Top 20 Moments That Made Us Love Timothée Chalamet

Timothee Chalamaet and Ansel Elgort are two of the most talented actors of their generation, but they have more in common than that. Both guys are alumni of New York’s prestigious Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School. While on the red carpet for the 2018 Golden Globes, MTV News asked both actors about their school days. While Elgort didn’t need to think twice, Chalamet emphatically did not agree. He was just as quick to offer his own argument. Elgort continued to say that he wasn’t universally beloved, while everybody in school liked Chalamet. However, Chalamet himself had a uniquely art school barometer to make his final case.

Nobody seemed more surprised by the success of Timothee Chalamet than Timothee Chalamet. As he started to rack up nominations and awards for his work, he would become a reliable source for sweetly self-deprecating and genuinely humble acceptance speeches. His win for Best Rising Star at the 2017 Palm Springs International Film Festival is a perfect example of this. Chalamet gives glowing shout outs to his fellow nominees, his co-star, the members of his team, and to “Call Me By Your Name” director Luca Guadagnino. However, his final thank you has a personal touch. In speaking directly to his mom, Chalamet doubles down on his relatability and reminds us that even one of the biggest movie stars in the world is still a pretty normal guy.

After being released in 2019, it was pretty clear that Greta Gerwig’s interpretation of the beloved novel “Little Women” was going to become a classic in its own right. One of the reasons the movie was so hotly anticipated was that Timothée would be playing Laurie, who befriends Jo March early in the story. Their relationship is an enviable one, and we get to see all the most fun parts of it in this scene where the two outcasts have a dance party of their own outside the more formal party taking place inside. We see Laurie’s character clearly from this early scene, and it’s obvious why he’s such a perfect companion for Jo.

It turns out that dance was as formative for the relationships of the “Little Women” cast as it was for their characters. As Laurie, Chalamet was in a cast with several extremely well known actresses, and was understandably a little nervous. Director Greta Gerwig had a plan to get everyone over that bump though. On screen Chalamet looked perfectly comfortable taking his partners around the dance floor. He revealed to Seth Myers, though, that getting to that point was a process. Chalamet had already been nominated for an Academy Award when he filmed “Little Women;” he had plenty of his own cred. It’s sweet to think that he could be so starstruck by finding himself in a room with Hermione Granger.

On his very first Independent Spirit nomination, Chalamet found himself the winner of the Best Male Lead. In keeping with the alternative ethos of the event, he started off his speech with a quirky non-sequitur. From there he pivoted to a more sincere frame of mind. Reflecting on the people around him, he shared his admiration for independent film and his optimism for its future. Making one last transition, Chalamet wrapped up the speech with his signature modesty and gratitude. No matter where he goes or what he achieves, he always gives us the sense that he’s just happy to be enjoying the ride.

We wouldn’t be surprised if you didn’t remember that Timothée Chalamet was in the epic 2014 sci-fi movie “Interstellar”. Yup, he starred alongside Matthew McConaughey, playing his teenage son, Tom with Casey Affleck playing the grown up version. Chalamet doesn’t have the biggest of roles here, but it’s still a significant one considering his character’s relation to the protagonist. In the scene where Coop is racing through a cornfield with his kids, Timothée has to take the wheel (quite literally) for a dangerous chase. Luckily, he has a good head on his shoulders and knows that sometimes you have to slam on the breaks even if your dad tells you not to.

In his film career so far, Chalamet has generally been more lover than fighter. Dune gave him an opportunity to bust out a whole new set of moves. As Paul Atreides, his journey in the first film leads him to seek help from the Fremen. Instead, he finds himself facing off against Jamis in single combat. Despite Jamis’ dismissive attitude, Paul instantly proves himself to be a serious opponent. Lightning quick and laser focused, the fight only lasts as long as it does because Paul attempts to allow Jamis to yield. He ultimately does what he must to survive. Though the taking of a life clearly weighs on him, Paul knows his bigger fight is not over. And we will follow.

Chalamet has played plenty of likable parts, but his role in 2017’s “Lady Bird” isn’t one of them. He plays our protagonist’s love interest for part of the film, but it’s easy for the audience to see that he’s pretentiou, full of himself and honestly kind of annoying. While Lady Bird tries inexpertly to flirt with him while they’re hanging out in a parking lot, he spews out conspiracy theories about cell phones and deadpans about his dad having cancer, clearly making Lady Bird uncomfortable. Despite the fact that he’s meant to be hatable, Timothée still brings something to this performance that makes us understand why Lady Bird is so into him.

One of the most endearing things about Timothee Chalamet is how out of place he seems to feel as a celebrity. One noteworthy example occurred during a birthday dinner for his friend Kid Cudi. Chalamet, who points to the musician as one of his personal artistic heroes, would have been more than happy to enjoy the meal with him and fellow New Yorker Peter Davidson. But then two more unexpected guests arrived: Kim Kardashian and Kanye West. At this point, Chalamet recounts having a very relatable freak out as a result of all these famous faces. He even had to excuse himself for a few minutes.

