Timothée Chalamet Has Had Quite The Transformation

Timothée Chalamet is what they call a once-in-a-generation talent. One look at the star's filmography will reveal that such lionizing is not a stretch by any measure; he has starred in seminal films like "Interstellar" and "Dune," and shared screen space with industry giants like Leonardo DiCaprio and Matthew McConaughey. Not to mention, he is also one of the youngest names ever on the Oscars roster of Best Actor nominations. 

It is not every day that the film industry comes by such talent, but Chalamet, true to his sagacious disposition, knows not to let the recognition get to his head. "It's a combination of luck and getting good advice early in my career not to pigeonhole myself," he humbly told Time magazine, distancing himself from the title of "movie star" and the baggage it lugs along. As he sees it, he is "just an actor." 

Chalamet grew up in a family and neighborhood of artists, and worked as a child actor, before eventually transforming into a screen icon. It's a Hollywood success story as old as Hollywood itself. But what particularly thrills about Chalamet's journey is the unmatched talent he carries and the future prospects it will bring. Producer Dede Gardner summarized this excitement around Chalamet's possibilities aptly, telling GQ: "His ability is just prismatic — in a way that it would by definition take him years for all the sides to show." 

As we witness the gradual unfolding of his talent, here's a rundown of Timothée Chalamet's transformation so far. 

Art runs through Timothée Chalamet's veins. The Oscar-nominated star was born in a household bustling with creative energy passed down from a lineage of showbiz-inclined family members. His mother Nicole Flender — whose own parental heritage spanned the breadth of artistic expression, all the way from writing to the stage — was a Broadway performer, with musicals like "A Chorus Line" and "Fiddler on the Roof" under her belt. 

That Flender would have liked her children to grow up in a similar ambience was hardly surprising. "I took them to see many different plays and musicals when they were growing up, and I think seeing certain performances influenced them," she told The Guardian, recalling her children's favorite productions. Chalamet's was "Slava's Snowshow" and his sister Pauline's was "Hair." Their residential location in New York City's Hell's Kitchen was an added advantage, given the neighborhood's longtime association with Hollywood and Broadway. 

Chalamet dabbled in many creative outlets during his childhood, from learning how to play the piano to trying his hand at commercial acting — "Not real acting, smile-as-big-as-you-can acting," he told W magazine. Chalamet did eventually graduate to "real acting," landing early roles in inconspicuous shorts and later, on more-than-conspicuous television shows like "Law & Order" and "Homeland." His sister, too, took the same path. Flender gushed: "It's very fulfilling to see how far that they've gone and just that they really love the work they're doing." 

Coming from a creative family, Timothée Chalamet was introduced to the performing arts early in his life. He rode that wave through his teen years until he got his first major break: "Interstellar." But transitioning from a child actor in commercials to a big screen artist — in a Christopher Nolan film, no less — meant that Chalamet had to make some cutbacks. Swept up in the frenzy of the moment, he made the decision to drop out of Columbia University, where he had enrolled to study cultural anthropology. 

This audacious choice did not sit well with his mother who, despite her own artistic background, wanted her son to continue his studies. "I had gone to Yale and I just felt college would help him be a well-rounded individual. But we didn't know that he was going to become Timothée Chalamet," Nicole Flender told The Guardian. Her initial concerns were justified, however, since Chalamet left college even before the release of "Interstellar." 

While things ended up working out in his favor, the Hollywood star recalled that period of presumptuousness as an uncertain one. "I took that year off," he told Emma Stone on Variety's "Actors on Actors." "For me, that was like the scariest year of my life because I didn't have a career." He later transferred to New York University's Gallatin School, where course customization is flexible and Chalamet could focus on his acting career better. 

"Interstellar" was where it all began for Timothée Chalamet but it wasn't until 2017 that the world was fully introduced to his fathomless talent by way of "Call Me by Your Name." In the intervening period between those landmarks, Chalamet starred in a handful of star-studded productions that failed to make an impact — like "The Adderall Diaries" and "Miss Stevens" — but nevertheless, kept his filmography active. Turns out, that was merely the calm before the storm. 

When Luca Guadagnino's coming-of-age drama released — with Chalamet in the lead as teenager Elio who falls in love with an older Oliver, played by Armie Hammer — it turned the young actor into a sensation. Besides winning mass acclaim, "Call Me by Your Name" swept major award shows that year; Chalamet in particular was hailed as a revelation, his history-making performance making him the youngest Oscar nominee in the Best Actor category in nearly 80 years.

