It is becoming increasingly clear that Timothee Chalamet might just be the real deal as an actor.
Over the past few years we have seen him transition seamlessly from sexy peach action that made every man in the audience think “Steady on!” in Call Me By Your Name, to playing intergalactic Space Jesus in Dune, then following it up with a song and dance tour de force in Wonka.
He’s now in line for a Best Actor Oscar for Marty Supreme, and probably would win it, unless the Academy decides that the recent BAFTA kerfuffle must be avenged.
With this profile, every word is likely to be picked over, as he just found out.
Chalamet did a live conversation as part of a CNN & Variety Town Hall Event with his Interstellar co-star Matthew McConaughey.
When talking about more serious movies, like Dune, vs. lighter superhero fare, Chalamet said:
“I admire people, and I’ve done it myself, who go on a talk show and say, ‘Hey, we’ve got to keep movie theaters alive, we’ve gotta keep this genre alive,’ and another part of me feels like if people want to see it, like Barbie, like Oppenheimer, they’re going to go see it and go out of their way to be loud and proud about it.
I don’t want to be working in ballet or opera where it’s like, ‘Hey! Keep this thing alive, even though no one cares about this anymore’ [laughs]. All respect to the ballet and opera people out there … I just lost 14 cents in viewership. I’m taking shots for no reason.”
Wow, did that last part set of a fire alarm in the arts! Opera singers, the Royal Ballet, everyone who wears tights for a living on the stage has taken to social media to condemn the statements.
This all comes as many consider the Oscar momentum switching to Sinners and it’s star Michael B. Jordan, who recently won the Actors Awards gong.
The Oscars are one week away. Does his placing of movies above other forms help him in the voting, or does it push things further in Sinners favour?
