Ever since he was catapulted to fame with his role as Elio Perlman in Call Me by Your Name, Timothée Chalamet has been truly everywhere. Whether it’s on-screen or on the red carpet, one thing is certain, the man knows how to deliver. Perhaps inevitably, he was quickly labelled the “internet’s boyfriend” following his debut, but he’s transcended that descriptor, drawing comparisons with a young Leonardo DiCaprio and earning the grand title of “the male actor of his generation”.
From small-town indies to historical dramas and sci-fi epics, there doesn’t seem to be a genre that Timothée can’t tackle. He is a chameleon that can submerge into any character at any time period, and that requires true talent. While Wonka is in post-production, Timothée is currently filming the anticipated Dune sequel in Abu Dhabi, but is still making time for the promo tour of his newest film Bones and All. To celebrate its release, we rank all of Timothée’s past roles excluding his rapper Timmy T era videos (sorry).
Subscribe to i-D NEWSFLASH. A weekly newsletter delivered to your inbox on Fridays.
24. Law and Order (2009)
I’m going to keep this short just like his screen time. Timothée played the son of two doctors and was killed off before the theme song began.
23. Loving Leah (2009)
It’s humble beginnings for Timothée as he makes his film debut in a Hallmark movie. He appears via a quick flashback as young Jake, the cardiologist, reminisces over his dead brother.
22. A Rainy Day in New York (2019)
This romantic comedy written and directed by Woody Allen is perhaps the most controversial production Timothée has ever been a part of. In an interview with CNN, the actor said that he didn’t want to profit from the film and would donate his entire salary to various charities: Time’s Up, the LGBT Centre in New York, and RAINN [the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network]. Even discounting Woody Allen’s involvement, with a script that’s too quirky for its own good, everything in the film feels so cartoony that it’s barely watchable. You definitely won’t have FOMO missing out on this one.
21. Royal Pains (2012)
Believe it or not, Timothée once played a surfer: just not a very good one. In this American medical dramedy, the actor appears as Luke, the nerdy tween nephew of main character Jill Casey (Jill Flint) in a short run of episodes: four from season three to season four.
20. Men, Women & Children (2014)
Even though most of Timothée’s scenes ended up on the cutting room floor, it’s hard to forget the scene in which Ansel Elgort body slams him to a lunch table in a high school cafeteria. The film follows the lives of high school teens and their parents, as they navigate relationships through the lens of technology and how it alters they way they interact with one another.
19. Love The Coopers (2015)
Corny Christmas movie that, even a stacked cast of Diane Keaton, Marisa Tomei and Miss Olivia Wilde, couldn’t save.
18. Homeland (2012)
The Vice President’s son is a pretentious jerk and has questionable views on the Middle East. That’s basically it.
17. Hostiles (2017)
Timothée is something of a hidden gem in this brutal Western starring Christian Bale, Rosamund Pike and Wes Studi. Christian plays a legendary army captain that is tasked with escorting a Cheyenne chief through treacherous terrain. Timothée is a French-speaking solider (accent and all) that is ordered to join this ill-fated cavalry with Jesse Plemons and Jonathan Majors.
16. Interstellar (2014)
So much that happens in Christopher Nolan’s 169-minute sci-fi epic that it’s easy to forget that Timothée is ever in it. But to jog your memory: he plays young Tom, Matthew McConaughey’s son. In a one-on-one with Emma Stone, he revealed that he wept after watching it for the first time because he thought his role was going to be bigger than it actually was.
15. Spinners (2014)
This is arguably Timothée’s most absurd performance. Let’s begin with his outfit: a muscle tee with oversized cargo shorts and, on his head, a white bandana with a neon pink hat. Alongside Ify Nwadiwe, he plays, as the name suggests, a professional sign-spinner who is frustrated with how people treat him so he decides to start packing some heat. It’s a 13-minute short film so there’s no excuse not to watch it!
14. One & Two (2015)
Before Sabrina was a teenage witch, Kiernan Shipka starred alongside Timothée as siblings who have secret superpowers and are isolated behind a barrier from the rest of the world.
13. Hot Summer Nights (2018)
I truly have a love-hate relationship with this film because it had the potential to be so good and it entirely misses the mark, mainly due to it’s choppy editing and mediocre writing. But it is also the start of Timothée’s work with A24. I won but at what cost?
12. Miss Stevens (2016)
Timothée has a silly little crush on his English teacher and I would too if she looked like Lily Rabe! The film also stars Lili Reinhart and Lohanthony… this is my multiverse of madness.
