# Paris Themmen
**Paris Themmen** (born 1959, Boston, Massachusetts) is an American former child actor, entrepreneur, and photographer, best known for playing Mike Teevee, the television-obsessed golden-ticket winner, in *Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory* (1971)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002398/bio) • [2](https://www.hobbydb.com/marketplaces/hobbydb/subjects/paris-themmen-actor). After the film he continued on Broadway briefly, left acting at 14, earned a theater degree from New York University, and built a business career spanning real estate, finance, film production, casting, and [Walt Disney Imagineering](https://www.edgepedia.org/walt-disney-imagineering)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002398/bio).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1959, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, to classical musicians[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002398/bio) |
| Signature role | Mike Teevee in *Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory* (1971), at age 11[3](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/paris-themmen-mike-teavee-actor-from-willy-wonka-appears-on-jeopardy/) |
| Broadway | Replacement in *Mame* (1968, with Ann Miller) and in *The Rothschilds* as Young Jacob Rothschild, continued in the national tour[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002398/bio) • [4](https://trainwreckdsociety.com/2018/11/21/paris-themmen-interview/) |
| Education | BFA in theater, New York University; attended the Professional Children's School[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002398/bio) • [4](https://trainwreckdsociety.com/2018/11/21/paris-themmen-interview/) |
| Later careers | Real estate broker, financial advisor, Walt Disney Imagineer, commercial casting in Los Angeles, founder of the travel service Access International, photography business[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002398/bio) • [2](https://www.hobbydb.com/marketplaces/hobbydb/subjects/paris-themmen-actor) |
| Last acting credit | Uncredited "Fawning Fan" in a 2000 episode of *Star Trek: Voyager*[5](https://www.tvinsider.com/674067/willy-wonka-paris-themmen-mike-teavee-jeopardy/) |
| Jeopardy! | Contestant on March 13, 2018, finishing second with $6,800 and taking home the $2,000 prize[5](https://www.tvinsider.com/674067/willy-wonka-paris-themmen-mike-teavee-jeopardy/) |
## Early acting career
Themmen began acting at six, when his mother brought his older sister to a talent agent and the agent invited him to try as well. His first audition was a commercial for Jiff peanut butter, in which he sat atop a mountain of peanuts staged on an angled chicken-wire structure; he booked it, and went on to record roughly two dozen commercials, including one for a bubble bath product called "Crazy Bubbles"[6](https://mediamikes.com/2010/07/interview-with-willy-wonkas-paris-themmen/) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002398/bio). On stage in New York he appeared in [Euripides](https://www.edgepedia.org/euripides)' *Iphigenia in Aulis* at the Circle in the Square Theatre in the 1967–68 season with [Irene Papas](https://www.edgepedia.org/irene-papas), and was a replacement in the Broadway musical *Mame* in 1968, appearing in support of [Ann Miller](https://www.edgepedia.org/ann-miller)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002398/bio).
**Willy Wonka.** When auditions for *Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory* came up, his built-up reputation in New York placed him among the few local children called in[4](https://trainwreckdsociety.com/2018/11/21/paris-themmen-interview/). Director Mel Stuart thought the ebullient 11-year-old had "the perfect brattiness" for Mike Teavee, the cowboy-hat-wearing, TV-addicted boy who is shrunk and sent "up the pipe" in the Wonkavision room[7](https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/search-perfect-willy-wonka) • [8](https://time.com/5201390/jeopardy-contestant-willy-wonka-mike-teevee/). The film was shot in Munich, Germany, in late 1970, and released in 1971; it received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score[4](https://trainwreckdsociety.com/2018/11/21/paris-themmen-interview/). In later decades the film acquired a lasting cult following, and the surviving child cast members reunited publicly, including for anniversary events and a joint DVD audio commentary recorded for the 30th-anniversary edition[9](https://archive.thedigitalbits.com/articles/wonka/jminterview.html) • [4](https://trainwreckdsociety.com/2018/11/21/paris-themmen-interview/).
## Leaving acting and business career
Themmen abandoned child acting at 14 and studied at New York University, receiving a [Bachelor of Fine Arts](https://www.edgepedia.org/bachelor-of-fine-arts) in theater[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002398/bio). His business career since has included managing money at Smith-Barney, real estate brokerage, film production, and working as a Walt Disney Imagineer during the construction of Euro Disney; in Los Angeles he ran commercial casting sessions[6](https://mediamikes.com/2010/07/interview-with-willy-wonkas-paris-themmen/) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002398/bio). He also founded the travel service Access International, which arranged charter flights to Europe for backpackers, and currently runs a photography business while occasionally appearing on television and signing autographs at conventions[2](https://www.hobbydb.com/marketplaces/hobbydb/subjects/paris-themmen-actor).
