Timothée Chalamet gets candid about 'Marty Supreme,' turning 30, more

This is a real conversation. I'm trying to keep my PR brain on. But the real truth is, with Marty Supreme, I feel confident to the degree that by next summer... I don't know, man. Should I not be saying this? Even Tyler, the creator, before I was doing and before we were all doing all this promo, when we dropped the first trailer in August or something, he said something to me like, why are we dropping it so early? And in movies, it's like this old school glitch. The movie business has been contracting since the 80s, since the 1980s with the advent of TV. You've already done me a great favor. You said we're having a real conversation, and you can't lie to me. That's a great promo for me. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, yeah. You got it out of me. George got it out of me. I'm not running for president, thank God. You know, I saw a comment sarcastically say online, a ping-pong thriller from the 1950s, exactly what we needed. You said you're about to turn 30. Does that feel old or young to you? Man, that's a no-win answer. No-win question. You know, realizing the gift of my life is working at a high level. And there's some people that are going to be bored at this part of the show, and then there's some people that are going to go young or whatever. They're going to go, okay, he's talking a language that I'm feeling. I know that because I've watched interviews with people I look up to where they have inspired me. Set in 1950s New York City, Oscar nominee Timothee Chalamet stars as Marty Mauser, a young man who will do whatever it takes to become a champion table tennis player. Do you make money with this little table tennis thing? Not yet. Okay, Marty. Thank you for doing this. Thank you, George. What an honor. The movie just blew me away. I got a chance to watch it this weekend. I'm watching Marty, and he's an incredibly magnetic character, but he's also just maddening. How would you describe him? Yeah, I think he's on a singular pursuit. I think he has a huge dream, and when you have a big dream in life and you don't really have anyone supporting you when you're young, you're your best supporter, and I think the movie's sort of a manifestation of that, and that comes with all the positive qualities of self-belief and all the negative qualities that border on selfish. He doesn't know the meaning of the word no. He does not know the word no, exactly. No is not in his vocabulary. He compromises with no one, including himself. So how much of Timothee is in Marty? I feel a significant part of who I was in my early 20s or late teens to the degree that I was deeply motivated to have an acting career, and I could relate to the structure of the script in that when you're singularly pursuing something and you don't have the support in your life to help you, you have to be on a monolithic mission to bring to fruition your vision of yourself, and acting isn't really a typical conduit for that kind of motivation because it's very much your employable, you know. There's a ton of authorship associated with actors, you know, and I felt this role and the great collaboration with Josh Safi, the director, gave me an opportunity to sort of channel something that I hadn't been able to on film before but also that no directors ever approached me with. It was like a side of tapping into who I was in my early 20s or my teens when I was on subways selling modified PlayStation controllers. Josh wanted that. He didn't want any Hollywood part. So you're using the past tense because you've had all the success since then, but are you still the same inside? I feel like, you know, this film has allowed me to connect with an earlier part of myself and be sort of, perhaps to a fault, connected with that audacity and that ambition, you know, as you just pointed out. But equally, as you get older, especially in your 20s, you do even out as a person, you calm down, and neurologically you can't keep up with the tension state you have when you're younger. That's been my experience, at least, you know, in evening out as a human, basically. There's a great scene you have with Gwyneth Paltrow where she says to Marty, And what do you plan to do if this whole dream of yours doesn't work out? And it doesn't even enter my consciousness. Maybe it should. Was that you then? That's maybe the line I relate to the most in the film is that line because my parents and loved ones wanted me to have a plan B, C and D and stuff that at 29 years old I can look back and go, that was actually great advice, you know. But in the moment I really did feel like if all my energy is not going towards a plan A, I'm going to end up doing something I don't want to do in life, you know. And I hope this movie, you know, it sounds cheesy, but can serve as that engine for, I was going to say for young people, but for everyone, and that it is okay to dream big. And it's just you don't hear that right now because we live in such a bleak time and you wouldn't be ignorant to think that we're living in a bleak time, particularly for young people. So I like kind of audaciously going, hey, here's this work that inspires you to go the opposite direction, you know. And it's really exciting to me. It's really exciting to me because also just in the ecosystem of movies it's so awesome to be a part of something that's not trying to confirm what people already feel about themselves or the world in some way. And so you love the idea that people have no idea what they're in for when they go walk into the theater. Oh, absolutely, yeah. And that's why it's such an honor to be here with you and that you give this platform of the movie sincerely because ultimately it is an original movie. It's not IP, you know. So it's hard to get people's butts in movie seats now these days. But what's so great in talking to you and the confidence I have in the film and the people watching at home