Timothée Chalamet has become one of the most sought-after actors in Hollywood – but what is worth knowing about the Oscar-nominated star’s life off-screen?
A Complete Unknown: Official trailer
Timothée Chalamet is back on the silver screen in a Bob Dylan biopic helmed by Oscar-nominated director James Mangold.
Landing in UK cinemas today (January 17), A Complete Unknown sees Chalamet as 19-year-old Bob Dylan, arriving in New York City to pursue what became a legendary career.
The Dune star has been at the forefront of various blockbusters over the last few years. However this true-story drama is one of his biggest project to date. Throughout the press tour, the actor has admitted that he had been training for this role for five years before filming began in Spring 2024.
As movie-goers gear up to watch the 29-year-old’s latest portrayal of the iconic musician, we take a brief look at his life on and off screen.
Early life
Born in December 1995 in New York, Chalamet was raised by his mother, Nicole Flender, and French-born dad, Marc Chalamet, alongside his actress older sister, Pauline.
The family of four lived in Manhattan Plaza in Hell’s Kitchen, New York. The residential complex is famous for having housed high-profile artists, including Alicia Keys.
In a recent interview with Graham Norton, Chalamet was surprised to learn that actor and playwright Colman Domingo, known for his role in Rustin, had also lived in the same apartment complex at the same time as him. Stunned by the news, the Hollywood star repeatedly exclaimed, “No way.”
He went on to describe his former abode to the Graham Norton audience, admitting: “That building I grew up in is like, respectfully, super strange, it’s like filled with mimes.”
Although he was raised in an arts hub, the French-American star did not catch the “acting bug” until he watched Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight at just 12 years old.
“We went to AMC Empire 25 in Times Square for a 7:30 screening. I left that theatre a changed man, and I’m serious about that. Heath Ledger‘s performance in that film was visceral and viral to me, and I now had the acting bug,” he recalled the life-changing day during his New York Film Critics Circle Awards speech in 2018.
Chalamet attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in New York, graduating in 2013.
What has Timothée Chalamet starred in?
The Oscar-nominated actor found his big break in Luca Guadagnino’s 2017 drama Call Me By Your Name. Based on André Aciman’s 2007 novel of the same name, the film propelled him to fame.
He portrayed Elio Perlman, a 17-year-old who becomes infatuated with one of his father’s interns, Oliver (Armie Hammer). Consequently, the duo spark a passionate summer affair, which alters the teenager’s life forever.
Critics and fans were captivated by the romance, earning Chalamet his first and only Oscar nomination to date, in the Best Actor in a Leading Role category.
Following the Guadagnino hit, his career jumped from strength to strength. In 2017, he also appeared in Greta Gerwig’s semi-autobiographical comedy Lady Bird, acting alongside Saoirse Ronan.
One year later, he starred opposite Steve Carrell in Beautiful Boy, portraying real-life father and son David and Nic Sheff. In 2019, he was featured in Netflix’s Shakespearean adaptation, The King, alongside Robert Pattinson and Lily-Rose Depp.
Other notable films from the New Yorker include Gerwig’s Little Women, Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch, and Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part One and Part Two.
According to IMDB, his next release, Marty Supreme, has already completed production and is set to premiere this year.
A-list romances
Chalamet is dating fellow A-lister Kylie Jenner. The pair’s relationship, which reportedly started in 2023, has remained private despite their respective statuses.
Romance rumours sparked in April 2023, when various sources reported that the couple had been spotted on secretive dates.
One of their early dates was reported by the Daily Mail, who published that Chalamet was seen getting into Jenner’s car before stopping at a taco stand, where their security teams ordered for them.
Since then, the duo have openly supported each other at industry events, including the recent Golden Globe Awards, where Chalamet was nominated in the Best Performance by a Male Actor category. Even so, neither of the two celebrities has candidly commented on the relationship.
Before the Kardashian sister, Chalamet had dated actresses Lily-Rose Depp, Eiza González and Madonna’s daughter Lourdes Leon, whom he met when they were in high school.
A Complete Unknown is out in cinemas now.
