Here's the 19-Year-Old Behind the Viral Willy Wonka TikTok Account
Updated Aug. 11 2020, 9:08 p.m. ET
Willy Wonka (the Johnny Depp version, not Gene Wilder) is on TikTok and he's causing a STIR. Of all the things we thought we'd get obsessed with on TikTok in 2020, not once did we think it would be some dude cosplaying Willy Wonka from the 2005 movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. But here we are. And honestly, we are fine with it.
Who and what is Willy Wonka TikTok?
Willy Wonka is "willywonkatiktok" on TikTok and he has 4.2 million followers. If you scroll through Willy Wonka's TikTok, you'll find videos of Willy Wonka ordering a Diet Coke at McDonald's ("Today we're going to McDonald's my dear children, yeah!"), dancing shirtless, reenacting scenes from the movie, and making fun of Carole Baskin (okay, maybe that only happened once — it's still pretty funny though). Willy Wonka TikTok is actually a guy named Duke Depp, and he has an Instagram, Onlyfans (totally G-rated), YouTube, Snapchat account and more.
Back in June, Willy Wonka TikTok revealed his true identity on YouTube, which he promised he'd do once he hit a million followers. In the YouTube video, Duke reveals that he's 19 years old(!!!!), lives in Utah, and that Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is his favorite movie of all time (shocker). His origin story? One day, he discovered that he could do a pretty spot-on Willy Wonka impression, and he stuck with it. Although he does find himself speaking and acting like Willy Wonky IRL on accident.
Other facts that are important to know if you're a fan of this talented Willy Wonka impersonator: Duke got his creative start by becoming a wedding photographer (apparently he started this endeavor in 2016, which would make him six years old), which allowed him to travel all over the world. His love of photography led him to TikTok, and the rest is history.
Although he's relatively new on Instagram (it looks like he started his account June 8), he's still amassed almost 90k followers. It's unknown whether his real last name is actually "Depp" but if that's what he's going with, we're here for it.
Everyone is pretty much in love with Willy Wonka, and it's easy to see why. He's wholesome, funny, and he legitimately does an amazing impersonation of Johnny Depp as the eccentric chocolate factory founder.
And yes, a lot of people are here for Duke Depp and his cheekbones.
The thirst is real.
If you want to watch Duke Depp as Duke Depp, he also has a TikTok separate from his Willy Wonka account (dukedepp is his TikTok handle). His personal account has 1.2 million followers, and his Willy Wonka persona still makes an occasional appearance.
If you can't get enough of Willy Wonka, Duke Depp was smart enough to put out some merch, which includes T-shirts and hoodies that say "haha, yeah," Willy himself, and a Willy face mask which you can buy for $13.
We don't know if Duke will dip his toes into other character waters, but it's obvious he has some serious talent.