One of the biggest stars in the world, Timothée Chalamet, has recalled how his weight held him back from landing lead action roles early on in his career.
It’s hard to believe that the 28-year-old actor was once a small-timer trying to get his foot in the industry.
Now he is the face of major films such as sci-fi epic Dune and movie musical Wonka but a decade ago his looks held him back from starring in the bigger dystopian franchises such as Maze Runner and Divergent.
His next big role will see his play Bob Dylan in his biopic called A Complete Unknown, but his domination in Hollywood was a hard-fought battle, as he told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe at Manhattan Theatre Club.
The American-French screenstar reflected on the similarities he shared with the musician who wanted to break into ‘rock & roll’ during the era of ‘Buddy Holly, Little Richard and Elvis Presley’.
He continued: ‘ Equally, I wanted to be a big movie actor.
Timothee explained how his experiences relate to Bob Dylan who he is portraying on screen (Picture: Getty)
‘But if I auditioned for The Maze Runner or Divergent – things of that variety that were popping when I was coming up – the feedback was always like, “Oh, you don’t have the right body.”
‘I had an agent that called me and said, “You got to put on weight,” basically, not aggressively, but you know.’
Those roles ended up going to Dylan O’Brien and Theo James respectively.
Instead, Timothée made a name for himself starring in ‘very personalised’ coming-of-age dramas such as Lady Bird, Call Me By Your Name and Little Women.
As he explained: ‘Those were smaller budget but very – I don’t know how else to put it – personable movies that started in this theater space. This is where I found my rhythm, my confidence, my flow, whatever you want to call it,’ the Bones and All actor said.
It’s not the only time he has been on the receiving end of negative comments about his appearance.
Earlier this year, Hollywood actor Kevin Sorbo attacked stars such as Timothee and Billy Porter in a piece about masculinity for Fox News.
‘We love to normalise androgynous, Billy Porter-type men [in skirts]. Chalamet wears clothes that your grandfather wouldn’t have been caught dead in.
‘Everywhere we look, bold, confident, self-assured females upstage passive men who recede quietly into the background,’ he said at the time.
Although his fanbase are not in agreement. When the actor chose to go backless at the 2022 Venice Film Festival he was quickly hailed the ‘most special sexy man alive’.
In the past few years he has more than proven his ability, breaking the box office in his stint as epic hero Paul Atreides in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune adaptations, with a third on the way.
And he has grown a devoted and adoring fanbase as proven by the trend-setting Timothée Chalamet lookalike competition in New York earlier this month which made headlines after a surprise appearance from the man of the hour himself.
The actor also had fans hot and bothered after he was seen shooting another project, Marty Supreme, in which his character passionately kisses Gwyneth Paltrow.
But for all those hoping to capture his heart, they’ll have to get in line as he is currently dating US reality star Kylie Jenner.
The unlikely pair were first linked in January 2023 and have largely kept their romance out of the spotlight aside from an occasional public outing together.
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