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Peter Ostrum was just 14-years-old when he appeared on screen as the beloved Charlie Bucket in 1971’s Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
Starring alongside Gene Wilder as the lucky winner of the Golden Ticket, the former actor once described his pay check as ‘paltry’ and later turned his back on acting to pursue a career as a vet.
However 54 years on from the film’s release, he has revealed he still receives a small income from his role.
Speaking at Snowtown Film Festival in 2018, Peter said he makes around $8 to $9 in royalties every three months from the film being shown on TV.
Based on Roald Dahl’s 1964 book, the movie told the story of five schoolchildren who won the chance to tour the magical factory belonging to candy man Wonka after finding golden tickets hidden inside chocolate bars.
The film suffered ‘lukewarm reviews’ and ‘died a quiet death’ Peter recalled, earning $4million from its release and disappeared.
Peter Ostrum was just 14-years-old when he appeared on screen as the beloved Charlie Bucket in 1971’s Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (pictured in 2022)
However 54 years on from the film’s release, he has revealed he still receives a small income from his role
Starring alongside Gene Wilder (pictured) as the lucky winner of the Golden Ticket, the former actor once described his pay check as ‘paltry’ and later turned his back on acting
However, thanks to a series of TV broadcasts it began gaining popularity in the 80s with the child star admitting he had no idea just how popular it had become.
Peter told the Daily Mirror: ‘Back then when the film came out there was no red carpet premiere.
‘I was in my hometown in Ohio and they had an opening there and I was the only one there. There was a little bit of fanfare but not much and the film died a quiet death.
‘It had lukewarm reviews and people forgot about it. It wasn’t until video 10 years later that it resurfaced and it took on a life of its own.’
Peter traded in the acting scene to become a respected veterinarian, after getting a doctorate from prestigious American university Cornell and using his earnings from the film to buy a horse.
He turned down a potentially lucrative three-film deal with producer David L. Wolper following his success in Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory to concentrate on his studies before specialising in treating cattle and horses.
‘Everybody could be so lucky to have an experience like this and then to go in a completely different direction,’ he told the Today show in 2015.
Discussing his brief acting career with the Daily Express in 2014, the Ohio-born father-of-two recalled: ‘Looking back, my pay check was paltry, but it was during filming that I really became interested in medicine.’
Speaking at Snowtown Film Festival in 2018, Peter said he makes around $8 to $9 in royalties every three months from the film being shown on TV
Peter traded in the acting scene to become a respected vet, after getting a doctorate from prestigious American university Cornell and using his earnings from the film to buy a horse
Peter continued: ‘People tell me they watched Willy Wonka so many times growing up that they wore out their VHS copy. We had no idea we were making a classic, which even coined a new phrase: “I’ve found the golden ticket.”
‘I will always cherish my memories of making the movie, but I feel I won the golden ticket by becoming a vet.’
In an interview with the American Veterinary Medical Association, Peter recalled seeing a vet at work and thinking: ‘This person really enjoyed what he did for a living.’
He explained: ‘My father was a lawyer, and I really didn’t have a clue what he did all day. But I knew exactly what the veterinarian did.
‘Someone making a living from something he enjoyed so much really sparked my interest. I thought if I didn’t pursue that, I’d always kick myself.’
