years, Wonka embodies Wonka’s strongest (purple) suit: a huge generosity of spirit.”

Chalamet does indeed have plenty of critical backing, although so do Giamatti and “The Holdovers,” it should be noted. Where Chalamet’s biggest hopes in winning this award come from is his star power. Giamatti is hardly a fresh-faced newbie — he’s a respected and cherished actor and one of the industry’s very best (he should have been Oscar-nominated for “Sideways”). But he doesn’t have the same A-list star power that Chalamet has.

The young actor has a huge fan base and following and has fronted some of the biggest films in recent years, including “Dune.” It makes him one of the most sought-after young talents in Hollywood and one of the most famous, chiseled faces in the world. This is a profile of actor that the Golden Globes like to reward in this category.

Andrew Garfield won in 2022 for “Tick, Tick… Boom!,” Taron Egerton emerged victorious in 2020 for “Rocketman,” James Franco triumphed in 2018 for “The Disaster Artist,” Ryan Gosling was awarded for “La La Land” in 2017, “The Martian” secured Matt Damon a win in 2016, Leonardo DiCaprio won in 2014 for “The Wolf of Wall Street,” and Hugh Jackman triumphed for “Les Misérables” in 2013. These are all huge, A-list movie stars — the Golden Globes clearly like this profile of actor for this award. Chalamet fits that bill.

Plus, there have been instances where Globe voters have chosen to go with the more fun, more colorful performance in a more audience-led movie rather than the more obvious Oscar contender. Egerton (“Rocketman”) beat DiCaprio (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”) in 2020 and Franco (“The Disaster Artist”) beat Daniel Kaluuya (“Get Out”) in 2018. A Chalamet win would again fit that pattern.

Chalamet is admired by Globe voters: this is his third nomination. He was previously nominated in 2018 for Best Drama Actor for “Call Me By Your Name” and in 2019 for Best Supporting Actor for “Beautiful Boy.” Chalamet racking up two Golden Globes bids so quickly and so early on in his career is a clear sign of the HFPA’s admiration for him.

The Globes also like the character of Willy Wonka: Depp was nominated in 2006 for his version and Wilder picked up a bid in 1972 for his rendition. Could Chalamet go one better than those two? Well, Depp lost to eventual Oscar Best Actor winner Phoenix, who won for “Walk the Line.” Wilder lost his Globe bid to Topol, who won for “Fiddler on the Roof” and was later Oscar-nominated for Best Actor for that performance.

Both Wonkas lost out to clear Oscar frontrunners, then. Is Giamatti the same this year? Unfortunately for Chalamet, it seems he could be. He has spent the majority of this awards season in fifth place or on the precipice of our predicted five Oscar nominees for Best Actor but he has recently risen up to third spot, ahead of even DiCaprio (“Killers of the Flower Moon”). So Chalamet could well go the way of Depp and Wilder and lose to a future Oscar nominee. It could well be that winning for “Wonka” and beating the great Giamatti is a step too far this time around but… the precedence is there. So a shock “Wonka” win for Chalamet might not be as surprising as you think.

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