"Actors' careers go up and down and up and down, so there'll be a nice crash soon. I'm kidding. I hope not," he later joked on "Popcorn With Peter Travers." There was no scope for the self-deprecating prophecy to come true, however, especially since Chalamet had also starred in Greta Gerwig's widely acclaimed "Lady Bird" that same year, and was poised to have a great run at the cinemas in subsequent years with "Beautiful Boy," "The French Dispatch," and "Dune." 

Parallel to his expanding acting repertoire and growing stardom, Timothée Chalamet transitioned into a conscientious celebrity unafraid to speak his mind. A significant test of his integrity came about in 2018, around the time he was set to appear in Woody Allen's "A Rainy Day in New York" and right when the Me Too movement exploded worldwide. Given the longstanding allegations of sexual abuse against Allen, the film remained in limbo and got a delayed release over the next couple of years. 

By this time, Chalamet had decidedly distanced himself from the project, after multiple attempts at controversially dodging the topic by citing his contract. Acknowledging the movement as a wake-up call, Chalamet wrote on Instagram: "I don't want to profit from my work on the film, and to that end, I am going to donate my entire salary to three charities." 

The young star found himself at another crossroads in 2021 when disturbing allegations ranging from cannibalism to rape surfaced against his "Call Me by Your Name" co-actor Armie Hammer. Chalamet was naturally asked about the scandal and tactfully sidestepped the subject, until he couldn't any longer. His 2022 cannibal romance "Bones and All" created a reel-real overlap so obvious that he finally broke his silence, albeit apprehensively, and told GQ about his own experience of the controversy: "I don't know. These things end up getting clickbaited so intensely. Disorienting is a good word." 

One would think that one Oscar nomination and many critically acclaimed roles later, Timothée Chalamet would have eased into the idea of fame. But, believe it or not, the young actor revealed that he still sometimes struggled to grapple with his celebrity status, till as recently as 2021. "On my worst days, I feel a tension in figuring it out," he told Time magazine. "But on my best days, I feel like I'm growing right on time." It wouldn't even be a stretch to say that Chalamet has, in reality, progressed faster than the actors of his generation, having worked with notables from Wes Anderson to Greta Gerwig, even before he turned 30. 

For someone who scored as big as he did early in his career — with the star-studded award magnet "Interstellar" — and went on to command influence as one of Hollywood's biggest rising stars following the legacy of acting greats like Leonardo DiCaprio, such apprehension is understandable. Ironically enough, the same film sets that give him distinction are what keep him grounded. Talking to GQ, he recalled the time he was shooting for "Wonka" in London, where stars from other films were also hard at work in the vicinity. "You start to realise you're just another job on the lot," he said. "Timothée Chalamet is just another guy in funny clothes, like the many who have come before and the many who will come again." 

Timothée Chalamet is widely endeared for being an old soul in a young man's body. This perception stems from how the "Dune" actor has fashioned his public image, often putting across ideas that are wise beyond his years. At the 2022 Venice Film Festival, for instance, Chalamet elaborated on the pitfalls of social media and the "societal collapse" it heralded. "I can't imagine what it is to grow up with the onslaught of social media," he said, expressing gratefulness over having done roles that were digitally agnostic. This impression of wisdom is something Chalamet always carried, not simply by way of his words but also just in the way that he is — and people around him attest to it.

Using the old soul analogy, Nic Sheff — the writer whose addiction journey Chalamet characterized in "Beautiful Boy" — gushed to Deadline about how awestruck he was by the mature energy the actor had about him when they met. "He sort of flashes between being just a kid, having fun with his friends, to being this incredibly wise, contemplative and articulate spokesperson." Chalamet brings that aura to the screen, especially in roles that require him to lay the emotion of human vulnerability bare. It's hard to put a finger on that quality but, as Chalamet told British Vogue, it's an inherent part of him: "The perspective that feels 'old man,' I feel like I was born with it." 

As he took showbiz by storm across verticals — from fashion to films — it became increasingly clear that Timothée Chalamet was no conventional celebrity. He didn't look like the Brad Pitts and George Clooneys of the world but his growing influence was symbolic of changing ideas about masculine screen heroes becoming popular in the mainstream. His public image also tied in with a new crop of young men writer Anne T. Donahue famously categorized as "artthrob;" to define creative beauty that went beyond a chiseled physique. 

