 In 2000 , Ostrum recalled that shooting Willy Wonka in Munich was " sort of like being an exchange student for five months " . Fond memories of his five months in West Germany included watching the construction of Olympiapark , Munich , for the 1972 Summer Olympics , and working with Gene Wilder and Jack Albertson . Though in his audition he had been assured that his singing would probably be cut and dubbed , it was Ostrum 's own singing voice that made it to the screen — albeit significantly cut . In a 2011 interview , Ostrum told the story of how director Mel Stuart gave him a clapperboard from the film , and then forgot he had done so ; it is Ostrum 's only souvenir from the set . After he finished shooting Willy Wonka , the then 13 @-@ year @-@ old Ostrum declined the offer of a three @-@ film contract , later recalling that " [ e ] verybody thinks that acting is such a glamorous profession , but it 's a difficult profession . " 
