Every so often an actor seems to become a shooting star, rising to the top from seemingly nowhere, and now he or she seems to be in everything. Leonardo DiCaprio started as a 14 year old in a Matchbox commercial and by 19 had an Academy Award nomination for What’s Eating Gilbert Grape. Harrison Ford made American Graffiti at 31, an unknown actor who was remodeling a kitchen for the casting director, then made himself part of history just three years later when Star Wars sent him to superstardom faster than the Kessel run. Brad Pitt had a small role as a cowboy hitchhiker in Thelma and Louise, then rose to stardom a year later in A River Runs Through It. 

Some actors start out young – Shirley Temple was just three when she made Stand Up and Cheer, making 50 films before retiring at the age of 22. Judy Garland began performing with her sisters even younger – just two. Studio executives were feeding her amphetamines by 16 to keep her energy up, leading to an overdose death at just 47. Justin Henry is the youngest ever Academy Award nominee at just 8 years old, for Kramer Vs. Kramer. Tatum O’Neal remains the youngest winner of an Academy Award, landing her a Best Supporting Actress at just nine years old, for Paper Moon. Halley Joel Osment was just eleven in The Sixth Sense, but was already a veteran after playing the son of Forrest Gump at the age of six.

Now, another young actor is exploding on Hollywood, not yet thirty with dozens of awards to his name. Timothée Chalamet seems to be taking the world by storm. Although his mother danced on Broadway, Chalamet credits Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker in 2008’s Dark Knight for starting his acting bug.

Born in just 1995 (ouch), Chalamet’s premiere was on Law and Order in 2009, moving to films with a role in Interstellar. From there, an almost non-stop string of movies came. Call Me By Your Name (2017) earned him an Academy Award Best Actor nomination, the third youngest nominee ever. His success culminated in the lead roles for the Dune films (another movie nominated for the Oscar), Wonka, and the recent A Complete Unknown, a biography of singer Bob Dylan (now 83), for which he was again nominated for an Oscar at 29 years old. Chalamet had Dylan’s approval for the role. He sang more than 40 of Dylan’s songs for the soundtrack (and did an excellent job), and yes, he himself played both the guitar and harmonica for it. On top of that, between acting, singing, and playing the actual instruments, Chalamet also co-produced the film. He lost the Oscar to Adrien Brody (The Brutalist), but became the youngest actor ever to win the Screen Actor’s Guild Best Actor award for the role.

Some actors start out unknown and bloom into fame in time; others seem to shoot straight to the top. Some who do fade out for a variety of reasons (James Dean made only 3 films; Mel Gibson’s behavior became a liability, Drew Barrymore was in substance rehab by thirteen, Ezra Miller became erratic), but others manage to navigate the pitfalls and go on to have long and amazing careers (Jeff Bridges, Clint Eastwood, Betty White, Kurt Russell, Mickey Rooney, for some). Time will tell if Chalamet can keep the fire burning. 

I’m betting he does. Check out his work, and see if you agree!

Side note: Both A Complete Unknown and The Brutalist have only been released on Blu Ray disc, so check your player first.