Timothée Chalamet took home the win for Lead Performance by a Male Actor at the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards for his role in A Complete Unknown, being dubbed the youngest to accomplish such a feat. When he got up on stage to collect his award, his speech declared his lofty ambitions for his future in acting, stating, “I’m really in the pursuit of greatness.” He mentioned industry names like Viola Davis, Micheal Jordan, and Day-Lewis as his benchmark for becoming great. 

However, Chalamet’s claim to greatness has faced backlash online, with some claiming the actor is exuding arrogance rather than aspiration. TV host Mellisa Grelo slammed Chalamet on The Social, declaring, “Timothee, that should have stayed in your journal.”

Chalamet is a 29-year-old actor from New York City, NY. His big break came in 2017, when he appeared in films Call Me By Your Name and Lady Bird. He was nominated for his first Academy Award for Best Actor after his performance in Call Me By Your Name. 

In 2023, he starred as Willy Wonka in Wonka, the critically acclaimed Dune in 2024, and A Complete Unknown in the same year. To add to his fame, he began dating media personality Kylie Jenner in 2023. Along with being nominated for an Oscar, he attended the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards this past Sunday. 

Chalamet still has much to anticipate, despite his recent SAG win. He has been nominated for an Oscar in Best Actor in a Leading Role for his role as musician Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown. Before the SAG awards, Adrien Brody was the frontrunner for the Oscar, but some think that Brody was supplanted by Chalamet when he beat Brody to the SAG award. Chalamet has been taking a unique approach to promoting A Complete Unknown during award season, making many social media posts, having comedic conversations with niche interviewers, and showing up to a Chalamet lookalike contest. Whether or not he wins, he has made his mark on this year’s Oscars race.