Timothée Chalamet revealed that early in his career, his agent advised him to gain weight to land big blockbuster roles, The Independent reported.
In an interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, the Oscar nominee opened up about his early auditions for major franchises like Divergent and The Maze Runner. He said that many executives were concerned about his tall, thin figure, while at the same time his agent conveyed that he would not be considered for leading roles in such films unless when he plays the lead role.
“If I auditioned for The Maze Runner or Divergent, those genre movies that came out when I was coming out, the response was always, ‘Oh, you don’t have the right body,’” he recalled to Lowe. “I basically had an agent call me and say, ‘You’ve got to gain weight’ — not to be too aggressive, but you know.”
Instead, he’s found his own path through independent films – including Call Me by Your Name, Lady Bird and Little Women – that favor personal storytelling over the series’ spectacle. big budget.
“I found my way into these very personalized films,” he says, noting that they allowed him to grow and find his footing. “They were smaller budget films, but — I don’t know how else to say it — lovely films that started in this theater space. This is where I found my rhythm, my confidence, my flow, whatever you want to call it.”
He compares his underwhelming journey in Hollywood to the early career of Bob Dylan, whom he plans to play in the upcoming biopic A Completely Unknown. He said: “For [Dylan]that is folk music. He couldn’t sustain a rock and roll band because they would all be hired by other kids with more money, literally, in Minnesota.”
Chalamet takes on the role of famous musician Bob Dylan during the pivotal moment when he controversially switched to playing the electric guitar. Directed by James Mangold, who co-wrote the script with Jay Cocks, the film is inspired by Elijah Ward’s 2015 book Dylan Goes Electric!
Chalamet’s casting as Bob Dylan was first announced in 2020, with reports at the time revealing that the Dune actor had begun taking guitar lessons to prepare for the role.
Director James Mangold confirmed that Chalamet will also sing himself in the film. To prepare, Chalamet sought advice from Joel Coen, who extensively researched Dylan’s world for 2013’s Inside Llewyn Davis, set in the 1960s folk music scene where Dylan’s career began.
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