Timothée Chalamet’s unconventional press tour, which started with the Bob Dylan biopic Complete Unknown and continues through this year’s blockbuster Marty Supreme, has been the talk of the internet — and the Oscar-nominated actor wants you to know it’s no prank.
During a packed Q&A at London’s Prince Charles Cinema on Sunday, Chalamet, in conversation with Love Actually director Richard Curtis, spoke in depth about why he wouldn’t consider moves like turning the Las Vegas sphere into a ping-pong ball or holding free Zoom meetings strictly as PR.
“Here’s the problem: This risks erasing the mystery around it, but I don’t think of it as promotion or marketing at all. I think of myself as expanding as an artist,” Chalamet said. “And certainly, there was a little bit of satire on Zoom, but that first video in the glass box, that (ping pong ball) head, I feel like I’m expressing myself. You know, a lot of people don’t know what to say or how. I want to be told what to say and where to stand. I’m talking about acting. Plus, people don’t want to fail. I feel like I have the keys, I have the right attitude, I have the juice.”
The 30-year-old reflected on how his press touring style began with ‘A Completely Unknown’, lip-syncing to ‘Visions of Joanna’ on a New York City pier and performing a Dylan deep cut on ‘Saturday Night Live’. During the Q&A, Chalamet revealed that getting the role on SNL actually took some convincing.
“I spent over six figures out of my pocket for my ‘SNL’ performance,” Chalamet said. “Lorne Michaels said, ‘Do you want to host SNL?’ I said, ‘Yeah, can I do music?’ He was like, “No.” I said, “Okay, I’m not doing it.” He said, “Okay, let’s do some music.” But I didn’t take no for an answer. ”
“This is a new way of doing things. I’m trying to reach an audience. You know, I don’t want to be in the snobbish crowd. ‘Marty Supreme’ in America had the lowest movie-going audience of the year. People who weren’t planning on seeing everything. That’s my favorite feedback about the movie. The most pretentious answer I can give you, which I actually honestly feel is, is that it’s not marketing or promotion. It sounds like a gimmick, but it comes from my heart and soul.”
Chalamet has a similar philosophy when it comes to creating roles. “I feel like the energy of the method. That’s what I am,” he said. “So it’s just a matter of going with the tone of the movie…I think I over-calculate everything. Some actors are like that. That’s not really my style.”
Chalamet will be waiting to see if his efforts in “Marty Supreme” will pay off, as he is eyeing another Best Actor Oscar after losing the trophy to Adrien Brody for “The Brutalist” last year. When Curtis bluntly asked him if he wanted an Oscar, Chalamet blushed and stammered, choosing his words carefully.
“Listen, yes, but I want to give you some context because sometimes I feel misunderstood in my quest,” Chalamet said. “All these awards things are complementary to the movies. I don’t mean to turn this into a monologue about the crisis in theaters or anything, but when you go to awards shows, everyone’s in on each other’s promotions. In the best sense of the word, and I don’t mean that in a malicious way. I support ‘Hamnet’ and ‘One Battle After Another’ in the same way that any of these movies supports ‘Marty Supreme.’ So, other than that, yeah, it helps feed the narrative…everyone is pursuing that, you know?”
“I didn’t quite explain myself there,” Chalamet quickly admitted, adding, “With the world the way it is right now, I don’t want people to misunderstand that I’m going to go to bed thinking, ‘Fuck you, I need that (Oscar).'” As you know, I live on Earth. ”
On a lighter note, Curtis asked Chalamet a series of questions, including whether Kylie, who is currently dating Kylie Jenner, would get married, which caused laughter from the audience and Chalamet.
“Wow, that’s very personal,” Chalamet replied, speechless. “Yeah, no, you’re going to get me in trouble, dude.”
Curtis ended the conversation by asking Chalamet what he wanted to be remembered for and what he thought his purpose was, which was a top priority for Marty in the film. “Recently, it has paid off,” Chalamet replied.
“When you’re young, you need something to believe in. A story to believe in, a story to believe in. Especially when you grow up like Marty did, especially when you grew up like I did, you believe in someone who makes you dream,” he said sadly. “The late fashion designer Virgil Abloh said something great. He said he was living a 17-year-old’s dream, or something like that. I feel like I’m in a position now to make that a reality.”
“That’s why I try to own it. I’m not avoiding it, I’m not showing false humility where I don’t feel it, and by the same token, I’m leaving it for someone who I hope will inspire them. So if that person is living a fucked-up life, they can say, ‘Well, but that person is doing shit, and I want that too.'”
