In Josh Safdie’s Marty Supreme, currently in theaters, Timothée Chalamet plays an ambitious young man from New York’s Lower East Side who believes table tennis is his way forward.
Set in 1952, Marty is a hustler working at his family’s shoe store, pretending that his size is out of stock in order to sell customers more expensive shoes. On the other hand, he’s always looking for the next get-rich-quick scheme.
The film also stars Fran Drescher, who plays Marty’s mother, Tyler, the Creator, Odessa Azion, “Shark Tank” personality Kevin O’Leary, and Gwyneth Paltrow.
Safdie spent more than six years writing the project. To bring authenticity to the performance, Safdie didn’t just put prop glasses on Chalamet. He went one step further.
“At the time, we said we were going to put a +10 degree contact lens in your eye, and before that we were going to put a -10 degree contact lens in your eye, so when the glasses came off he wouldn’t be able to see anything,” said Safdie, who spoke to a packed audience at a panel discussion in Hollywood earlier this month. When Chalamet tried on the combination, Safdie recalled receiving a call from the actor. “He called me and said, ‘I’m at +10 right now and I’m feeling pretty dizzy.’
According to Safdie, Chalamet described the moment as “feeling like I was in a fishbowl.” But Chalamet was determined. Safdie said Chalamet told him, “I’ll do anything you ask me.”
Prosthetic artist Michael Fontaine added pockmarks, freckles, and cuts to Chalamet’s face. “When I saw the scars and cuts, I knew he had been in a fight and was from the street,” Safdie said.
The makeup was so convincing that even co-star Paltrow believed it was real. Paltrow plays Kay Stone, a faded movie star who is courted by Marty. “I had no idea,” she admitted. She continued, “I thought, ‘Oh my god, he has little acne scars,’ and I also thought, ‘I’m so surprised, how have I never seen that before?'”
Fontaine wears prosthetics and glasses and has 1950s-style hair, and Safdie says, “When he put on the glasses, he was Marty.”
Chalamet also strived for authenticity in his acting, spending years preparing for the role. When filming began, he wanted to look like a professional player, so he spent every opportunity playing table tennis. He also trained with table tennis expert Diego Scharf, who helped coordinate and choreograph matches.
In the movie, Marty competes against Koto Endo, played by real-life table tennis champion Koto Kawaguchi. He lost to him in a tournament in London and then ended up facing him in a match in Japan.
Chalamet was asked about playing against Kawaguchi and said the pressure was “a lot.” But he also felt a need to do it right and a “responsibility to that community and the enthusiasts and people who are passionate about the sport.”
Safdie added that during filming, Chalamet “personally was like, ‘I want to win the next point. I have to play.'” Kawaguchi was a match. “One time he said to me, like, I’m not an actor, I’m a table tennis player. And I’m doing a lot of acting now.”
