20 Matilda Secrets That Miss Trunchbull Keeps Close To Her Chest

In an attempt to keep the child actors legitimately fearful of her while filming, Miss Trunchbull actor Pam Ferris deliberately stayed mean and moody even after the cameras had stopped rolling. Talking to the Radio Times in September 2016, Ferris explained, “We had a discussion, Danny [DeVito] and I… that I should stay aloof… and only meet them in character to try and keep that awed look in their face and the fear.” And judging by the kids’ reactions to her in the movie, it looks like her plan worked.

We could never forget Miss Trunchbull’s impressive hammer throw of poor pigtailed Amanda Thripp. But did you know that filming this classic scene almost cost Ferris one of her pinkies? Supportive wires were placed through the pigtails of the young actress, and Ferris held on to them with a loop. But when swinging the girl, the force of the maneuver caused the loop to tighten, almost chopping off Ferris’ finger. The near-miss actually resulted in seven or eight stitches. Ouch!

Now you might be thinking that surely it wouldn't be right — or even possible — to actually spin a child around by their hair in the name of acting. But, you'd be wrong! In fact, Jacqueline Steiger, the actress who plays Amanda, didn't even have a stunt double for the shocking spin. So how did they achieve the notorious hammer throw? Well, along with fake pigtails filled with wires, Steiger wore a harness that held the whole thing together with, you guessed it — more wire. And according to director Danny Devito, the child star had a whale of the time filming the scene!

As she’s a child genius, you’d think that Matilda would make anyone proud — but her vicious parents, Harry and Zinnia, are big meanies who treat her like dirt. And, rather neatly, the pair who play the evil on-screen couple were actually married in real life, too! Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman were together for over 45 years and married for nearly 35 before they separated. However, they both insist that they still consider themselves family. And if interviews are to be believed, then despite their split, they were certainly happier together than the Wormwoods!

Young Mara Wilson was an established film actor before she’d even reached ten years old, but the young actress tragically lost her mom to breast cancer six months after wrapping Matilda. Her mom was diagnosed during filming, and the movie was ultimately dedicated to her. Filming, however, actually helped Wilson cope. In 2013 she told Parade, “I remember feeling, when I was part of Matilda, that it was nice because I could focus on everything good that was going on in my life. It was wonderful.”

Child actors are restricted by the number of hours they can work, and using twins to portray one role is a popular way around the problem. And so The Bold and the Beautiful twins Kylie and Keaton Tyndall were initially cast as Matilda. They were even set to play the part, but unfortunately for them, they got sick with a nasty bout of flu right before filming. Danny DeVito apparently also had his eye on another set of superstar twins — Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. I think we can all agree that Matilda wouldn't be the same without Wilson fronting the role.

What's the first thing you think of when you hear the word, 'Matilda?' Aside from The Trunchbull's nightmarish appearance, it's of course the star of the show's magical powers. From her trademark squint to her laser-focused mischief, the film just wouldn't be the same without it. Wilson's move became so iconic, in fact, that it got its very own nickname — "the whammy." In an interview with Uproxx in 2016, the actress recalled how DeVito would drop it on-set, "[Danny] would just say, ‘Whammy that chair,’ ‘Whammy that over there,’ and I would know exactly what he meant."

The antithesis of Miss Trunchbull, the sweet and helpful Miss Honey was played by Embeth Davidtz. And she must have been fist-pumping the air when she heard she had the part, as it was apparently first offered to Law & Order: SVU’s Mariska Hargitay. Incredibly, though, the Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actress rejected the role. Still, it hasn’t hurt her career, it seems!

After her mom passed, Wilson’s desire to act faded as she tried to come to terms with her loss and being famous at the same time. In 2013 she told Parade, “I just wanted to be a normal kid, especially after my mother died. I wish that I had stopped after Matilda. I wish that I had just focused on my own life for a while. Maybe gone to counseling or something…” Wilson’s had a few parts since, but she’s largely stayed away from on-screen work, preferring to stick to writing instead.

