A Rainy Day in New York
Originally shelved by its U.S. distributor Amazon Studios after Dylan Farrow’s allegations against Woody Allen resurfaced in 2019, A Rainy Day in New York is a classic Allen film in that it follows a young girl enthralled and entranced by an older man. It falls to the bottom of the list for obvious reasons. Even a stellar cast including Elle Fanning, Selena Gomez, Liev Schreiber, Jude Law, and of course, Timothée Chalamet, cannot revive this tired, pretentious film.
Love the Coopers
This corny and terrible 2015 Christmas movie starring Diane Keaton, Ed Helms, Olivia Wilde, and Amanda Seyfried, in which Chalamet portrays a stereotypical angry, horny teenager named Charlie, is still better than Woody Allen’s A Rainy Day in New York. We don’t have much more to say about this one, even if it does star another favourite of ours: Jake Lacy.
Advertisement – Continue Reading Below
Hot Summer Nights
Hot Summer Nights is a coming-of-age drama, except this time there’s crime, drugs, and murder. The stylised 2018 A24 film with a limited theatrical release sees Chalamet as a young teenager sent to Cape Cod to live with his aunt for the summer, where he gets caught up selling weed. Things take a dark and deadly turn, though, Spring Breakers-style, and Chalamet’s performance as the awkward kid-turned-drug lord is a fine one in a film without much purposeful direction. Thankfully, Chalamet would reunite with A24 to make much better work, which you’ll find later on this list.
The French Dispatch
While Wes Anderson’s pandemic-delayed film was largely disappointing—moments of charm and comedy couldn’t offset the segmented, aimless storyline—Chalamet’s performance as Zeffirelli was a high point. His quirky, funny role as the student revolutionary leader offered no clues that he’s an Anderson first-timer, delivering some of the film’s most memorable one-liners opposite Frances McDormand.
Advertisement – Continue Reading Below
Interstellar
There are no small roles, only small actors. In 2014 blockbuster Interstellar, a 19-year-old Chalamet plays Young Tom, the counterpart to Casey Affleck’s (Old) Tom. A minor character, he holds his own in a cast of greats, acting alongside Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, John Lithgow, Ellen Burstyn, and Michael Caine. Not a bad first role, right? Let’s hope that for whatever film Nolan directs after The Odyssey, the director hires Chalamet once again.
Beautiful Boy
Starring opposite Steve Carell in this 2018 father-son biographical drama, Chalamet showcases his serious acting chops. In Beautiful Boy, he portrays Nic, a writer’s son who becomes addicted to methamphetamines, recovering and relapsing countless times over the years. Chalamet offers a performance that is gut-wrenching and moving, despite criticism of the film being a privileged look at addiction.
Advertisement – Continue Reading Below
The King
The King is a 2019 Netflix film starring a variety of Timothée Chalamet haircuts. He plays Prince Hal, who ascends to the throne as King Henry V in the epic war film adapted loosely from Shakespeare’s Henriad. Chalamet delivers a balanced performance between youth and maturity in the role of Henry V, as he reluctantly grapples with his kingly fate, politics, and newfound power. It’s essentially another coming-of-age story (sensing a theme here) just with a grandiose, bloody, Medieval change of scenery. Seeing Chalamet duel with co-star Robert Pattinson is worth the price of admission alone.
Lady Bird
In his first role opposite Saoirse Ronan, Chalamet portrays a boyfriend of the titular Lady Bird in Greta Gerwig’s 2017 solo directorial debut. His character, Kyle, is a high school boy in a band who corrects Lady Bird’s pronunciation of said band’s name in their first ever interaction and also says “hella”—so, insufferable—which Chalamet does with comedic skill, effortlessly and naturally. But Chalamet would soon eclipse the bit part with much meatier roles, including a speedy reunion with Gerwig in Little Women.
Advertisement – Continue Reading Below
Wonka
Should Wonka have been a musical? Probably not, although it turns out Timmy can sing just fine! The film’s original songs were its weakest link, with lyrics bizarre enough to jolt a viewer straight out of Wonka‘s chocolatey world. But casting the music and a certain CGI giraffe aside, Chalamet’s performance as Wonka was heartfelt and charming. Though we were apprehensive about a prequel, the plot was engaging and plenty of fun. Olivia Colman and Hugh Grant played memorable foils to Wonka’s chocolate dreams. We will forever wonder why they chose to name the other lead character Noodle, but Wonka is a dutiful homage to Gene Wilder’s version of the character.
