Written By: Jonathan Viene, Staff Writer
FAME: Timothee Chalamet has become a rising star in the acting world.
You may have heard of Timothée Chalamet—the twenty-eight-year-old French-American actor, Kylie Jenner’s boyfriend, and much MUCH more.
Chalamet has starred in lead roles for Wonka (2023) and Dune: Part Two (2024), appearing as “Willy Wonka,” a whimsical chocolate maker, and “Paul Atredies,” a messiah-like figure for the Fremen, respectively. However, his most important performance may have been in Call Me By Your Name (2017) as “Elio Perlman,” a seventeen-year-old graduate student in Italy. This role garnered critical acclaim for Chalamet, including a nomination for Best Actor at the Academy Awards, becoming the third-youngest nominee for the category in history. Other notable films that he has starred in include Lady Bird (2017), Little Women (2019), and Dune: Part One (2021). He will also soon portray a young Bob Dylan in the upcoming biopic A Complete Unknown, however, the movie’s release date has not been announced.
Not only has he won over the respect of critics, however. He has also captured the hearts and minds of many fans.
I asked one student, “How long have you been a fan of Timothee Chalamet?”
“How long ago was 7th grade?” answered Savianna Cotterill (12), a senior at Poly.
She not only admired his acting, but his attributes. Her favorite performance was not one of his movies, however: it was a home-made video for a school project.
You see, Timothée has an extensive digital footprint that includes high-school-age skits and performances. The one in question was a video in which he, or rather, his alter ego, Lil’ Timmy Tim, raps about his statistics class, in an aptly named song called “Statistics (Miss Lawton).” In another video of Lil’ Timmy Tim that has surfaced online, he performs a choreographed dance routine to an original song, as well as a rendition of “Roman’s Revenge” by Nicki Minaj.
This persona was even referenced in his two appearances on Saturday Night Live, once during a 2023 monologue, and another during a 2020 skit, when he delivered similar rap performances. According to director Paul King, his old YouTube performances helped Chalamet land the musical role of Willy Wonka for the 2023 film. And perhaps it is what, in part, helped him create such a connection between himself and his audiences. Besides his unmistakable acting caliber, his personality has set him apart and reveals a level of authenticity that often feels absent from Hollywood.
Being one of the most beloved actors in the industry, Chalamet carries himself with a coolness and charm similar to that of other young superstars that defined generations, such as Leonardo DiCaprio, whom he had the chance to meet face-to-face back in 2018. DiCaprio advised Chalamet against “hard drugs and superhero movies” for his career. His “career rule” evidently expresses DiCaprio’s optimism for Chalamet, who up until this point has demonstrated versatility in every performance he has delivered, ranging from the intense, action-packed Dune to the emotional and intimate Call Me By Your Name. Even beyond the carefully curated public image, his media team has created for him, Chalamet has proven to be not only charismatic but thoughtful as well, arguably indulging heavier into forms of self-expression in fashion and filmmaking rather than the celebrity that has followed him around. Without a doubt, Chalamet’s career is poised to leave a lasting impression on audiences on and off screen.