Jeremy Allen White Loves Being The 'Ketamine Gene Wilder' - But Are They Related?

Jeremey Allen White has long been bandied about as a possible successor to film legend Gene Wilder in the role of Willy Wonka thanks to their similar appearances. But do the actors share more than their big blue eyes and quirky good looks? 

It turns out White has already clarified that point — and no, the two actors don't share a bloodline. "I'm not related to Gene Wilder. I've addressed this before. I think a lot of people think I am," he said during a BuzzFeed Puppy interview with his "The Iron Claw" co-stars Zac Efron and Harris Dickinson. White has addressed the question multiple times before, with everyone from InStyle Magazine to Seth Meyers, and his answer has always been the same. 

While "The Bear" actor isn't related to Wilder, it definitely isn't a comparison he finds offensive. In 2022, he told InStyle that he once saw a meme comparing his character, Carmy Berzatto, to the "Young Frankenstein" actor. "They called Carmy 'Ketamine Gene Wilder,' which I thought was weird and funny," he said. And that isn't the only time White's found the comparisons between himself and Wilder to be flattering. 

Jeremy Allen White doesn't seem to be too put out by the constant comparisons between himself and Gene Wilder. He told British GQ Magazine during an Actually Me video, during which he also revealed that he would never play James Bond, that he finds the questions to be quite flattering. While browsing Reddit at GQ's behest, he bumped into a post that featured side-by-side shots of a young Wilder and himself. In the caption, the Redditor wondered jokingly if "The Bear" actor was a piece of Wilder which fell off and became fully sentient. 

"No, that's not all I am, but it is crazy. I'll take a comparison any day," he confessed at the time. On top of that, White is a fan of Wilder's acting style. He ended up telling Seth Meyers that his favorite film by the acting legend is the truthfully wonderful "Young Frankenstein." So while White may not be directly related to the legend, it seems he's done his homework when it comes to Wilder's legacy. But that leaves one important unanswered question behind — did Gene Wilder have any children of his own?

Gene Wilder didn't have any biological children, but he adopted the daughter of his second wife, Mary Joan Schutz. Katharine Schutz, per Wilder's autobiography "Kiss Me Like a Stranger," later became estranged from Wilder when he divorced her mother. The divorce was allegedly spurred by Mary Joan Schutz's belief that Wilder was having an affair with his multi-film compatriot Madeline Kahn.

"I had a daughter and lost her a long while ago. That's too sad a story to go into," Wilder explained during a 2002 interview with Larry King, adding that he hadn't spoken with Schutz since she was roughly twenty-three years old. Sadly, Wilder tried and failed to have biological children with his third wife, Gilda Radner. Their inability to conceive, partnered with an apparent miscarriage and other symptoms, eventually lead to a diagnosis of ovarian cancer, which would claim Radner's life on May 20, 1989. Wilder would later co-found Gilda's Club, a charity that supports those undergoing treatment for cancer, leaving behind a dual legacy laden with meaning and importance.