"While Gene was at first undecided, when he learned more about his role, he eventually accepted. He said the one condition he had for him to accept was: 'When I make my first entrance, I’d like to come out of the door carrying a cane and then walk toward the crowd with a limp. After the crowd sees Willy Wonka is a cripple, they all whisper to themselves and then become deathly quiet. As I walk toward them, my cane sinks into one of the cobblestones I’m walking on and stands straight up, by itself… but I keep on walking, until I realize that I no longer have my cane. I start to fall forward, and just before I hit the ground, I do a beautiful forward somersault and bounce back up, to great applause.'
When Stuart asked Wilder why, he said, 'Because from that time on, no one will know if I’m lying or telling the truth.' ”
"While Gene was at first undecided, when he learned more about his role, he eventually accepted. He said the one condition he had for him to accept was: 'When I make my first entrance, I’d like to come out of the door carrying a cane and then walk toward the crowd with a limp. After the crowd sees Willy Wonka is a cripple, they all whisper to themselves and then become deathly quiet. As I walk toward them, my cane sinks into one of the cobblestones I’m walking on and stands straight up, by itself… but I keep on walking, until I realize that I no longer have my cane. I start to fall forward, and just before I hit the ground, I do a beautiful forward somersault and bounce back up, to great applause.'
When Stuart asked Wilder why, he said, 'Because from that time on, no one will know if I’m lying or telling the truth.' ”