hopefully is if we can just get them in the seat, they're in for like a really thrilling ride, an unconventional one in the world of movie making. So what did you think when Josh first came to you with the idea? This was a long time ago, right? Yeah. 2017, 2018? Yeah, 2018, yeah. No, I thought it was, I just trusted Josh. He's a singular thinker and deeply passionate. So, you know, I saw a comment sarcastically say online, oh, a ping pong thriller from the 1950s, exactly what we needed and what we've been wanting for. And it was sarcastically meant, but because Josh's passion is so deep, this is an incredible director. I think people will hear his name for years to come. I mean, like, so singularly driven. The spirit of Marty Mouser is the spirit of Josh Safdie, and I was just thrilled that he wanted to work with me. You know, Josh employs a lot of non-actors. For him to want to work with you is for him to say, I don't think you've become so polished that you're not dented anymore. And all these videos of me, like, modifying controllers online on PlayStation or, you know, I was like a crazy kid on the subway growing up. You know, if you went to public school in New York, you know the type of kid I was, you know. And he really wanted to tap into that. It was so unusual. You know, my career has basically, hopefully, been a variety of other things, but not this. You mentioned he likes to work with non-actors. Kevin O'Leary can act. I don't think you understand the stakes here. You find that funny? You ever get nervous laughter sometimes? Yeah, he was fantastic in the movie, yeah. Were you a little wary, though, at first when you were, you know, because he has a big role and you'd be playing up against him. No, I wasn't worried because what was being relayed to me was an unusual level of confidence that you see on Shark Tank. And that's the biggest thing on set. It's a naturalistic medium. The biggest thing that can read as insincere from a non-actor or from an actor is a level of tension or anxiety. That's the first thing I think as a viewer you go, this person looks like they're aware that there's a camera on them or they're being filmed. And Kevin had none of that. I mean, Kevin was all swagger. It was also, you know, yeah, he brought a really unique energy. You had a question about it. And then on the other hand, you work with one of the most accomplished actors. We all know Gwyneth Paltrow. I bet you can't name one film I've done. I felt naive in feeling like I was discovering Gwyneth Paltrow's talent. That is to say, I would act opposite her and I'd go, wow, she's really incredible. And I'd go, duh, you know, she's been doing it for, I hesitate to say it next to her at Q&As. She's married. I know, that's what I wanted to say, but I don't say it at Q&As because I don't know if she would take it the wrong way. But, like, she's been doing it for decades. She was so good she could step away for six years. She hasn't acted in six years, and then she came back and she gives a really magnificent performance, kind of a heartbreaking, tragic performance. This movie is like six movies in one. I don't know if that you felt that experience. No, very much so. It's sort of like, it has the architecture of a sports film, but it's really not a sports film. And there's Bonnie and Clyde in there, and there's some, like, early Dustin Hoffman, Al Pacino kind of movies. It's a love letter to New York as well. And that's, man, I hope you meet Josh because Josh's partner is his wife and it's also New York. His body of work is a love letter to New York, and not the New York of, you know, I'm trying to use all respectful examples, but not a New York that's, you know, idealized. He's, like, in the cracks. That's what he let me, he sent me a video the other day. He'll just, his love language is just bombing me with random video content. And he sent me a video of himself on a subway platform, like, 11 years ago doing a dance next to a subway performer. And it's, like, Josh is so authentic. You know, you have great directors that are really in the L.A., Hollywood ecosystem. You have directors that are exclusively out of it. And what Josh is doing right now on GMA, we're trying to bring this to a wide audience, is he's dancing between both. And I have no doubt he'll remain the New York stalwart. He almost doesn't have the language to, like, you know, to do otherwise. Tell me about the table tennis. You started, did you play before you knew you were going to do the movie? I played casually, you know. Do you play? Nothing like the way you play in this movie. Okay, good, I appreciate it. Yeah, I appreciate it. No, I played casually, but I worked for six years with a ping pong coach named Diego Schaaf and his wife, Wei Wang, who was a former Chinese Olympian. They were the go-to Hollywood table tennis aficionados. So Forrest Gump, they worked on. Balls of Fury, they worked on. Commercials with table tennis, they worked on. And they just trained the ---- out of me, for lack of a better expression. And they got me to a level where I could make it look good and precise. And any community, if you're playing a hairstylist, if you're playing a basketball player, you want the community you represent to not call BS on your performance. And I feel the skill level in the movie is to that degree. Now, could I go to a tournament and play well? You know, probably not. Maybe I shouldn't say that in the interview, like in all humility. But to make it look good, on a mechanical level, it's really elbow placement, it's wrist placement. And then on a performance level, I was looking more like Balanchine and Baryshnikov and these dancers that were so light on their feet, but also like the spirit of a Michael Jordan or a Mike Tyson or someone that was combative and ferocious and relentless in their pursuit of athletic greatness, things you wouldn't really associate with table tennis. No, no, and it definitely comes true. And I was thinking