The actor Timothée Chalamet called cinema’s “greatest revelation in the last 30 years”
Timothée Chalamet is one of the best actors of his generation, from his recent immersive and sensitive portrayal of Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown to his career-defining role as the young and romantic Elio in Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me By Your Name.
His emotional range and depth are unparalleled, his numerous accolades a testament to this. Although the French American actor, now 29, was snubbed of the Oscar this year, the upcoming release of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune Part III and Josh Safdie’s Marty Supreme proves the actor is still at the top of his game.
It was Chalamet’s much-talked-about speech at this year’s SAG awards, where he revealed to the audience in one of his rare candid moments that he was “really in pursuit of greatness”, which spoke most clearly to his desire to be one of the best in Hollywood.
But Timothée Chalamet wasn’t referring to the likes of Robert De Niro, Nicole Kidman or Marlon Brando. Instead, his version of greatness was a little girl from Florida, namely Brooklynn Prince, the breakout star of Sean Baker’s critically acclaimed film, The Florida Project, a charming comedy-drama told from a child’s point of view.
Prince plays Moonee in the film, a six-year-old who lives with her rebellious teen mum near Disneyland and spends her time running around with two friends messing around and pranking tourists. It was an exceptional performance from the actor, who was also six years old at the time.
Speaking about being cast in Guadagnino’s 2017 film, Call Me By Your Name, where Chalamet plays Elio Perlman, a 17-year-old American living with his family in Italy during 1983 who begins a romantic relationship with his parents’ friend and graduate student, Oliver, Chalamet spoke about the difficulty with hiring young actors.
He explained: “With younger actors, often you don’t really know what you’re getting, unless you’re Brooklynn Prince in The Florida Project and you’re like the greatest revelation in the last 30 years. That movie’s awesome.” Prince’s performance earned her the Critics’ Choice Movie Award for Best Young Performer.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Sean Baker auditioned 300 girls for the role, and nearly gave up after six years of sitting on the script. But after poring over headshots and adamant to cast a Floridian, Brooklynn Prince came along, and the decision was almost immediate.
“For some reason, she didn’t come in for our first few casting calls,” recalled Baker at the time. “Then one day she came in. Within seconds, she won us over. Brooklynn just had everything I was looking for. The wit, the energy, the cuteness.”
Prince had started acting at the age of two, but it was The Florida Project – which she stars in alongside Willem Dafoe, the motel manager where Prince and her mother live, who becomes a sort of father figure to them – that put her on the map.
Since The Florida Project, Prince has starred in the Apple TV+ mystery drama series, Home Before Dark, the gothic supernatural horror, The Turning and the 2024 coming-of-age drama Little Wing, alongside Brian Cox. Watch this space.
