Hugh Grant revealed as Oompa Loompa in Timothée Chalamet's Willy Wonka movie

Add this one to Hugh Grant's list of iconic roles.

The actor who palled around with Paddington Bear and grappled with the world of Dungeons & Dragons on the big screen was revealed as an Oompa Loompa in Wonka, the upcoming Willy Wonka movie starring Timothée Chalamet as the future chocolatier.

Grant's Oompa Loompa, whom director Paul King said was "no taller than knee high" in the film, made his debut in footage that was screened at CinemaCon 2023 in Las Vegas. Video has not been widely released online for the public.

Chalamet's Wonka discovers the orange-skinned lad in a glass case, in which Grant performs a little jig for the audience's amusement. The Oompa Loompa shouts to be let out when Wonka arrives on the scene. "You're the funny little man who's been following me," Wonka says.

"How dare you!" the Oompa Loompa fires back. "I will have you know that I am a perfectly respectable size for an Oompa Loompa." When Wonka responds incredulously, Grant's character proceeds to refresh his memory of what an Oompa Loompa is with "a song so ludicrously catchy that it may never leave your mind." Cue the Oompa Loompa dance.

"Working with Hugh to begin with, what a dream come true," Chalemet said on the CinemaCon stage. "Also, as you guys saw there's [actors] Rowan Atkinson, Olivia Colman, and Keegan-Michael Key. It's just a dream as an American actor to be working with this dream of British actors, but that's the first time people saw Hugh as an Oompa Loompa, right? It was a trip and for those that [saw it]. And obviously, Hugh and [director] Paul King have an extraordinary collaborative relationship. And Hugh Grant's one of our greats, so it was a dream."

The prequel will center on a young Wonka and his adventures before he opened the world's most famous chocolate factory. A new take on the character popularized in Roald Dahl's 1964 children's novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the film will be helmed by Paddington director Paul King, who wrote the screenplay alongside Simon Farnaby.

The footage shown at CinemaCon also gave us glimpses at Colman's character, Wonka developing a chocolate that makes people fly, and general musical whimsey.

"Every good thing in this world started with a dream, so you hold on to yours," says a character played by actress Sally Hawkins.

Chalamet revealed last year that he had seven musical numbers in the upcoming iteration (rap sequence, anyone?). "This movie is so sincere, it's so joyous," Chalamet told British Vogue, adding of his experience onset, "I hate to say it, but the dream as an artist is to throw whatever the f--- you want at the wall, you know? And I guess what I'm realizing is that one's personal life, one's adult life, can be quite boring, and the artist's life can still be extraordinary."

Wonka will be the third film adaptation of the character: Gene Wilder starred as the iconic candyman in 1971's Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, followed by Johnny Depp in 2005's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It will not be the last, though, as Taika Waititi is also set to write, direct, and executive produce an animated series centered on the Oompa-Loompas who work in Wonka's factory.

Wonka arrives in theaters Dec. 15.

— Additional reporting by Lauren Huff.

Related content:

• Timothee Chalamet drops first look photo showing him as Willy Wonka
• Warner Bros.' Wonka prequel gets 2023 release date
• Timothée Chalamet to play young Willy Wonka in upcoming prequel film from Paddington director