It’s not often that you get to see the appearance of someone that didn’t have a lot of acting credits despite being on one of the most iconic movies in history, but Paris Themmen, the guy that played Mike Teevee from Willy Wonka, was currently on Jeopardy!. The really odd thing about it though is that Themmen didn’t say a single word about his time spent on the movie and many people the recognized him are wondering why. When asked to list something interesting about himself Themmen instead said that he’d backpacked on six out of seven continents, which is pretty impressive really when you think about it. But he didn’t say a single thing about his role in the famed movie.
Looking at it now though that’s not too surprising since some people don’t really like to go into their past in such a manner. He hasn’t shown up on a whole lot throughout his life but he’s still had enough to do with TV and has been a production assistant for a while. He’s even shown up on shows like Top Chef: Just Desserts and Cake Wars. It could be that despite his fame from the 1971 movie that he doesn’t like to bank on it all that much and would rather discuss things he’s done during his adult years instead. There’s no indication that he’s one of the many child stars that was abused during his time in the industry but it could be enough that he just doesn’t want to let the role of Mike Teevee to be a defining moment in his life. After all one role, even if it was in a great movie, shouldn’t be what a person clings to unless they have nothing else and absolutely need it. If you’ve noticed how some child stars tried to hold onto their glory, kind of like Jerry Mathers who played the Beaver for so long that he was eventually kind of stuck in the role, some kids just never seem to get away from it.
Those that do are the lucky ones really since if they don’t decide to pursue a career in acting after the one role there’s a lot option to go on depending on what they choose to do. Those kids that live off their fame for so long and know nothing else eventually become consumed by the role they cling to and don’t have anything to fall back on. It could be that Themmen wanted a fuller life than what clinging to the role of Mike Teevee could have brought him, which would make sense really since the role didn’t go much of anywhere when the proposed sequel was scrapped. In any case it’s not even certain if Mike Teevee would have ever come back had the sequel been given the green light.
So let’s just say this, Paris Themmen probably made the right choice when he stepped away from the spotlight to pursue other interests. That should be enough for the fans at this time.
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