Rusty Goffe's Life after Playing an Oompa Loompa in 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory'
Rusty Goffe was one of the original Oompa Loompas in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." Throughout his acting career, he has starred in many movies including "Harry Potter" and "Star Wars."
Born on October 30, 1948, at Kent, England, Rusty Goffe got his education from a private school named Gundolf House School in Herne Bay. Later, he joined Sturry Secondary Modern School near Canterbury, Kent.
Goffe quit school when he was 15 years old to start a career in show business. In 1971, he landed a role as an Oompa Loompa in the 1971 version of the Roald Dahl classic "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."
Rusty Goffe at Convention on March 19, 2016. | Source: Wikimedia Commons
MEMORIES OF WILLY WONKA
In an interview with "Guardian," Goffe once mentioned that Willy Wonka was his first and favorite film among all the other movies that he did.
"One of the songs we sang in the movie was called Pure Imagination and that, to me, sums up Roald Dahl. He will be remembered as a classic children’s writer."
He also shared in the same interview that the Oompa Loompas went on to be a part of numerous TV shows, films, and stage shows after their performance in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."
At the time of his interview with "Guardian," Goffe shared that there are only three of the Oompa Loompas are still alive. Some of them were as old as 70 when they got the role.
THE JOBS WERE SCARCE
According to Goffe, a lot of little people gave up their lucrative jobs to star in fantasy films to portray goblins, robots, and elves. Ever since advanced graphics and animation software came into existence, those types of roles became scarce.
After his role in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," he went on to star in movies including "Disciple of Death," "History of the World War One," "Flash Gordon," "The Spiral Staircases," "UFO," "Funnybones," "Day Release," "Willow," "Ali G In Da House," "The Tramps," and "Mirrormask."
Goffe has also starred in some of the mega-hit movies including the "Harry Potter" franchise and "Star Wars." He played the part of a "JAWA," "GONK," and "DROID." He also played the role of "KABE" in the Cantina in the same movie after one of the actresses collapsed.
As for the "Harry Potter" franchise, he played the role of a Gringott in the movie "Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone." He appeared in the Hogsmeade Choir in "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban."
Besides the said roles, Goffe played the part of "Gringott Bank Goblin" in "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince." Yet again, he played the part of the chief bank teller in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" part two.
Talking about his personal life, he is married to his wife Sarah Goffe. The pair has two children together, Ben Goffe and Jack Goffe. Both of them walked in their father's footsteps to become actors.