ACTOR · BORN 1995
Timothée Chalamet
- Born
- 27 December 1995, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
- Known for
- Dune: Part Two (2024), A Rainy Day in New York (2019), Interstellar (2014), Hot Summer Nights (2017)
26 archived facts 6 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026
Timothée Chalamet (born 27 December 1995) is an actor best known for Dune: Part Two, A Rainy Day in New York and Interstellar.
26 Interesting Facts About Timothée Chalamet
Interesting Facts (1)
- #001
Before fame, Samuel L. Jackson once worked as a security guard for the apartment building he grew up in. Alicia Keys also grew up there.
Production Story (4)
- #002
Auditioned for Bates Motel (2013) but used the wrong Psycho reference point (thinking it was American Psycho) so he didn't get the role. Freddie Highmore did.
- #003
The King (2019)'s promotional poster came from a candid photo of him sitting and listening to director David Michôd, the poster was simply shaded and edited darker.
- #004
- #005
Among movies he auditioned for but never got a response or call back include The Neon Demon (2016), White Boy Rick (2018), The Theory of Everything (2014), Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016), and Manchester by the Sea (2016).
Behind the Scenes (2)
- #006
Speaks French almost fluently (he puts himself at 97% fluent, because he mistakes certain gendered nouns) and learned how to speak Italian while shooting Call Me by Your Name (2017).
- #007
Despite having an Italian instructor to prepare for Call Me by Your Name, he cannot speak the language and says would have preferred to do it phonetically.
Characters & Cast (2)
- #008
Plays the piano and guitar, the former of which he played for the role of Elio in Call Me by Your Name (2017).
- #009
He was the original choice to play Oliver Quick in Saltburn (2023). Barry Keoghan landed the role.
Career & Awards (6)
- #010
As of 2024, he has been nominated for 4 Oscars, 5 Golden Globes, 6 BAFTAs, and 9 SAGs.
- #011
Became the third actor to be nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture Actor - Comedy/Musical for playing Willy Wonka, with the film Wonka (2023). The first two being Gene Wilder for Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) and Johnny Depp for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005).
- #012
After Interstellar, which he thought would be his breakout role (only for it to be a minor one), Timothée had a streak of rejections and would get upset watching movies he had auditioned for or even watching movies with actors his age.
- #013
Though he started acting a child doing commercials, which he says he hated and only did it because New York children are often approached about it, he was inspired to do it professionally after seeing Heath Ledger's performance in The Dark Knight (2008). He also credits Kid Cudi with the reason he is an actor.
- #014
Missed about half of his senior year to film Homeland.
- #015
Appeared in six films honored by the American Film Institute as ranking amongst the ten best American movies of their respective years; Interstellar (2014), Lady Bird (2017), Call Me by Your Name (2017), Little Women (2019), Don't Look Up (2021) and Dune: Part One (2021).
Life & Family (11)
- #016
Timothée's American mother Nicole graduated from Yale with a BA in French and is fluent; she has taught French in the New York City public school system since the '90s.
- #017
Of his time at Columbia, he said he felt like another product on the factory line.
- #018
He was originally going to be rejected from LaGuardia, but his sophomore drama teacher insisted upon his enrollment and gave him the highest score.
- #019
Born and raised in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, New York City. He is the son of Marc Chalamet, a UNICEF editor, and Nicole Flender, a dancer and real estate broker.
- #020
His maternal grandfather Harold Flender wrote for Sid Caesar in the 1950s, along with Woody Allen. When Allen later cast Timothée in his film A Rainy Day in New York (2019), he was initially unaware of the family relation.
- #021
He spent his first big paycheck (from a Disney commercial) on season tickets for the Knicks, thinking LeBron James was going to join the team in his 2010 free agency. He had to scalp the tickets daily after school.
- #022
His name is properly pronounced Timo-TAY but he also accepts the English pronunciation Timothy, and nicknames Tim and Timmy. He chooses to go by Timothy because he doesn't like requiring all people to use the French version, as he finds that "pretentious" and "unrelatable".
- #023
He and Ansel Elgort attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts at the same time. He maintains when he auditioned for school plays he didn't get the roles because Ansel did, so he was relegated to the talent shows. This is mostly true as their drama teacher did cast Ansel in Hairspray and Guys and Dolls, but Timothée did get cast as the lead in Sweet Charity. Directly after high school, they co-starred in the film Men, Women & Children (2014).
- #024
He is a huge fan of Paul Thomas Anderson, whom he has described as one of his heroes, and has named Punch-Drunk Love (2002) as one of his favorite films.
- #025
Is a huge fan of French football (soccer) team AS Saint-Etienne ("les Verts").
- #026
Grew up in Manhattan Plaza, moderate income housing for performing artists in New York City.
Related pages
- Tom Holland — Timothée Chalamet comes up in the facts on that page
- Tilda Swinton — Timothée Chalamet comes up in the facts on that page
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Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
- Wikipedia
- IMDb
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