"I want to be one of the greats". Timothée Chalamet's Acceptance Speech Will Get You Pumped Up
(LA Times) “I know the classiest thing would be to downplay the effort that went into this role and how much this means to me, but the truth is, this was five-and-a-half years of my life,” Chalamet said. “I poured everything I had to play this incomparable artist, Mr. Bob Dylan, a true American hero, and it was the honor of a lifetime playing him. It’s an honor I share with Monica [Barbaro], Elle [Fanning], Edward [Norton], the entire cast, in a genre, doing a biopic, that could be perhaps tired. Everyone gave their all.”
Chalamet said he was not expecting the award and thanked his mother, who he said has been working for Actors’ Equity Assn. for 40 years. He devoted much of his speech to what he called his “pursuit of greatness.”
“I know we’re in a subjective business but the truth is, I’m really in pursuit of greatness,” Chalamet said. “I know people don’t usually talk like that. I want to be one of the greats. I’m inspired by the greats, 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. It’s a little more fuel. It’s a little more ammo to keep going.”
ICYMI, this is just the latest stop in what has been a generationally great PR tour from Timmy C. Every single stop he has made while promoting this movie has been a smash hit. Theo Von, College Gameday, his lookalike competition, Nardwuar, doing Crank That with Broski, the list goes on and on! Every time he has gotten on camera he has knocked it out of the park and shattered pretty much all preconceived notions about him.
And, to be fair to the rest of the world, he is an actor born in NYC named Timothée Chalamet that acts almost exclusively on prestige movies. I'd understand thinking that he was some high-society film snob. But the reality is that he is a pretty regular guy that was making youtube videos of him and his friends dancing to Soulja Boy and doing xbox 360 controller reviews. He likes sports, boobs, and dumb comedy movies just like any of you.
The speech itself also crushed. I respect him laying it all out there and saying what every professional in the field they love thinks: they want to be the best. They wanna be thought of as great, be remembered, etc. You think Adrian Brody isn't going through the same shit at every award show? All the humble acting in the world won't make me think otherwise. Also, thanking his mom was a nice touch.