Mary Poppins: Dick Van Dyke reveals surprising TRUTH behind his casting in 1964 classic

The all-time classic is being reprised next month with the new film Mary Poppins Returns, in which Van Dyke will have a supporting role. His portrayal of Bert the chimney sweep in the first outing is the stuff of legend – and now he’s explained just how he got the part. And it seems he was very, very keen to play it.

Sitting down with Lin-Manuel Miranda for an ABC 20/20 special, he said he actually had to pay Walt Disney.

“I had to go to Walt and ask him for the part. He wouldn’t give it to me,” he said.

“I said, ‘I’ll do it for nothing’.

“Actually, I had to give him $4,000 — I paid him to do the part.”

He playfully added: “And I’d do it again!”

Emily Blunt takes over from Julie Andrews as the title nanny in the new film, which is shaping up to be a real festive treat.

Director Rob Marshall has assembled a stellar cast that also includes Miranda, Meryl Streep, Emily Mortimer, Ben Whishaw and Dame Angela Lansbury.

Julie Walters, Jeremy Swift, Pixie Davies, Colin Firth and Kobna Holdbrook-Smith are also aboard.

Streep recently quipped that she thought Marshall had “lost his mind” over extravagant plans for the film.

“Rob knew that I wanted in on whatever it was he did next,” she told Entertainment Weekly.

“I had no idea what he had in his head. And when he and John invited me over to where they live to talk me through this idea, I thought, ‘They’re crazy, these two. They’re just insane. They’ve lost their minds.’”

She added: “But it was such a big vision, and it was so ambitious that I said, ‘Oh well, I want to be in it, absolutely.’ Right away.”

Mary Poppins Returns is out on December 19 in the US and December 21 in the UK.