His acting appearances after *Wonka* were sparse: voice work on the English version of the animated *[Macross Plus](https://www.edgepedia.org/macross-plus)* (1994), background parts in films such as *The Doors* and *The Big Lebowski* (1998), a credited role as a Mail Room Clerk in the TV movie *Screenplay* (1999), and an uncredited "Fawning Fan" in a 2000 episode of *Star Trek: Voyager*, his last acting appearance[10](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Paris_Themmen) • [5](https://www.tvinsider.com/674067/willy-wonka-paris-themmen-mike-teavee-jeopardy/). Behind the camera he was a production assistant on *Until the End of the World* (1991) and *Something Borrowed* (2011), and assistant director on *The Owner* (2012)[11](https://www.archytele.com/person/paris-themmen). He has also appeared as himself as an honorary judge on food competition shows including *Top Chef: Just Desserts* and *Cake Wars*, in a [Willy Wonka](https://www.edgepedia.org/willy-wonka)-themed battle[12](https://www.biography.com/movies-tv/willy-wonka-cast-where-are-they-now).
## The 2018 Jeopardy! appearance
On the March 13, 2018 episode of *Jeopardy!*, Themmen competed as a contestant, introduced by host [Alex Trebek](https://www.edgepedia.org/alex-trebek) as "an entrepreneur from North Hollywood, California" and an avid backpacker, with no mention of *Willy Wonka*. Viewers nevertheless recognized him within minutes and spread the news on social media[8](https://time.com/5201390/jeopardy-contestant-willy-wonka-mike-teevee/). He told Trebek a backpacking story instead, and finished second with $6,800, taking home the allotted $2,000[5](https://www.tvinsider.com/674067/willy-wonka-paris-themmen-mike-teavee-jeopardy/) • [3](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/paris-themmen-mike-teavee-actor-from-willy-wonka-appears-on-jeopardy/). His wife, Nikki Grillos, had been a two-day [Jeopardy!](https://www.edgepedia.org/jeopardy) champion in 2015[5](https://www.tvinsider.com/674067/willy-wonka-paris-themmen-mike-teavee-jeopardy/).
## Life beyond film
Travel is a recurring theme in his accounts of himself: he has backpacked through dozens of countries on six continents (IMDb lists 76 countries on six continents; Trebek's on-air introduction said more than 60)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002398/bio) • [12](https://www.biography.com/movies-tv/willy-wonka-cast-where-are-they-now). In interviews he has named destinations including Borneo, the Sahara Desert, the Amazon, the Great Pyramids of Egypt, and the [Taj Mahal](https://www.edgepedia.org/taj-mahal), and described swimming with sharks and piranhas and skydiving[6](https://mediamikes.com/2010/07/interview-with-willy-wonkas-paris-themmen/). Since the 2010s he has toured with fellow cast member [Julie Dawn Cole](https://www.edgepedia.org/julie-dawn-cole), who played [Veruca Salt](https://www.edgepedia.org/veruca-salt), speaking about the film at conventions and anniversary screenings[13](https://geekmom.com/2016/09/mike-teevee/) • [14](https://www.forbes.com/sites/simonthompson/2021/08/13/veruca-salt-and-mike-teevee-talk-willy-wonka-and-the-chocolate-factory-as-it-turns-50-and-returns-to-theaters/). He resides in Los Angeles with his wife and two cats[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002398/bio).
## References
1. [Paris Themmen – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002398/bio)
2. [Paris Themmen (Actor), hobbyDB](https://www.hobbydb.com/marketplaces/hobbydb/subjects/paris-themmen-actor)
3. [Paris Themmen, Mike Teavee actor from "Willy Wonka," appears on "Jeopardy," CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/paris-themmen-mike-teavee-actor-from-willy-wonka-appears-on-jeopardy/)
4. [Paris Themmen [Interview], Trainwreck'd Society](https://trainwreckdsociety.com/2018/11/21/paris-themmen-interview/)
5. [Paris Themmen, Original Mike Teavee Actor in 'Willy Wonka,' Appears on 'Jeopardy!', TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/674067/willy-wonka-paris-themmen-mike-teavee-jeopardy/)
6. [Interview with Paris Themmen, MediaMikes](https://mediamikes.com/2010/07/interview-with-willy-wonkas-paris-themmen/)
7. [In search of the perfect Willy Wonka, BFI](https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/search-perfect-willy-wonka)
8. [You May Recognize This Jeopardy! Contestant From Your Favorite Childhood Movie, Time](https://time.com/5201390/jeopardy-contestant-willy-wonka-mike-teevee/)
9. [DVD Producer J.M. Kenny talks Willy Wonka, The Digital Bits](https://archive.thedigitalbits.com/articles/wonka/jminterview.html)
10. [Paris Themmen, Memory Alpha](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Paris_Themmen)
11. [Paris Themmen: Movies, TV Shows & Biography, archytele](https://www.archytele.com/person/paris-themmen)
12. ['Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory' Cast: Where Are They Now?, Biography.com](https://www.biography.com/movies-tv/willy-wonka-cast-where-are-they-now)
13. [Mike TeeVee on 'Wonka,' Wilder, and Dahl's Writing, GeekMom](https://geekmom.com/2016/09/mike-teevee/)
14. [Veruca Salt And Mike Teevee Talk 'Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory' As It Turns 50, Forbes](https://www.forbes.com/sites/simonthompson/2021/08/13/veruca-salt-and-mike-teevee-talk-willy-wonka-and-the-chocolate-factory-as-it-turns-50-and-returns-to-theaters/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Child and youth screen performers › Child performers born before 1986*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license