Film Star Visits Middle School Theater Production

Hawken students had the opportunity to meet Peter Ostrum, who played the character of Charlie Bucket in the 1971 movie version of Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, prior to their March 2 performance of Willy Wonka Jr. Ostrum held a private question/answer period for the Hawken middle school performers and cast, then stayed to introduce the play for the Friday night performance.
 

Ostrum, 54, was an area 6th grader active with Cleveland Playhouse’s youth series productions when he was chosen for the feature role in what was to become the cult classic. He was recently chosen by VH 1 as one of the top 100 Greatest Kid Stars.
 

Now a veterinarian in rural New York, Ostrum commented on the rare longevity of the movie’s appeal. “Who would have thought over 40 years later, people would still be interested,” he said.
 

The approximately 75 Hawken students who had the opportunity to meet with him before the performance were still very interested.
 

The twenty minute question/answer session covered everything from how he got the role to why he didn’t pursue a career in acting.
 

“My parents told me to look on it as an experience,” he said of the 6 month production period which took him to Munich, Germany. “Afterwards, I was just anxious to be a kid again.”
 

Ostrum received his degree from the Cornell University, College of Veterinary Medicine. “I don’t know if I made the right choice or the wrong choice,” he commented on his decision to not pursue acting post Wonka. “I just made the choice that fit what I wanted.”
 

After the private meeting, the students hurried backstage for the start of their second of three sold out performances, which had been featured in the 2DO section of the March 2 Plain Dealer Fr!day magazine.