Timothée Chalamet is at an all-time career high. Coming off the releases of his two new feature films, Dune and The French Dispatch, the twenty-five-year-old actor is killing it at the moment. In early December, he is set to release his next film, Don’t Look Up, with a whole roster of A-Listers, including Ariana Grande, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Jennifer Lawernce. But how did he become such a big star and the internet’s favorite boyfriend? Well, as someone who walked the same high school hallways as him, let me explain.
Yes, Yes. It’s true. Timothée and I went to Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts aka LaGuardia aka LaG aka The “Fame” School. LaGuardia has become notorious for creating great performers such as Nicki Minaj, Jennifer Anniston, Awkwafina, Adrien Brody, and Sarah Paulson (just to name a few). During his time at LaGuardia, he got a reputation for being a standout actor and a rapper, gaining the reputation of “Lil Timmy Tim.” He rapped twice in our annual talent show, Rising Stars, and he has a very famous video of him rapping about statistics for Ms. Lawton’s statistics class. As someone who knew Ms. Lawton, the thought of rapping for her class baffles my mind and shows that Timothée was truly a class clown.
Besides his rapping career, Timothée used his time at LaGuardia to perfect his craft. Chalamet has praised LaGuardia for nurturing his love for acting and frequently credits drama teacher and musical director Mr. Shiftman for giving him amazing acting chops. Timothée performed in lead roles in the school musical his junior and senior years. His performance in Sweet Charity has gone down in LaGuardia infamy for the famous elevator monologue.
While still in high school, Timothée began working professionally as an actor with minor roles in tv shows like Homeland and Law and Order. His big-screen role was in the 2014 film Interstellar, which received rave reviews. In 2017, he starred as Elio in Call Me By Your Name, which threw him into the spotlight due to the film’s beautiful Italian scenery and Chalamet’s naturalistic acting performance. His fame continued to rise with films like Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird and Little Woman. His performance as Laurie showed he had the skills to be a leading man in a blockbuster movie.
This leads us to Timothée’s current career-high. He premiered two major movies on the same day and the two films could not be more different. The French Dispatch is the brainchild of director Wes Anderson and follows American journalists in a French outpost. Dune is a sci-fi movie where Timothée plays Paul Atreides, who has to fight on a dangerous planet to save his people. But Timothée’s crazy year doesn’t stop just yet. He is currently filming Wonka, a prequel to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. His next film, Don’t Look Up, will be out in early December, and Dune: Part Two has been set for release in 2023. Timothée Chalamet is definitely on an upward career trajectory that is nowhere near slowing down anytime soon. It’s cool to see the drama class clown from my high school become one of the biggest names in Hollywood.
Words by Tommy Drennan.
Graphic by Emily Tobias.