11. The Adderall Diaries (2016)
Besides the yelling, this is a non-speaking part for Timothée, who plays wild teenage Stephen Elliott. As Stephen struggled with adderall addiction and other substance abuse, this role gave us a sneak peek into the performance we’d expect (and received) in 2018’s Beautiful Boy.
10. The French Dispatch (2021)
It was only a matter of time before Timothée fell into the world of Wes Anderson and, when he did, he seemed to fit right in. Appearing as student revolutionist Zeffirelli in the second segment of the film titled “Revisions to a Manifesto”, he sports unkempt Einstein-like hair and fights a very unserious cause: boys’ rights to access girls’ dorm rooms.
9. Don’t Look Up (2021)
Kyle Scheible from Lady Bird walked (more on this later) so skateboarding dirtbag Yule could run. Even though Yule shows up 80 minutes into the film and functions mostly as Jennifer Lawrence’s character’s end-of-the-world love interest, he is engaging in his own right. He makes it clear that he loves fingerling potatoes, is very sceptical about the government, and is a dedicated gamer. Perhaps his best bit is when he introduced himself by his Twitch username, FirePuma142.
8. Entergalactic (2022)
The best animated film of 2022 came unexpectedly from the mind of Scott Mescudi (aka Kid Cudi). To accompany his new album of the same name, the rapper assembled some friends to lend their voices to his new project. As expected, one of those friends is Timothée, who voiced the perpetually high Jimmy, Jabari’s (Cudi) best friend and dealer. Jimmy is a chiller who offers sound advice to his love-stricken pal.
7. Dune (2021)
In his largest part yet (and perhaps the closest we’ll ever get to see him in a superhero-eque role), Timothée takes to the desert to harvest spices and fight off sandworms with celebrated director Denis Villeneuve.
6. Lady Bird (2017)
The first time Timothée collaborated with Greta Gerwig was playing the hot and mysterious Kyle Scheible to Saoirse Ronan’s Lady Bird. Everything about Kyle is hilarious because, despite his pretty face, his pretentious know-it-all vibe made him so unlikeable. While he does serve great one liners (a personal highlight being “that’s hella tight”), the one that had the audience in a chokehold was when Kyle told Lady Bird she’s a “good girl” for not owning a personal tracking device, aka a cell phone, and it seems even Timothée is aware of the effect he had over people with those two simple words.
5. Beautiful Boy (2018)
Steve Carell and Timothée play father and son duo, David and Nic Sheff, who together battle Nic’s addiction to methamphetamine. This is one of Timothée’s most underrated films (yes he did get a Golden Globe nomination but that’s beside the point). It’s a grim story that deals with real suffering and prevalent issues, but it’s nonetheless essential watch, especially if you want to understand the range that TC is capable of.
4. The King (2019)
Stop the charade and let’s be honest: a bowl cut has never looked so good. This is a retelling of Shakespeare’s Henry V which centres on the coming of age of Prince Hal. Timothée nails the transition from the good-humoured drunken whorer (the movie’s words not mine) to the cold tactical king.
3. Call Me by Your Name (2017)
Somewhere in northern Italy in 2016, a star was born. In Timothée’s breakout role, he appears as awkward teenager Elio Perlman, brought to life by Luca Guadagnino. It’s a beautiful queer coming-of-age story that is, and I don’t say this lightly, a cinematic masterpiece. The role launched Timothée into Hollywood stardom and earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in 2018. It’s painful, ethereal and gorgeous, and you will absolutely want to move to Italy after viewing it.
2. Bones And All (2022)
The most romantic story of 2022 is the tale of two cannibals in love; who would have thought! Luca Guadagnino reunites with Timothée and Michael Stuhlbarg (who played Elio’s dad in Call Me by Your Name). Based on the YA book of the same name, the story follows Maren (Taylor Russell) and Lee, who are outcast by their families, and want to find their place in the world. Much like Luca did with Timothée in CMBYN, here he shines that light on the actor’s co-star Taylor Russell, in what could be her breakout role.
1. Little Women (2019)
If it hasn’t happened already, we must collectively thank Greta Gerwig for giving us the perfect Laurie Laurence in Timmy (and reuniting him with Saoirse Ronan). He plays the March sisters’ utterly gorgeous and charming next-door neighbour with such ease and effervescence. This ensemble cast is truly everything we could have ever wanted with Saoirse, Emma Watson, Eliza Scanlen and Florence Pugh playing the onscreen sisters.