Alex Jennings interview: the new Willy Wonka on Roald Dahl’s ‘child killer’

‘Oompa Loompa juice,’ says the actor Alex Jennings when I ask if he takes any supplements to preserve his looks. He’s 57 but could pass for a decade younger. We meet backstage in his Drury Lane suite, which boasts a fridge crammed with pink champagne, where he’s preparing to play the lead role in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. His relaxed demeanour and silky voice create an air of instant geniality that is reinforced by his towering figure. He’s six foot four and as lean as a fast bowler. Though he’s due on stage in 90 minutes, he lounges semi-horizontal in an armchair showing no trace of anxiety. ‘I do get nervous before the first big number. The great thing is, once the music starts, it don’t stop.’ Initially, when he took over from Douglas Hodge in May, he admits to being beset with nerves. ‘There were moments of thinking, why the fuck am I putting myself through this? Why am I doing this? I could just walk to the stage door, get in a fast car and say goodbye to it all.’

He’s still experimenting with the Wonka character whom he describes as ‘a child killer. He’s weird. Children disappear [in the show]. But that’s the misanthropic world of Roald Dahl. It’s very dark, but that makes it more interesting to play. I don’t feel settled yet. I’m still looking for new funny voices to do. He has a line about “all the voices in my head”, so that’s my justification for doing my favourite voices. I do Cary Grant, Noël Coward and Katharine Hepburn. Fleeting, fleeting. And all from a core of truth.’

He’s ‘in awe of’ the kiddie thesps playing alongside him. ‘They’re lovely. There are no ghastly little stage monsters. They’re delightful and so talented and totally unfazed.