Bones and All
Even though Chalmet’s aspirations have skewed more toward blockbusters and crowd-pleasers lately, he still keeps a curveball in his back pocket. Look no further than his work in Bones and All. (If you’re looking to read something thoughtful and measured about Luca Guadagnino’s cannibal movie, we highly recommend our review of the film.) Chalamet offers a dark, vulnerable, sexy performance as Lee, and as always, has beautiful chemistry with his co-star, Taylor Russell. They’ll really have you rooting for their young cannibal love.
Advertisement – Continue Reading Below
Dune
When it landed in theaters, we heralded Dune as the best sci-fi film of the decade. And while the breathtaking set design, high-stakes conflict, and compelling characters surely factor into that, it’s in no small part due to the intense, involved performance of Chalamet as its protagonist, Paul Atreides. As we know, Timmy is no stranger to a coming-of-age arc, but as Paul must rise to the occasion when the House of Atreides comes under attack, it felt as if Chalamet himself has finally harnessed his full power and footing as a leading man.
Little Women
Timothée Chalamet, who clocks in at 5’10 and approximately 96 pounds, is a little man (sorry to men on dating apps everywhere), which is fitting for his role in Greta Gerwig’s 2019 Little Women. He plays Laurie, a neighbor of the March family who falls in love with Saoirse Ronan’s Jo before settling for Florence Pugh’s Amy after Jo rejects him. He delivers a charming, standout performance in a delightful ensemble film. Plus, he proves, once again, that he can create chemistry with anything that breathes. (That is not to say that either Ronan or Pugh is hard to create chemistry with, just that I believe he could convincingly flirt with a rock if need be.)
Advertisement – Continue Reading Below
Dune: Part Two
Timmy Dune‘d it again (sorry), but even better this time around. Paul Atreides’s journey from timid, humble beginnings among the Fremen to ultimately becoming their Lisan al Gaib is a big one. But the actor pulls it off meticulously and methodically. His chemistry with Zendaya? Impeccable. His sandwalking? Absolutely insane. But man, can this guy ride a worm. They aren’t calling the Dune cast the next generation of movie stars for nothing—and Chalamet is the leader of the pack. We can’t wait to see what he’ll do in Dune: Part Three.
A Complete Unknown
Like his fellow young A-list brethren (Austin Butler, Jeremy Allen White, etc.) Chalamet took on what is becoming a rite of passage: the music biopic. In 2024’s A Complete Unknown, Chalamet took on Bob Dylan—and passed with flying colors. Portraying Dylan in his early life and career (leading up to his famous electrification at the Newport Folk Festival), the actor captured everything that makes Dylan such a mercurial figure, showing the timidness that would give way to abrasiveness as he found success. Of course, it’s no small feat that Chalamet pulled off Dylan’s singing voice either.
Advertisement – Continue Reading Below
Call Me By Your Name
Chalamet’s emotional performance in the coming-of-age film Call Me By Your Name is deeply moving. He plays Elio, a young man who discovers his identity and sexuality when he meets Oliver, a university student who comes to help his professor father in Italy for the summer. His raw performance conveys both the rush of first love and the unparalleled, earth-shattering pain of teenage heartbreak, and earned him a well-deserved Oscar nomination for Best Actor which, at 22 years old, made him the third-youngest nominee for the award in Oscar history.
Marty Supreme
There is hardly a critic out there who is calling Chalamet’s work in Marty Supreme anything short of his absolute best. You won’t find us arguing with that. In the Josh Safdie-directed thriller, Chalamet plays Marty Mauser, a young, wiry table tennis player trying to live out his dreams in the aftermath of World War II. Chalamet channels every bit of manic energy he can to unpack what it means to harbor dreams—both at the time (as a young Jewish man facing discrimination in New York City) and even today, in a world where it feels like damn near every star has created their own mythos. Chalamet pulls it off with mind-boggling range, going from panic, to joy, to tears with such intensity that you simply have to sit back and appreciate Chalamet’s commitment to greatness.
In Theaters
Advertisement – Continue Reading Below
Advertisement – Continue Reading Below
Advertisement – Continue Reading Below