Timothée Chalamet is not only one of the many male actors I have collaged into my future wedding boards, but now, most recently, he is also the youngest-ever recipient of the SAG Award for “Best Actor” in his role as Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown, at just 29 years old.
I have long been a fan of Chalamet’s work since I watched his performances in Interstellar, Dune, Beautiful Boy, Call Me By Your Name, and the 2019 remake of Little Women. Although I’m biased in saying that his best actor win has been long overdue, many have been enthralled with his acceptance speech more than anything else.
In his speech, Chalamet discussed how deeply he poured himself into this role, devoting the last five years of his life to this performance. He stated that he wasn’t going to downplay the amount of work he had put into this achievement, nor was he going to overlook the significance of this award. He concluded by discussing how he’s “in the pursuit of greatness” and how he knows “people don’t usually talk like that” but affirmed his strong ambition regardless. He then references some of these “greats” he’s inspired by and how this award is fueling that drive to keep pursuing his goal
Social media is now flooded with mixed opinions about Chalamet’s speech. Some think it was outright rude, believing that he sounded rather arrogant in his pursuit. One reporter discussed the belief that his speech was an “inside thought” and shouldn’t have been said out loud at such a prestigious event. On the other hand, many thought his acceptance speech was refreshing, and I’d have to agree.
Many times, we are told by society to be humble and to often minimize how much effort and work we put into our successes, so hearing this speech has been simply a breath of fresh air. Chalamet reminded us that it’s okay to be proud of the hard work we put into our achievements. Coming from the youngest-ever recipient of the SAG Award for Best Actor, his words have given validation to many who needed it. Even if you’re young or considered “new” to a given field, the effort, dedication, and energy we devote to our accomplishments should not be overlooked.
With that, Chalamets’ acknowledgment of his pursuit of greatness has been nothing short of inspiring. Rarely do we hear actors talk about their next steps and big goals for the future within their acceptance speeches, yet once again, Timothée Chalamet has made history. Breaking stigmas about what goals we should or should not be setting for ourselves, and not caring who knows it. In doing so, he has single-handedly made it cool to try hard again.
Especially for myself, in a time that’s consumed with AI-generated cheat codes for just about anything, his speech has reignited this light and drive to work hard, strive for more, and be proud of it along the way.