Landmark moments in 2022 — like when Chalamet showed up at the Venice Film Festival in a red backless halter jumpsuit, or headlined British Vogue as the magazine's first solo male cover star — further cemented his status as a public icon who wasn't afraid to explore the genderless space and could find the fun in fashion. "I've always loved the idea that you can appropriately express yourself through clothes," he told Edward Enninful, the then-editor-in-chief of British Vogue. 

Chalamet's filmography too became as much an expression of these sensibilities as his fashion was, with deeply pensive portrayals in "Call Me by Your Name" and "Beautiful Boy." This quality of his was evident even to collaborators like Dennis Villeneuve, who directed him in a more traditionally heroic role in "Dune." Villeneuve told Time magazine: "Timothée is a thoughtful, poetic spirit. I am always impressed by his beautiful vulnerability." 

From the moment the first videos of Timothée Chalamet and Kylie Jenner interacting began doing the rounds in early 2023, the internet erupted in flames that couldn't be contained for months after. An arthouse type and a beauty queen: it seemed like an unlikely pair to social media critics who didn't rein in their harsh disapprovals of this rumored relationship. But the backlash apparently didn't daunt the young lovebirds and by September, clips of the star couple making out in full view at a Beyoncé concert had gone viral — much to the widespread distress of fans in both the Chalamet and Jenner camps. 

A large chunk of derision was reserved for Jenner and, as some media outlets pointed out, the commentary soon turned sexist amid claims that she wasn't intellectual enough to be Chalamet's partner. Despite the judgment, Chalamet stood firm by his ladylove, even flying to the Bahamas to ring in her birthday in 2024. "He's so discreet and always has her back," a source told People. Chalamet is no stranger to scrutiny over his love life — which has included high-profile names like Lourdes Leon and Lily-Rose Depp — and rumor mills have long worked overtime to even link him to co-stars Zendaya and Saoirse Ronan. But as the "Don't Look Up" star told Vogue France, the path of love is seldom easy. "When you love, love wholly, love unabashedly; give yourself. To suffer is right." 

With a filmography that few other actors of his generation can contest, Timothée Chalamet has established himself as an exclusive member of Hollywood's uppermost echelons, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Oscar awardees like Matthew McConaughey and Frances McDormand. But the legacies he's associated with go beyond the realm of cinema, stretching out across other forms of art — from music to literature. 

In 2023, he shouldered one such responsibility by stepping into the shoes of author Roald Dahl's timeless character of Willy Wonka for Paul King's musical fantasy "Wonka." Since his conception in 1964, the legendary chocolatier has been adapted for the screen numerous times, with characterizations by Gene Wilder and Johnny Depp immortalizing him in pop culture. For Chalamet to join the club — which he did well, considering that it earned him a Golden Globe nomination — was, as King told GQ, a case of "really putting your head above the parapet." 

Another project, for which anticipation is high and stakes even higher, is "A Complete Unknown" — a Bob Dylan biopic in which Chalamet will transform into the musical bard himself. The prep took years, during which Chalamet was "Dylan-ing hard" with a guitar on his back and a voice coach by his side. And successfully so, since first impressions of the 2024 film left fans wonderstruck by Chalamet's uncanny impersonation of the icon's signature voice, gait, and look. 

Timothée Chalamet's heritage is wonderfully varied, with French and American influences at the forefront of his persona. While a large part of his childhood was spent in New York, his summers abroad in Le Chambon-sur-Lignon were instrumental to his inter-continental upbringing — a retrospective realization that shaped his appreciation for his French roots as an adult. "It's things that, growing up, I didn't have respect for at the time because I was drawn to more stereotypical American habits," he told Dazed Digital, contrasting the dynamic energy of the United States with the quaint strain of life in rural France. "I've come to realise and embrace these contradictions of each culture and within myself." 

From his soft curls to his fluent French tongue, many aesthetic details about Chalamet speak to his European background and keep fans enamored, from a pop cultural point of view. Ironically, many in France do not share the kinship he feels, with a Vulture story quoting public opinion that seemed to sum the conundrum up in one sharp line: "I think in the USA, he must have a French face." Work-wise, the closest he has come to acting in French cinema is Wes Anderson's "The French Dispatch" — only in name. In 2023, he marked a sentimental milestone by turning ambassador for French luxury label Chanel, which he said was an opportune career move, considering his growing affinity with his European home ground.