When Timothée Chalamet showed up at the 2025 Academy Awards like a ray of sunshine in a butter yellow Givenchy suit, he was considered by many to be the favorite to win Best Actor for his performance as Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown. Adrian Brody took the trophy instead, but Chalamet’s loss hardly mattered as far as his fans were concerned. After a string of endearing red carpet appearances and one historically earnest acceptance speech (at the Screen Actors Guild Awards), he still emerged triumphant from the season. It was a fitting cap to a year that saw the actor fully come into his own as a leading man, all by leaning into his inherent dualities.
An androgynous heartthrob who transcends the stale masculinity of his movie star predecessors, Chalamet has resisted convention throughout his career. From the moment he appeared onscreen in Luca Guadagnino’s Call Be My Your Name — shirtless and sinewy and breathtakingly vulnerable — it was clear he was destined to make his mark. Still, the path he managed to forge ahead in the years since has taken some unexpected (perhaps even unprecedented) turns. After proving himself to be a gifted actor of great emotional depth in films like Lady Bird, Beautiful Boy, and Little Women, he could have stayed comfortably in the realm of thoughtful films with (relatively) modest budgets. Instead, he made the transition to blockbuster fare with remarkable agility, demonstrating his clout at the box office with Dune and Wonka. All the while, he navigated awards shows and press tours with an exuberant sense of whimsy, making headlines for his unique approach to red carpet fashion. Never before had a male actor of Chalamet’s caliber—or, more to the point, his level of mainstream popularity—attended a premiere wearing anything like a bright red backless halter top jumpsuit or a Louis Vuitton women’s sequined blazer with nothing underneath.
Of course, Chalamet’s slight frame lends itself well to high fashion. He was the perfect choice for Martin Scorsese’s Bleu de Chanel commercial, which saw him stalking through the streets of New York City like a runway model. And yet, there was a time when he struggled with feeling limited by his physique. In his December 2024 Rolling Stone cover story, Chalamet recalled auditioning unsuccessfully for action movies like Maze Runner and Divergent.
Call Me by Your Name • Photo: Sony Pictures Classics.
“I would always get the same feedback,” he said. “‘Oh, you don’t have the right body.’ I had an agent call me once and say, ‘I’m tired of getting the same feedback. We’re gonna stop submitting you for these bigger projects, because you’re not putting on weight.’ I was trying to put on weight. I couldn’t! I basically couldn’t. My metabolism or whatever the fuck couldn’t do it.”
As it turned out, Chalamet’s diminutive build and delicate features worked in his favor, establishing him as the face of Hollywood’s pendulum swing away from the outdated macho mentality prevalent in decades past. During a conversation with Harry Styles for the 2019 cover of i-D, Chalamet weighed in on whether he felt a responsibility to “represent a new form of masculinity” on the screen.
“I want to say you can be whatever you want to be,” he said. “There isn’t a specific notion, or jean size, or muscle shirt, or affectation, or eyebrow raise, or dissolution, or drug use that you have to take part in to be masculine. It’s exciting. It’s a brave new world. Maybe it’s because of social media, maybe it’s because of who the fuck knows what, but there’s a real excitement from our generation about doing things in a new way.”
Wonka • Photo: Warner Bros.
Indeed, it’s this generation-defining quality that made Chalamet a natural choice for the two biggest roles of his career so far: Paul Atreides and Bob Dylan.
While Chalamet was well received as the messianic hero (or anti-hero) in the first installment of Denis Villeneuve’s series, his performance in Dune: Part Two saw the actor tackling the slippery slope of corruptive power with a previously unseen level of maturity. Standing in front of a desert filled with Fremen, his arm raised and his cape billowing in the wind, Chalamet’s presence was commanding on a Shakespearean level—without losing any of his raw sensitivity. It’s not surprising that Villeneuve called Chalamet a “thoughtful, poetic spirit” in an interview with Time, praising his “beautiful vulnerability.” In the same article, when asked what he stands for, Chalamet answered, “I feel like I’m here to show that to wear your heart on your sleeve is okay.”
Dune Part Two • Photo: Warner Bros.
While it’s true that Chalamet is known for his emotionally evolved persona, he’s also famous for his playful side—another example of his unwillingness to conform to expected standards of behavior. He delighted fans when he made a surprise appearance at a Timothée Chalamet lookalike contest in New York City’s Washington Square Park in October; a few months later, he showed off his comic skills with impressive ease while hosting Saturday Night Live for the third time (including an unforgettable skit featuring Chalamet as a fitness instructor known as the “Bungee Queen”).
Chalamet’s January 2025 SNL gig was particularly notable as he pulled off the rare feat of doubling as musical guest, playing three Bob Dylan covers. The songs served as a way to promote A Complete Unknown, to be sure, but Chalamet did more than demonstrate his ability to strum a guitar and carry a tune—he revealed his ability to move audiences through live music, a skill beyond the advanced mimicry required for a successful biopic.
Chalamet famously prepared to play Bob Dylan for five years, completely immersing himself in Robert Zimmerman lore and working extensively with guitar and vocal coaches. As he told Rolling Stone, he found a common ground with Dylan in that the legendary singer-songwriter used folk music as a sort of backdoor to the level of fame he really wanted.
“If he couldn’t become Elvis or Buddy Holly immediately, he found Woody Guthrie and stuff that was a little more accomplishable, and happened to be really good at it. And that immediately hit a bone with me,” Chalamet said.
A Complete Unknown • Photo: Searchlight Pictures.
Ultimately, Dylan and Chalamet’s artistic journeys have the same destination—which Chalamet revealed while giving his acceptance speech at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, where he won Best Actor for A Complete Unknown.
“I can’t downplay the significance of this award because it means the most to me, and I know we’re in a subjective business, but the truth is, I’m really in pursuit of greatness,” he said.
“I know people don’t usually talk like that, but I want to be one of the greats,” he continued. “I’m inspired by the greats. I’m inspired by the greats here tonight. I’m as inspired by Daniel Day-Lewis, Marlon Brando, and Viola Davis as I am by Michael Jordan, Michael Phelps, and I want to be up there. So, I’m deeply grateful. This doesn’t signify that, but it’s a little more fuel. It’s a little more ammo to keep going. Thank you so much.”
There’s little doubt that an eventual Oscars win is in his future. The question is, what will he be wearing?
