For those who eagerly sat in front of their TV and flipped to NBC on Dec. 12, 2020, keep reading. You may already know that this is the date Timothée Chalamet hosted Saturday Night Live, a sign for many actors suggesting they have made it. His fanbase did not waver during the pandemic; in fact, it seems to have grown even larger as we watched Little Women and Lady Bird countless times throughout quarantine. Chalamet has grown to become one of the most popular male film stars currently, with two of his new films released in theaters on the same date.
His success in the industry is not surprising given his childhood experience and family history. Chalamet’s aunt and uncle are producers, and his grandfather was formerly a screenwriter. Additionally, his sister, Paulene, is an actress, and both of them graduated from Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music and Art which is an esteemed New York City public high school with specialized programs in the arts. Here, Chalamet struggled to gain roles in school plays due to competition from his classmate at the time, the well-known actor Ansel Elgort. Despite grappling over high school theater roles, he made minor appearances in various short films and commercials.
Shortly after graduating high school, Chalamet made his feature film debut in Men, Women, and Children in 2014. In the same year, he appeared in Interstellar as the son of Matthew McConaughey’s character. Interstellar was a successful and highly profitable film, and he was surprised to hit a cold patch of unsuccessful auditions following its release. Chalamet endured this while studying at Columbia University and then New York University. For the next few years, he continued to land smaller roles in films such as The Adderall Diaries, One and Two, and Miss Stevens.
In 2017, Chalamet’s movies Hostiles, Hot Summer Nights, Lady Bird, and Call Me by Your Name were released. One of his larger roles was in Lady Bird, a coming-of-age film featuring Chalamet as Kyle Scheible, the love interest of Saoirse Ronan’s character. He gained popularity from this role due to his appealing looks and character, despite being an antagonist of the film. His biggest role to date, however, was his role as Elio Perlman in Call Me by Your Name. Elio is seventeen and in Italy with his family when Armie Hammer’s character, a doctoral student, becomes his father’s intern and comes to live with them. They soon realize their attraction to each other, and the film covers their summer romance. Chalamet received raving reviews for this performance which scored him nominations for acting awards including the Critics’ Choice and Golden Globe Awards. He became the youngest person since 1939 to be nominated for an Academy Award for best actor.
Since his breakout year, Chalamet has been in high demand in Hollywood. He has since delivered impressive performances in Beautiful Boy, Little Women, and The French Dispatch. He is already involved in a multitude of future projects including a Dune sequel, a Call Me by Your Name sequel, and Wonka. Chalamet’s next project Don’t Look Up will be released on Dec. 24, 2021. He stars alongside Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo DiCaprio for this sci-fi comedy on Netflix. For those of you without Christmas Eve plans, this is your sign. And for those of you with plans, cancel them.