‘Willy Wonka’ child star says Gene Wilder made sure she was looked after on-set because her parents weren’t around during filming

• "Willy Wonka" Veruca Salt actor said Gene Wilder personally made sure she was taken care of on-set.
• "I was the only kid in Germany that didn't have a member of my family with me," she said.
• Even 50 years later, the "Willy Wonka" child actors speak warmly of working with the late Wilder.
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

"Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" star Julie Dawn Cole said that Gene Wilder personally made sure someone was looking after Cole when he found out the then-child actor's family wasn't accompanying her on-set.

In June, Cole, along with former costars Peter Ostrum (who played Charlie Bucket), Michael Bollner (who played Augustus Gloop), and Paris Themmen (who played Mike Teavee), spoke about the late Wilder in a conversation with Insider to mark the film's 50th anniversary on Wednesday.

Based on the 1964 Roald Dahl novel "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," the 1971 movie tells the story of the eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka (played by Wilder) who invites a group of golden ticket-winning children to his secretive chocolate factory.

Cole, who played Veruca Salt, described Wilder as a "warm, kind person" with "piercing blue eyes."

Cole, who said she was "the only kid in Germany that didn't have a member of my family" on set, recalled how Wilder found out she was unaccompanied a few weeks into filming. (The movie was primarily shot in Munich, Germany.)

According to Cole, her mother was away working in England and the then-12-year-old child actress was basically "on my own out there in Germany" with just a "registered chaperone."

Cole said that when Wilder learned she was on her own, he told Roy Kinnear (who played Veruca's on-screen father, Mr. Salt) and Jack Albertson (who played Charlie's Grandpa Joe): "Look, boys, she's on her own here. We've got to look out for her."

"And they did, they all kind of took care of me," Cole said. "So that was Gene. He was very much looking around at what was going on and taking care of everybody else. Very, very kind man."

German-native Bollner also recalled a "funny interview" experience involving Wilder, with a German newspaper.

"Gene doesn't speak German, and I don't speak English very well. The newspaper girl doesn't speak English at all," Bollner told Insider during the same 50th-anniversary chat in June.

"Gene was very gentle and very nice to all of us and he tried to make the best out of it," Bollner, who's now an accountant based in Germany, said.

The actor who played Charlie Bucket called the upcoming Wonka prequel 'exciting'

Since "Willy Wonka" was released in 1971, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" has been remade into musicals, video games, and a 2005 Tim Burton movie starring Johnny Depp.

Most recently, Deadline reported in May that "Little Women" actor Timothée Chalamet is set to star in an upcoming Warner Bros. movie exploring Wonka's life before he started his chocolate factory.

The prequel is tentatively slated to be released in 2023, according to Deadline.

Peter Ostrum, who played main character Charlie Bucket in the 1971 movie, told Insider that he is "excited" about the prequel starring Chalamet.

"I want to know what happened to Willy Wonka prior to me meeting him," Ostrum said. "So all references, or anything new, that they can do with Willy Wonka is a positive."

Themmen agreed and even said he'd be very open to making a cameo in the prequel if the filmmakers were to ask him.

"I think it's nice for them that they're not doing the remake," Themmen told Insider. "They're doing a prequel because that way it will avoid direct comparison."

He added: "Especially in the area of Gene Wilder, that might always be a good thing. Because he was so wonderful in our version of the film."