Pity the poor Crunchem Hall kids that ended up in Miss Trunchbull’s dastardly creation, the “chokey.” The panic-inducing cupboard was filled with razor-sharp nails and would become home to any disobedient pupils. Thankfully, though, in real life those nails weren’t dangerous at all. Ferris told the Radio Times in 2016, “Don’t tell the children. The nails are rubber, so they can shut on you and jab at you but they wouldn't hurt.” Phew!

The man responsible for Matilda ever reaching our screens in the first place — Road Dahl — actually pops up himself in the film. Although not in person, as the children’s author passed away six years before the movie was released. If you look closely, the portrait of dead Magnus in Miss Truncuhbull’s home is a genuine painting of Dahl.

And Roald isn’t the only Dahl the film pays homage to. In the movie, teacher Miss Honey used to own a doll that she christened “Liccy Doll.” And of course, Roald Dahl’s widow — who was also one of the film’s producers — is none other than Felicity "Liccy" Dahl. Now that's sneaky!

When you next settle down to watch Matilda, pay close attention to Miss Trunchball's face. You wouldn't think the intentionally un-groomed headmistress is wearing falsies, but she is! Just not on her face... Instead of lengthening her lashes — a glam addition that The Trunchbull simply wouldn't rock — the makeup team used them to give the impression of facial hair. “I did have false eyelashes... and they were on my chin! And a little bit on my top lip,” she told the Radio Times.

Using her secret special powers, Matilda summons a piece of chalk to a blackboard to write a note from the ghost of Magnus. But this infamous scene was actually a lot harder to produce than it seems. First, the text had to be scribbled on the back of the blackboard. Next, the chalk was magnetized. Then one of the team hid on the other side of the board, going over the pre-written words with a magnet-attracting tool, so it appeared that the chalk was writing by itself. Surely CGI would have been a lot easier?

One newt makes a starring role in Matilda when it’s almost swallowed by Miss Trunchbull, but two more are celebrated elsewhere. In fact, during the final credits on the DVD, three “newts” are credited: Mr. Speaker, Sir Isaac, and Wayne. This is a sneaky reference to then-U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich, Isaac Newton, and singer Wayne Newton.

Most films nowadays will use clever technology to achieve on-screen special effects, but not back in 1996! In fact, there was only one scene in the entire film that used a green screen for Matilda's magic — the flying carrot. The line, "Hey Dipface! Have a carrot!" is followed by a feisty Matilda reversing the offending orange veg right back at her bully brother, but it was the only moment in the movie that relied on tech. DeVito told Uproxx that the rest of the tricks were done the old-fashioned way, "we do most things… Like the chocolate going out the window, we did with wires and we took the wires out. But most of it, like throwing [Steiger] over the fence, we did that in a studio."

Another one of Dahl’s books, The BFG, is subtly referenced in the film. When talking with Miss Honey about her adoration of novelist Charles Dickens, young Matilda messes up his name, calling him “Dahl’s Chickens.” And cleverly, the Big Friendly Giant does exactly the same thing throughout The BFG. Likewise, yet another Dahl novel-turned-movie, The Witches, gets a cheeky look-in during the movie. Towards the closing scene, Matilda has a conversation with Miss Honey regarding how fast a mouse’s heartbeat is. And the very same thing happens between two characters in The Witches. Dahl really was a master of self-promotion… or maybe he just enjoyed recycling his own work.

Matilda’s beloved doll Wanda was one of her few possessions in the movie, and it’s extra special because a young Wilson actually designed it herself before filming. The quirky-looking comforter was later manufactured and sold to the public. And in 2012 Wilson wrote on her blog, “It’s one thing I feel comfortable using for bragging rights: I got my first design credit at age seven! I’m not actually sure if I was ever officially credited, but still, I’m proud.”

After laying low for a few years after his 1991 arrest for indecent exposure, Pee-wee Herman, played by Paul Reubens, also pops up in Matilda. He plays Bob, an FBI cop. But could the fact he was cast to play a law enforcement officer be a sly dig at his previous conviction? The jury is out on that one...

One lunchbox in the movie features the slogan, “Greeting from Asbury Park, New Jersey.” And this is actually a reference to DeVito’s hometown, as the movie star was raised in Asbury Park. It’s also the name of Bruce Springsteen’s first album. And given that DeVito and Springsteen are reportedly good pals, we think it's safe to assume that the addition of the slogan wasn't merely a coincidence.

