Kid Cudi may have saved Timothée Chalamet’s career at one point.
In GQ’s latest cover story, the Oscar-nominated actor spoke about a low point in his career, shortly after he landed a role in 2014’s Interstellar. Chalamet admits he expected his part to be much bigger and that the project would lead to more offers; however, that wasn’t the case. He described feeling discouraged after going on countless auditions and receiving rejection after rejection. It got so bad at one point that he said he refused to watch movies or read scripts that had “great roles for actors his age.”
Chalamet was losing faith in his ability and began questioning whether or not he could handle any more letdowns. Thankfully, though, he received some encouraging words from one of his music icons: Cudi.
At a critical juncture when the walls were closing in, Timothée spent a couple hours with one of his personal Gods, Kid Cudi. Backstage at a show in Montreal, Cudi described his own lows and the single-minded determination that forced him to double down on his efforts to perform his way out of trouble. Timothée excused himself to run home so he could write down everything he'd heard. He keeps the notes on his phone. The takeaway was: Are you, Timothée, the sort of person who can't possibly live any other way? “Fuck yeah.”
Cudi’s advice energized Chalamet with newfound confidence and determination. It was also given shortly before the actor had met Luca Guadagnino, the director of the award-winning film Call Me By Your Name. Chalamet would go on to star in the coming-of-age drama, which garnered widespread critical praise. The 22-year-old actor’s role as Elio Perlman has since received plenty of accolades, including two BAFTA nominations, a Golden Globe nomination, as well as an Academy Awards nod for Best Actor. Not to take anything away from Chalamet’s talent, but it’s possible that none of this would have happened if he had never spoken to Cudi backstage.
You can read Chalamet’s full GQ cover story here.
