It's hard to imagine the original Mary Poppins without Dick Van Dyke.
Yet, while the actor famously played the charismatic cockney chimney sweep Bert, many people do not realise that Van Dyke played a secondary role in the children's classic; Mr Dawes Sr, the old director of the bank where Mr Banks works.
During a conversation with Lin-Manuel Miranda promoting the upcoming sequel, Mary Poppins Returns, set up by ABC, the 92-year-old discussed how he came to play Mr Dawes, admitting that Walt Disney initially didn't want him for the role.
"I said, 'I’ll do it for nothing.' Actually, I had to give him $4,000 dollars. I had to pay him to do the part," the actor said.
Pressed by Miranda, who plays a former apprentice of Bert's in the new film, about whether he actually paid the money, Van Dyke answered: "And I’d do it again."
Miranda pointed out how many people forget about Van Dyke's second role: "I always, when I tell my friends you’re in it. They go, ‘Oh, he’s playing Bert,' I go, 'Remember he played two parts in that movie'.
"It's funny when you’re a kid and you see it, you don’t realise that. You don’t realise it’s you in that other part."
Van Dyke will play Mr Dawes Jr in Mary Poppins Returns, confirming that Disney welcomed him back to the role with open arms. He told Miranda: "I got excited of course that there was going to be one, and of course my first question was: 'Can I be in it?'"
The most recent teaser for the upcoming sequel features a new song "Trip a Little Light Fantastic," performed by Miranda. Watch here.
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