Dick Van Dyke reveals iconic role he still wants at 100: 'I've still got time'

19 November 2025, 11:00

The Mary Poppins actor will celebrate his 100th birthday this December.

Dick Van Dyke is still vying for work as he prepares to celebrate his 100th birthday.

The much-loved actor revealed the one role he’s still aspiring to play while speaking with Today about the release of his new book, 100 Rules for Living to 100: An Optimist’s Guide to a Happy Life.

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The veteran actor will celebrate his very significant birthday on December 13 this year.

And while the actor is learning to “slow down” somewhat, he continues to keep to his impressive workout routine and is open to taking to the big screen again, if given the right opportunity.

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“I always wanted to play 'Scrooge,'” he told Today's Al Roker.

“I could do it,” he continued light-heartedly. “It's just November. I've still got time.”

Reminiscing about his “wonderful” career, Dick gushed about how delighted he is that people still come up to him to share their love for roles like Mary Poppins' Bert.

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In his book, he writes: “I don’t care how long the memory of me, Dick Van Dyke, lasts in the world after I’m gone.

“I care about the survival of what I’ve shared with the world, humor, compassion, a zest for living, a love of music.

“For as long as children are proudly belting out their new word, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, or singing and skipping along to 'Chim Chim Cher-ee,' the most important part of me will always be alive.”

In his centenary year, Dick is refusing to be “defined” by the limitations of ageing.

“I’ve made it to one hundred in no small part, because I have stubbornly refused to give in to the bad stuff in life,” he shares in his book.

“Failures and defeats, personal losses, loneliness and bitterness, the physical and emotional pains of aging. That stuff is real, but I have not let it define me,” he explains.

Dick told Today he credits his 54-year-old wife, Arlene Silver, with helping keep him feeling young and happy.

“She keeps me young because we sing and we dance, and she just keeps me a teenager,” he said.