Timothée Chalamet has finally come clean about a long-rumored side project: a secret alter ego posing as a “British rapper.” For months, fans had pieced together that the actor was quietly uploading rap clips under the name “Esdee Kid,” and although that didn’t turn out to be the case, part of the mystery is officially out in the open. Chalamet is now a rapper.
Hey, let Timmy be Timmy, but many believe his outlandish behavior is wrecking his chances at getting an Oscar for his great performance in “Marty Supreme.” Personally, I don’t buy it—he could still win it.
Chalamet appears to march to the beat of his own drum. Approaching 30, he’s focused entirely on his own path, seemingly unconcerned with studio expectations, or the broader responsibility of leading a film. He’s breaking the unwritten Hollywood rules.
The past few weeks have been dominated by orange ping pong balls, touting his own work as “top level sh*t,” being awarded “white boy of the year” on a podcast, promising fans “128 appearances in 96 hours” at various screenings and events, and selling pricey merchandise—those $250 ‘Marty’ jackets went viral.
Since then, his spot at the top of Oscar prediction charts has taken a hit, depending on who you ask. Leonardo DiCaprio (“One Battle After Another”) and Ethan Hawke (“Blue Moon”) now seem like far more stable candidates at the moment.
Awards campaigning has a history of working best when there’s a purpose and it’s done in politically correct fashion. I know, boring, right? Chalamet is changing the rules, and it’s still up in the air whether this total upheaval of the old, tried-and-true formula will work.
If voters can look past the bombast, they’ll appreciate that Safdie and Chalamet have crafted something genuinely impressive. Chalamet, in his own way, is poking fun at his movie without even realizing it—or maybe he knows exactly what he’s doing. That’s what’s been so fascinating about his unwieldy promotion—is he just in character?
Chalamet is poised for a major career, yet somehow he’s—purposely?—upending those expectations. He doesn’t want to be put in a box. Do you blame him?