The 2016 film “Miss Stevens” was released before Timothée became the A-lister that he is today, but it’s definitely worth going back and watching if you haven’t seen it. The premise of the story is that a high school teacher takes three students to a drama competition. Chalamet plays Billy, who is the best actor of the bunch but faces internal struggles. In this scene, he delivers a show- stopping monologue from “Death of a Salesman”. The performance is impressive because of how layered it is: he has to play an actor who is playing a totally different part.

Based on William Shakespeare's collection of work that is commonly referred to as the "Henriad", which focuses on King Henry V, “The King” stars Chalamet in a role unlike any he had played before. He took up the mantle of a dramatic historical piece playing a young ruler in charge of the lives of many. In this scene, he gives an impassioned speech to his army where he tries to convince them to fight in the name of the English without regard for their lives. He does such a good job that we’d gladly take up a sword after hearing it!

He may command the screen, but that doesn’t mean that Timothee Chalamet is immune to clumsy moments in real life. While appearing on The Tonight Show he told host Jimmy Fallon about one notable incident at the New York Film Festival. Apparently, while rocking back in his chair, Chalamet lost his balance and toppled over on stage. Mildly embarrassing, sure, but wait, there’s more. The story is one everybody can relate to, however, the real appeal is in Chalamet’s humorous attitude about the episode. Besides, as he wisely points out:

“Beautiful Boy”, released in 2018, deals with some difficult subject matter. It focuses on a father- son relationship with the lead roles played by Steve Carell and Timothée Chalamet. Chalamet’s character is dealing with issues of addiction, which of course causes his father plenty of anguish. In this scene, the two sit in a diner together and Nic tells his father that he’s doing well...but needs some money. He’s entirely unconvincing in his claim that his life is turning around, and it’s heartbreaking to watch his father realize this.

When Lady Bird notices Kyle sitting outside of the cafe she works at, she can’t help but go and talk to him. She tells him how much she loves his band and he responds ever so coolly, giving off the vibe of a guy who has girls approach him all the time. Chalamet is clearly playing a caricature of an egocentric teenage boy, and the performance is so well done that he is simultaneously convincing and totally hilarious in how perfectly he nails it. We guess you could say that his acting job is “hella tight.”

Though he has portrayed a diverse set of personas at this point, the one we’re most curious about is the one Chalamet adopted in high school. Though he clearly doesn’t feel like this is his strongest previous role, the actor was good natured when he was teased by host James Corden and fellow guest Bryan Cranston. He was also candid about his skill level as a rapper, saying that he was nowhere close to being like the artists who inspired his attempts. Still, we can’t help but want to know more about Chalamet’s past as “Little Timmy Tim.” He didn’t offer up more details in the moment, but he was aware that he probably hadn’t heard the last of this.

2017 was the year that things really began to change for Timothée Chalamet, as he appeared not only in the critically acclaimed “Lady Bird”, but he also starred in the adaptation of André Aciman’s novel “Call Me By Your Name”. Chalamet plays the young Elio, who finds himself falling in love with an older scholar who is spending the summer with his family in Italy. All of his feelings come to a head when he finally makes it very clear to Oliver how he feels by engaging him in a passionate kiss.

Throughout “Little Women”, Laurie and Jo’s relationship progresses and his feelings turn romantic. But Jo maintains the fact that she doesn’t think she wants to marry. When Laurie confesses his feelings to her and tells her he thinks they should be married, she soundly rejects him and breaks his heart. It’s a difficult scene to watch, because, as a viewer you can’t help but feel for Laurie as he pours his heart out and is then spurned by the woman he has loved for so long. Any fan of the book knew this scene would be an emotional one, but Chalamet’s performance brought it to the next level.

Chalamet’s earlier words to James Corden proved to be prophetic when he appeared the next year on The Graham Norton Show. And all our dreams came true when we saw Little Timmy Tim himself in his very own rap video. The song, which was a presentation for his high school statistics class, shockingly only earned Chalamet a D. Though, by the actor’s own admission it may have been the production value that really hurt him. We can appreciate why Chalamet might have preferred this video stay buried deep in the internet, but we can’t help but love this hilariously awkward piece of his past. Besides, it does get a little stuck in your head.

The final scenes of “Call Me By Your Name” are undeniably devastating, for both Elio and the audience. His summer romance with Oliver has come to a close, and months later he gets a call letting him know that Oliver is actually engaged to be married to a woman. The film closes with a long shot of Chalamet as Elio sitting in front of the fireplace and crying as "Visions of Gideon" by Sufjan Stevens plays. It’s a subtle performance, but it’s incredibly evocative, letting the viewer in on his complex emotions.

Of the many great things to come out of the 2021 Dune remake, by far one of our favorites is the friendship between Timothee Chalamet and his co-star Zendaya. Throughout the press tour for the movie we have been treated to several joint interviews showing off the awesome dynamic. The pair are clearly comfortable together as they riff effortlessly off one another, and are outspoken about being huge admirers of each others’ work. “Dune” may have been the experience that brought them together, but it’s clear that it was really just the beginning of a beautiful friendship. We hope to see more of these two on and off screen in the future.