Timothée Chalamet may be at the top of his game now, but there was a time early in his career when he struggled to land roles due to his physique.
During Monday’s edition of The Zane Lowe Show on Apple Music 1, the Wonka star shared how casting feedback frequently focused on his body type when he auditioned for blockbuster franchises like The Maze Runner or Divergent.
“The feedback was always, ‘Oh, you don’t have the right body,’” Chalamet said. “I had an agent who told me, basically, ‘You need to put on weight.’ It wasn’t aggressive, but the message was clear.”
Chalamet noted that these experiences gave him a unique connection with Bob Dylan, whose life he portrays in the upcoming biopic A Complete Unknown.
“There’s something I can relate to in Dylan’s journey,” the Oscar-nominated actor explained, beginning at the 10:42 mark in the interview. “Bob wanted to be a rock & roll star—like Buddy Holly, Little Richard, or Elvis Presley.
That was the kind of pop rock & roll music that was marketed to kids in the late ’50s. Similarly, I wanted to be a big movie star.”
Just as Dylan found his own voice, Chalamet said he also discovered a unique path to success. “I found my way into these very personal movies,” he said.
“For Dylan, it was folk music. He couldn’t keep a rock & roll band together because other kids in Minnesota who had more money would hire them.
For me, it was finding intimate, character-driven films like Call Me By Your Name, Beautiful Boy, Lady Bird, Little Women, Miss Stevens, and Hot Summer Nights.
These were smaller-budget films that were… I don’t know how else to say it… more personal. That’s where I found my rhythm, my confidence, my flow.”
In the highly anticipated A Complete Unknown, Chalamet explores Dylan’s early years and captures the musician’s rebellious spirit. He praised Dylan’s courage, saying, “Dylan had the guts to defy expectations.”
The film, directed by James Mangold—who also helmed the acclaimed 2005 Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line—is slated for a December 25 release, a prime date for awards season hopefuls.
The cast includes Elle Fanning, Edward Norton, Monica Barbaro, Boyd Holbrook, and Scoot McNairy, raising the stakes for what promises to be an Oscar contender.
