How Timothée Chalamet became his generation’s best chance at acting greatness

Timothée Chalamet is in pursuit of greatness. They’re not my words — nor the words of the millions of fans that have made him his generation’s buzziest male actor — but his own.

Accepting the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) award for Best Actor award last Sunday, for his portrayal of Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown, the 29-year-old was straight to the point. Invoking the names of sporting icons such as Michael Jordan and Michael Phelps, as well as heavyweights of his own industry, Chalamet set his sights on immortality. “I know we’re in a subjective business, but the truth is, I’m really in pursuit of greatness,” he said. “I know people don’t usually talk like this but I want to be one of the greats.” For some Hollywood luvvies, such an earnest statement of intent would seem self-aggrandising, cringe-worthy, or downright ludicrous. But Chalamet is another story.

In the seven years since his first Oscar nomination — for his role in Luca Guadagnino’s lush, queer romance Call Me By Your Name — Chalamet has been relentless in his dedication to his craft. He has been harrowing and intense in the addiction drama Beautiful Boy (2018), rakish and lovelorn in Little Women (2019), infectiously whimsical in the Roald Dahl prequel Wonka, and formidable as the lead of the Dune movies. That first Oscar nomination made him the third-youngest Best Actor nominee ever. He’s nominated again on Sunday, for A Complete Unknown; if he wins, he’ll be the youngest winner ever. But to do that, he’ll have to beat the bookies’ favourite — The Brutalist’s Adrien Brody, who is, coincidentally, the current record holder for the youngest Best Actor winner.

While Chalamet has been nominated for many different awards this year, it is telling that his first major victory was at SAG, the award chosen by his peers. He was up against established industry names: Brody, Daniel Craig (Queer), Colman Domingo (Sing Sing), and Ralph Fiennes (Conclave) — all of whom have produced stellar performances of their own. He’s got the acting chops, but he’s also becoming a consummate player of the Hollywood game, with a high-profile celebrity relationship (with super-influencer Kylie Jenner), eye-catching red carpet fashion choices, and various viral stunts, such as the recent time he turned up at his own lookalike contest.

On screen, Chalamet’s go-to character is the handsome, smarmy, slightly arrogant young buck (which worked well in Dune, where he played a literal space messiah). But he also excels as the insouciant heartthrob, foppish but brooding — a mode he satirised in Lady Bird, as the chain-smoking, super-cool Kyle opposite Saoirse Ronan. It’s this quality that made him such an excellent pick to play Dylan.

At a time when musical biopics have reached saturation point (even Chalamet acknowledged that the genre was perhaps “tired”), films such as Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis and the Amy Winehouse movie Back to Black have struggled critically. However, Chalamet’s performance has helped propel A Complete Unknown into major awards contention this year. It’s no mean feat. Brody may be the favourite to win Best Actor, but, as The Independent’s Adam White notes, A Complete Unknown is a more Oscar-friendly movie and Chalamet has a more Oscar-friendly personality.

Indeed, technical performing ability aside, Chalamet has done well to leverage his status as a Gen Z sweetheart to consistently stay relevant. He is a bona fide box office draw, and a not insignificant reason why films such as Wonka and Dune: Part Two made more than $600m and $700m apiece. This year, Chalamet’s affability in interviews in Los Angeles record shops, and with influencers including Nardwaur, Brittany Broski and Theo Von, have expanded his reach across generations and demographics to produce an Oscar campaign worthy of reward.

There is, at this point, no way of knowing whether or not greatness does in fact lie in store for Chalamet. The result on Oscar night won’t decide it — though it would certainly fortify his legacy. What matters is that he wants it, that there are still actors out there who treat their own work and legacy with the utmost seriousness. There are undeniable talents among Chalamet’s generation of stars — people like Zendaya, Florence Pugh, Harrison Dickinson, Paul Mescal. But if they are to be great, they have to seize their chances.

Win or lose, Chalamet is unlikely to be slowed down. Last week, he made it clear that his Sag Award does not signal the end of his aspirations. “It’s a little more fuel, it’s a little more ammo to keep going,” he said. He’s got the ammo — now it’s time to watch him shoot.