Sweet-toothed Bruce Bogtrotter successfully completes Miss Trunchball’s challenge/punishment of eating an entire, enormous chocolate cake. However, what would seem like a dream scene to act out was actually a nightmare for the young actor, Jimmy Karz. Why? Because Karz couldn’t stand the sweet, brown stuff. In fact, he even kept a bucket offset to spew the cake into!

Indeed, after just a few more acting roles — including a Drew Barrymore butt-grabbing part in The Wedding Singer — Karz chucked in the showbiz towel. And now, this chocolate-hating chap is a trained doctor who graduated from Philadelphia’s College of Osteopathic Medicine. Which certainly sounds a touch healthier than gorging on a whole cake.

Everyone knows that DeVito had a starring turn as Harry Wormwood, Matilda’s vile car salesman pop. But did you know that he also directed, produced, and narrated the movie? And although he’d worked behind the scenes on other pictures, Matilda was actually his first flick for kids. We think he made a pretty good job of it too, wouldn’t you agree?

Hair and makeup really had their work cut out when it came to achieving The Trunchbull's signature snarl, and it apparently wasn't always going to look the way it did in the final cut. “We were going to have big top teeth all the way across, but in the course of extra teeth being fitted, I said I quite like it with only half in because it gave me a kind of Elvis sneer,” Ferris revealed to the Radio Times. Ditching the extra teeth sure did the job, and Ferris agrees, “it did a wonderfully cruel thing to my mouth.” As well as carefully selected dentures, one of the main makeup artists Ve Neill revealed that Trunchbull's nose, eye bags, freckles, and eyebrows were all tweaked, too.

We've all seen Mara Wilson acing her role as the main star of Matilda, but did you spot the other actors and actresses who played the lead part? According to IMDb, there are 11 other children credited for playing the character through her on-screen childhood. From newborns right up until four-year-old Matilda, each baby, toddler, and pre-school kid had their shot at stardom.

Crank House, or Fair Oaks Ranch as it's otherwise known, has quite the cinematic history. As well as hosting the formidable Miss Trunchbull, the Los Angeles property has also featured in a whole host of other big hits. From Allison's house in Hocus Pocus to a sorority house in Scream 2, the foreboding façade must be in line for an Oscar by now!

Who could forget the scene where the Wormwoods head out to a hoity-toity restaurant only to be mortified by an inexplicable hat incident? After much tugging and even help from Zinnia, that hat wasn't budging. Now you may be wondering how DeVito and Perlman acted the scene so believably. Well, wonder no more! DeVito explained it all in an interview, "What we did was, we had this harness on me, and I had these two wires going up into the hat. I was holding [the hat] down with my body, and Rhea was pulling, trying to get it off my head." More wires — simple!

You know the part — little Matilda is standing on the lounge table, "Little Bitty Pretty One" is playing, and poker chips are flying all over. But what you might now know, is that Mara Wilson struggled to film this particular part of the movie. "I've never been really comfortable dancing, so I felt very nervous about doing the dancing scene," Wilson told Uproxx. She was only nine when she was cast, so it's little wonder she had some apprehensions. Luckily, after DeVito found out about Wilson's fears, he had a neat trick up his sleeve. On the day filming rolled around, DeVito had a clear message for the rest of the cast, "Okay, the deal is that day, if you’re on set today, you have to dance. Everybody has to dance." Apparently, it was like a party on set that day! 

It might not be easy to envision Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator appearing on-screen to tackle the Trunchbull, but that mental image may have become a reality. Well, not quite! There were almost certainly never plans to get a leather-clad Arnie to appear on-screen, but he was in line to make a cameo as one of the FBI agents. Schwarzenegger and DeVito have been friends for some time, so it's a shame the pair couldn't collaborate on this one. It was nothing personal, but Schwarzenegger's schedule didn't line up — he was already filming Eraser at the time. 

Look closely and you may spot actor Craig Lamar Taylor, who for six years played the disabled best bud of Malcolm in Malcolm in the Middle. His part in Matilda is so small that his character wasn’t even named, but he’s the child in the classroom who grabs the newt after it springs off the light. Blink and you’ll miss him.