The Unknown star of Willy Wonka experience unmasked as teen actor on first job
The actor behind the iconic ‘The Unknown’ character in the Willy Wonka experience in Glasgow has been unmasked as a 16-year-old girl on her first acting job.
Glaswegian teenager Felicia took to TikTok to reveal her identity after her role in the comically terrible experience went viral.
Furious parents demanded refunds for the event, which charged £35 per person for what was advertised to be an immersive chocolate factory experience.
However, when the children turned up, they were met with a near-empty warehouse.
While there was no chocolate in sight, a new bizarre character named The Unknown was introduced into the plot of the experience.
The story behind the disconcerting character claims they are an evil chocolate maker that hides in the walls of the factory.
A viral video shows the character, donned in a black cloak and silver mask, revealing itself from behind a mirror as a group of children groan in horror.
One parent who attended the event described The Unknown as “a terrifying chrome-masked character that scared many of the kids to tears”.
After days of social media users debating the true identity of The Unknown, 16-year-old Felicia came forward on TikTok.
“When I first read the script, I really did not like it,” she said. “As most of you guys know, I am 16 and it was my first ever paid acting job.
“I was quite nervous but the actors were so so lovely and they took me under their wing.”
She added that she was approached by the event organisers, the House of Illuminati, to play Wonka originally but was then cast as The Unknown on Saturday morning.
“So on the day of the actual event, we just got told to patch the script and improvise it and the only direction I got given was to act creepy.
“So I tried to imagine what a man living in the walls should be like.”
Referring to the viral video, Felicia added: “Some people loved it, some people hated it, some were left traumatised. Some people had no clue what was going on, including myself.”
Stuart Sinclair, who travelled two hours to attend the experience with his family, told The Independent: “It was nothing short of shocking.
“But all the cast that were there did their absolute best. Unfortunately, they were all sub-contractor actors hired by Illuminati and haven’t been paid either.
“They were in as much shock as us. But it was probably worse for them because this is their job and made them look bad when it wasn’t their fault.”
Organiser Billy Coull, the director of immersive events company House of Illuminati, told STV News: “I’m really shocked that the event had fallen short of the expectations of people on paper.
“My vision of the artistic rendition of a well-known book didn’t come to fruition. For that, I am absolutely truly and utterly sorry.”