The favourite role of Timothée Chalamet’s career
Less than 15 years after making his acting debut in an episode of Law & Order and under a decade on from his first feature film appearance in Men, Women & Children, Timothée Chalamet has already made the world of Hollywood his oyster.
Notching an Academy Award nomination for Call Me by Your Name, the star has captivated in a number of wildly different projects across the entire genre spectrum, from the modern coming-of-age classic Lady Bird to Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi blockbuster Dune and its upcoming sequel, via Little Women, Don’t Look Up, The French Dispatch, and many more besides.
However, Chalamet’s favourite of his own movies happens to be the one that’s currently playing in cinemas everywhere, so recency bias may very well be at play when it comes to Wonka taking home the cake. As he revealed on The Graham Norton Show, Paddington director Paul King’s whimsical musical fantasy instantly claimed the summit: “I am proud of all the films I have done but this is my favourite. It is the most fun I’ve had working on anything ever. It is sweet and good and will fill you with joy.”
For a second, it looked as though his parents were in full agreement, too. Speaking to USA Today, Chalamet claimed that Wonka occupied the same spot in his mother and father’s internal ranking of his filmography: “This is my mom and dad’s favourite project I’ve ever been in. They’re thrilled,” he said. “Ten years ago, this is what I thought I’d be in, tone-wise. My mom has been encouraging me to do a play for the last ten, 12 years. And my dad, too, he goes, ‘Wow. There’s a smile on your face, finally.'”
Then again, that wasn’t strictly accurate, at least as it relates to his mother. Appearing on Good Morning America, Nicole Flender clearly isn’t one for being misquoted in the media, forcing her son to retract his prior statement live on air: “I thought this was her favourite movie. She called me yesterday, she corrected me. She said Beautiful Boy was her favourite. When she saw this, she did say, ‘It’s nice to see you smile.'”
Having already branded Wonka as “the most physically challenging project I’ve ever done” during an interview with Vanity Fair on account of its intense singing and dancing both before and during production, the prequel to Roald Dahl’s classic tale made its way to the top of Chalamet’s personal favourites list through intense hard work and dedication.
On the other hand, there’s always the chance he’ll say the exact same thing when Dune: Part Two releases next year, with actors retaining the habit of taking the easy option and naming the movie they’re actively trying to promote when quizzed on which one exists as the best of their career-wide bunch.
