Olivia Colman Says She ‘Loved’ Her Wonka Physical Transformation: ‘I Was So Cozy with My Extra Boobs’ (Exclusive)

Olivia Colman wanted a gnarled smile for her villain Wonka transformation.

In the new Willy Wonka origin story, the Oscar winner stars as Mrs. Scrubbit, an innkeeper who tricks an ambitious chocolatier (Timothée Chalamet) into signing a lifetime contract that forces him to work for her.

“I loved being the villain,” Colman tells PEOPLE. “I didn’t really enjoy the physical push [costar Calah Lane] around, but she was saying, ‘I’m fine, it’s okay with that. Just do it.’ But it’s fun to be a villain and say all the things you wouldn’t normally say. I just really enjoyed it.”

Colman, 49, and the film’s creative team also had fun with her appearance as a slimy con artist. (Oscar winner Lindy Hemming was in charge of costume design, while Colman’s hair and make-up artist for the film was Suzanne David.)

“The teeth were… We went through different shades of yellow. I really liked the dirty ones, and everyone belittled me and said, ‘I think we should probably go with something just a little more subtle.’ So we chose a subtle yellow,” she says.

The actress explains that they envisioned Mrs. Scrubbit as “a little bit bigger, so she had bigger breasts and a bigger butt, and she was really confident.” She jokes about being in costume on set during the cold British days: “I was so comfortable with my extra boobs. I loved it.”

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Olivia Colman at the ‘Wonka’ premiere in London on November 28, 2023.

Gareth Cattermole/Getty

Meanwhile, “the hair, there’s something about the hair that had a slight tobacco yellow color to it,” says Colman. “There are all these little additions of her clearly bleaching her hair, probably using laundry bleach, but there’s a little bit of tobacco. All those discussions that happened!”

It was “really fun,” she says.

How was it in conflict with her 27-year-old colleague Chalamet? “I was so incredibly impressed with the way he worked,” she says, joking, “And I wish I was better at—I just want to copy him!”

Warner Bros.

“He’s just so kind and joyful and ready,” says Chalamet’s Colman, who is nominated for a Golden Globe for the musical. “He would go to the camera and say, ‘I know I want to change that. Can I do it better?’ I thought, ‘That was already incredible. What will he do?’ And then you say, ‘Oh yeah, that was even better.’ He was so impressive and so nice to work with.”

Director Paul King, also known for the recent Paddington movies, tells PEOPLE she wants a family-friendly one Wonka to be as fun and whimsical for adults as it is for children.

“In a lot of ways, I think we’ve had a kind of golden age of family movies recently, especially in terms of animation,” he says. “You think about what Pixar has done and how they’ve really elevated it and told some remarkable, heartfelt stories and really raised the bar for people. I think it’s nice to do live-action movies that feel like they can speak to the whole family.”

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King adds, “For me, great family movies, what I strive for, are ones that have the same laughs for kids as they do for adults and the same feelings and emotions for kids as they do for adults.”

“It’s always a shame if you leave, this is for kids, but parents can look away and scroll through their phones, and then the kids get bored when there’s an adult-only scene,” says the director. “I want everyone to succeed. It’s a challenge.”

Wonka is in theaters on Friday.

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Source: HIS Education