During a time when Hollywood has tried to grasp onto older stars like Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise, other young men from a new generation have attempted to carve out their path to stardom and take the movie world by storm. In this regard, not many male actors working today have experienced the success of Timothée Chalamet. With a boyish grin and a sculpted jawline, Chalamet’s raw charisma allows him to play characters in a variety of genres, from wounded teenagers in LGBTQ+ dramas to heroic protagonists in sci-fi flicks. Still under 30 years old, Chalamet’s career is just getting started, but he already has a grand portfolio of award-winning performances. These are the 10 best Timothée Chalamet movies ever, ranked.
10. Bones and All (2022)
Chalamet’s second collaboration with director Luca Gaudagnino might not appease the general audience of most of the actor’s other films. While many of the movies Chalamet has starred in so far are human dramas with grounded elements, Bones and All is about two cannibals who fall in love while adventuring together. Horror romance is a niche genre, but the chemistry between Chalamet and castmate Taylor Russell makes it worth a watch. Michael Stuhlberg, one of the best-supporting actors in Hollywood, pairs nicely with Chalamet once again (he worked with him in Call Me By Your Name).
9. Don't Look Up (2021)
One of Netflix’s major releases during the pandemic keenly criticized the way society ignores scientists and experts during the most trying times in our history. Don’t Look Up is a disaster movie, but it’s also a political satire. An impending comet that is going to take out the planet doesn’t seem to be all that important to the American populace, and it’s up to Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence’s characters to set the record straight. Chalamet stars as Yule, one of Lawrence’s character’s friends. The young actor shows he can work in starring or supporting roles equally well.
8. The King (2019)
Chalamet stars as a fictional version of King Henry V, the royal leader of England during the 1410s. The film is based upon the Henriad plays by Shakespeare, but it has its own tone and cinematography that makes it unique compared to other adaptations of stage work. Lily-Rose Depp and Joel Edgerton turn in commendable supporting performances.
7. Lady Bird (2017)
Saoirse Ronan and Laurie Metcalf create electric chemistry as a tumultuous mother-daughter pairing in this thematically deep family drama. Lady Bird elevates the typical coming-of-age film into something much more relatable and thoughtful. Chalamet plays Kyle, one of the love interests of Ronan’s character. This would be the first of two successful collaborations between Chalamet and director Greta Gerwig.
6. The French Dispatch (2021)
Wes Anderson makes use of his typical star-studded cast members in this anthology story, uniquely told in three different plot threads. The French Dispatch tells about the eclectic staff members of the titular fictional newspaper in France during the 1970s. The movie takes a chance by focusing on journalism and the people who work in the news field, a topic not often given attention in mainstream Hollywood films.
5. Beautiful Boy (2018)
While it didn’t get that much attention despite the fame of Chalamet and Steve Carell, Beautiful Boy shines bright as one of the best recent depictions of drug addiction and how it affects family members and friends of those affected by the disease. Chalamet and Carell play off of each other in an authentic and effective manner, leaving a lasting impression on audiences. The movie also helped to change Carrell’s reputation into that of a dramatic actor rather than just a comedic one.
4. Dune (2021)
Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi epic Dune is one of the biggest examples of the genre’s blockbuster staying power right now. Chalamet plays Paul Atreides, the hero tasked with taking the planet Arrakis for his people. Chalamet is typically in small dramatic films with mid-sized budgets, so Dune stands out as the sole big-budget picture in his portfolio, as well as the first time he’s been part of a franchise. Dune: Part 2 should come out sometime in 2024.
3. Interstellar (2014)
Perhaps the smallest part of Chalamet’s career, he young actor plays the role of Matthew McConaughey’s character’s son, Tom, in the past. Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar is an achievement in space and time travel movies, as astronauts ambitiously and desperately research the validity of a second home outside of Earth.
2. Call Me by Your Name (2017)
Although controversial for the age gap of the characters, there is an undeniable tenderness to Call Me By Your Name. Chalamet plays 17-year-old Elio, a curious teen boy living in the beautiful landscapes of Northern Italy in the 1980s and slowly figuring out that he might be attracted to men. The unique aspect of the film is that Elio’s sexuality is never explicitly discussed outside of his love for Oliver, the exchange student living with his family during the summer. Their relationship grows, then disappears before Elio’s eyes when Oliver must leave at the end of the vacation. A flash forward to the future when all the two have is the memory of the past allows Chalamet to go into his emotional bag and deliver a knockout final scene.
1. Little Women (2019)
In a cast full of talented women, Chalamet’s presence stands out as the male lead in Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s novel from the 19th century about the tumultuous journey of the March sisters. With a poignant historical background and ample romance in the air, Chalamet is at home in several genres he’s most used to occupying.
