Timothée Chalamet is clearing the air around comments he made last year regarding his “pursuit of greatness.”
On Sunday, during a Q&A at London’s Prince Charles Cinema, the 30-year-old provided more context around his desire to win an Oscar, explaining, “sometimes I feel like I’ve been misinterpreted in my quest,” per Variety.
This year, he’s been nominated for best actor and best picture for Marty Supreme.
“All these award things, they supplement the movie,” he continued. “I’m not going to turn this into a monologue about the crisis of theaters and stuff, but when you go to an awards show, everyone’s participating in an advertisement for each other—in the best sense of the word, I’m not saying that in a malicious way.”
He said that even though he desires greatness, he still supports his fellow nominees and their projects, including films also nominated for best picture.
“I’m supporting Hamnet and One Battle After Another the way anyone in those movies is supporting Marty Supreme,” Chalamet said. “So anything else, yes, it helps to feed into the narrative … everyone’s pursuing it, you know?”
“I don’t want it to be misinterpreted that the world is in the condition it’s in and I’m going to bed like, ‘Fuck man, I need that [Oscar].’ You know, I’m living on planet Earth,” added Chalamet.
During the Q&A, Chalamet was asked how he wants to be remembered.
“These days, it’s paying it forward,” Chalamet answered. “When you’re young, you need things to believe in—narratives to believe in, stories to believe in. Particularly if you grew up like Marty, particularly if you grew up like me, you believe in figures that make you dream. Virgil Abloh, the late fashion designer, he had a great quote: He said he was living his 17-year-old dream, or something to that extent. I feel like right now I’m in a position where I’m doing it.”
“That’s why I try to own it,” Chalamet said, appearing to reference his quest for greatness. “I’m not shying away from it, I’m not being fake humble where I don’t feel it. And equally, I’m leaving it behind for someone that I hope I’m inspiring. So if they’ve got a fucked up life, they can go, ‘Man, but he’s fucking doing it. And I want to do it like that.'”
Chalamet first made his “greatness” comments last year, at the 2025 SAG Awards, when he won the Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role award for his portrayal of Bob Dylan in the biopic, A Complete Unknown.
“I can’t downplay the significance of this award because it means the most to me,” he said during his acceptance speech. “I know we’re in a subjective business but the truth is I’m really in pursuit of greatness. I know people don’t usually talk like that but I wanna be one of the greats. I’m inspired by the greats. I’m inspired by the greats here tonight.”