Kevin O'Leary said he is confident that his Marty Supreme co-star Timothée Chalamet will win Best Actor at the 98th Academy Awards, even putting money on the outcome.
The 71-year-old multimillionaire and Shark Tank co-host spoke to Variety and CNN on the Oscars red carpet on Sunday (March 15), where he was asked about Chalamet, 30, and his recent controversial comments about ballet and opera.
“He's a really great guy,” O'Leary said on the carpet. “I just put 1,000 bucks on Kalshi walking in here that he's going to win, because I know the voting stopped long before that controversy happened.”
In a town hall conversation opposite Matthew McConaughey uploaded last month, Chalamet made remarks about not wanting "to be working in ballet or opera," describing it as an art form where "no one cares about this anymore." The comments went viral in early March, inspiring responses from across the performing arts sector as well as the likes of Doja Cat and Steven Spielberg.
O’Leary added, “The kid is a great kid. He took a bum rap on that. And by the way, gave a lot of promo to opera houses and ballet.”
He also defended him while also discussing their work together on the film.
“I always feel you should get out of your comfort zone as often as you can, because you exercise the most important muscle in your body, your brain. I really enjoyed it,” O’Leary said. “I was working with A-listers like Gwyneth [Paltrow], and Timmy was amazing. Even my agent said, 'Don't do this. You don't know how to act!’ I said, ‘Why don't I try it?’ Now I'm going to try and do one a year."
Chalamet is nominated for Best Actor for playing Marty Mauser in Marty Supreme and is also nominated as a producer in the Best Picture Category. The film earned nine nominations in total, including Best Director and Best Original Screenplay.