about that as I was on the subway coming down here. That must be one of the best parts about being Timothee Chalamet right now. You get to learn so many different things, songwriting, singing, playing guitar for playing Dylan, table tennis, who knows if you're going to play later on. But you get to live a lot of different lives. Absolutely, and as an actor, there's so little work as an actor, the good fortune is to work, period. And you live in New York, you know that to be true. I grew up in a performing arts building where many of my neighbors were struggling to live check to check. Then if you're lucky enough to work, then even greater than that is the ability to choose your projects. And it's almost like I'm speaking to the acting community when I say this. The responsibility I feel towards my work, towards the opportunity of my work, towards not closing the door behind me but leaving it open for the next guy or girl, that I'm putting 110% into these roles. Chalamet has been leading the whirlwind Marty Supreme press tour that's included a ping pong ball orange blimp flying around the country, limited edition Marty merchandise, including custom jackets, and this. Here we have the Wheaties box. Yeah, yeah, I love that. I know your mom wants one of the jackets. I got her the jacket, yeah. You got her, thank goodness for that. And this is something that's actually really important to you, isn't it, to do this in a different way? Yeah, well some of it, for the principal part, I can't lie to you, the principal part is the, do I want to say this, but it's the truth, is a feeling of authorship. I feel like I look at everything these days in terms of perspective and authorship. So if your level of like ownership over your public life and experience isn't going up, it's going down. Because by nature of what I do and publicist and all that, it's going to get like that. So that's part of it. But the bigger, more important thing is I want the movie to succeed. I want everyone's movie to succeed. There was a part of my life or career, like I'm sure other people in other industries can relate to, where you compare or you get whatever, not competitive, but you're looking maybe not with the most affectionate eyes. And I'm in a totally different head space now. I want everything to win in the film industry. So when you say succeed, is it people in the seats? Is it great reviews? Is it a combination? This is a real conversation. I'm trying to keep my PR brain on. But the real truth is with Marty Supreme, I feel confident to the degree that by next summer, I don't know, man. Should I not be saying this? I feel like it will, you know. Will know. I'm confident. I know what it's going to be by next summer. But the movie industry is in this glitch right now where you've got to put people's butts in seats at a certain date. So even like Tyler, the creator, before I was doing it, before we were all doing all this promo, we dropped the first trailer in August or something. He said something to me like, why are we dropping it so early? And I was like, well, you're in the music industry. You could just drop – you could like lemonade. Beyonce is also Beyonce. But, you know, you could just drop something. And the way the business model of streaming has worked out, blah, blah, blah. And in movies, it's like this old school glitch. The movie business has been contracting since the 80s, since the 1980s with the advent of TV. But I also don't like to go where this is like opera or ballet, but it's not in some Keynesian. I don't know if that's the right economics guy to cite, but I'm not like survival of the fittest or anything like that. But I'm also like, you know, I don't want to beg people like, hey, you know, we in Hollywood need your – you know what I mean? Anyway, I shouldn't say it like that. No, you're selling it the way Marty would sell it. Absolutely. And I also feel like it gives me license a bit perhaps to a fall, you know, to be out there, you know, and I'm trying to push it as much as I can. And then if I hit a third rail, I'll chill. I was going to say, you've already done me a great favor. You said we're having a real conversation and you can't lie to me. That's a great promo for me. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, yeah, you got it out of me. George got it out of me. I'm not running for president, thank God. So tell me, you said you're about to turn 30, I guess, just in a couple weeks. Does that feel old or young to you? Man, that's a no-win answer, no-win question. Look, man, it's the youngest I'll ever be. So, you know, I did that Bob Dylan film last year, Complete Unknown, and I know in the 1960s there was that quote, don't trust anyone over 30 or something like that. There was a whole movement. You know, I feel spoiled that the art form I work in to a degree, also the, you know, prejudiced women face in the industry too, like if I look at the people before me, I hopefully will get the chance to keep working. And I also feel my skill is developing, which is exciting to me. I really feel in the last two projects, Complete Unknown, I'm Already Supreme, I'm Doing Part Three that I just finished, I feel my artistry growing. It's, like, very exciting. And it's come as a result of, you know, realizing the gift of my life is working at a high level. And there's some people that are going to be bored at this part of the show, and then there's some people that are going to go, whatever, they're going to go, okay, he's talking a language and I'm feeling, I know that, because I've watched interviews of people I look up to where they have inspired me, and that's the gift of my life. There's a moment in life where you can feel like you can be paranoid about career and fearful. There's a moment in life where you can feel like you're reckless, and then I'm right in the middle pocket. Oh, no, no, the gift is to work. You know, because people can be famous for anything, or they can be paranoid about anything, but not everyone can work at this high level as an actor. That's the gift. And it can get confusing, and, you know, it's just confusing. You know, if you're at an event and there's famous athletes or whatever, and in today's world, you know, streaming stars, whatever, I'm an actor, and I got this gift to, if you look at Viola Davis, if you look at Brando or Leo, and look, I'm not trying to speak in hyperbolic terms, but as I said, if you're not going up, you're going down, and I'm trying to self-motivate, you know, and also not speak in fear, because I also— Yeah, you don't seem torn up by angst in any way. No, and all this is said with absolute humility towards the idea that I'm privileged to work. You know, the point being, I like this thing of opening the door for the next person, and also what's helped me is every movie that's come out this awards season, and last year too, I'm like—I mean, I'm realizing, even like not to look at it in geopolitical terms, but like Western culture is not monolithic, you know what I mean? Not at all. Yeah, and so I'm not over here going like, you know, we need— But equally, all these things need to percolate, you know, and it's great that there's a critical mechanism in society to say, hey, this is whack, or this is whatever, but equally, where I'm at, I want everyone—I want everything to be great, and A24 is an independent finance company, you know? They got a great movie coming called The Moment. And, you know, so— That's his movie. You lit him up. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Double promo, baby. But, yeah, yeah, yeah. You owe me a back rub. But, you know, like these things need, you know, you could be like either in a spirit of positivity and ambition, and even having had a career for seven or eight years now, there's every reason to be fearful at every step of your journey. It's a strange way to go about life. But as I said, I was talking about this with Josh the other day, if I'm going to go about life in this strange way, that is to say, be open to public perception, or my movies can be criticized, or my art, or my life, why not, like, step into that, you know? What a strange life to choose for yourself, you know? If you're going to be all twisted up about it. Yeah, and I really romanticized that in my teens, you know? It's hard not to. Oh, you know, being the tortured artist. Yeah, yeah, and all the people I really looked up to, and Kate Cuddy, which I've said a million times, and I know you wouldn't mind me describing him that way, and also his artistry has evolved to a point, like, his last album, Free, is a happy album. That's, to put it really simply. But, you know, Kurt Cobain and Cuddy, what I imagine Joaquin Phoenix's work process to be, not knowing him on a personal level, now I know him a little bit, and he's a great guy, and totally, you know, a wonderful person, but those are the things I aspire to. And then, you know, you get to a point in your 20s, I don't know if you had this experience, you're like, man, you know, you have one life to live. Do I want to be this, do I want to be miserable, basically? And you realize the fallacy of, oh, your work can be great, not miserable, basically. And I felt like, like on a movie like Beautiful Boy, I felt like I really had to go to a very dark place, and then, like I said, you have one life to live. And even Meryl Streep, you know, I did Little Women with her, and you're around her like, she's not all tortured and twisted up about her work, and she's amazing. She's living her life, right? She's living her life, you know, and again, it's like I want to leave the door open. It's like to say, I've got like a little cousin that's in the arts, you know, and it's like I don't, you know, like being young is such a crapshoot. I think the movie, Marty Supreme gets into that, too. It's such a roll of the dice. Like I think about growing up in New York and what a gift it was for me, and the way it hopefully is represented in the film, too. But equally, I saw so many kids' lives in New York because they were growing up in New York. It's just a roll of the dice. You can make one bad, yeah, exactly. And like, you know, somebody will try the wrong thing. One bad trip on the subway. Yeah, one bad trip on the subway. You try the wrong thing, you're hooked. And I don't know what my point was there, but... But fans of the actor are convinced he's playing another role, British rapper SD Kid, who keeps his identity under wraps, except for the eyes. So you said you can't lie to me. Yeah. Are you SD Kid? You almost made me spit out my water. No comment. Well, I think you just made a comment there, but that's okay. I'm going to give you a final 30 seconds. Talk to all those young people out there. Tell them why they have to see this movie. Well, Marty Supreme is like a... Here's the thing, it's an original film in a time where it's hard to get original movies to be made, but really, it's a movie about dreaming big. It's not even really aimed at young people. It's really at old people, you know. This is... The spirit of this film is original. This is like Michael Jordan in the flesh because of Josh Safdie, because of the entire cast. You know, it's an unusual theme for a movie in a time that is noticeably bleak, where you wouldn't be ignorant to feel like things are sort of melting. But equally, we all have one life to live, and this story is representative of the fact that you can pursue a singular dream. It doesn't have to be a selfish one. It can be a communal one. It can be an environmental one. It can be one that's of the people, or it can be starting a monastery. It could be becoming the greatest table tennis player in the world. But ultimately, if you get your butt in the seat, the ride is worth it. So that's how I feel. Thank you. This was great. Thank you so much, George. Thank you so much. What an honor, man. Thank you for taking the time, man. Yeah, huge honor.