When it came to bringing the lead character in his new film, Marty Supreme, to life, Timothée Chalamet really went above and beyond.
During a recent panel discussion, in front of what Variety described as a "packed audience," the movie's director, Josh Safdie, shared a behind-the-scenes story that illustrated just how far above and beyond the 30-year-old actor went while working on the film.
“At the time, we said, we were going to put +10 contact lenses in your eyes, and we’re gonna put -10 prescription lenses in front of them so that when his glasses fall off, he can’t see sh*t," Safdie said of the way Chalamet sought to bring authenticity to his performance as the films protagonist, Marty Mauser, who wears glasses.
Director Josh Safdie and Timothée Chalamet while filming Marty Supreme in New York City in October 2024.
Safdie admitted that wearing the combination of contacts and glasses was tough on Chalamet, who he said doing so made him feel like “he was in a fishbowl.”
“He calls me, and he says, ‘I’ve got the +10s in right now, I’m pretty dizzy.’”
Chalamet didn't let the discomfort dissuade him though and remained determined to go the extra mile for the part, telling Safdie, “I’ll do anything you ask me to do.”
Timothée Chalamet wearing glasses while filming Marty Supreme in New York City in September 2024.
In addition to literally altering his own vision, Chalamet's dedication to bringing authenticity to his Marty Supreme performance was also reportedly behind the actor's insistence on refusing to use a stunt double for the film's much-talked-about spanking scene.
In the scene, Chalamet's character, Marty Mauser, agrees to be publicly spanked by ruthless businessman Milton Rockwell (played by Kevin O'Leary) to secure the funding he needs to travel to Tokyo to compete in a high-stakes table tennis match.
"We had a stand-in ass and a fake paddle that supposedly would not put the full force," O'Leary told Business Insider of the scene. "All of a sudden, Chalamet came on set and said, 'No, if this ass is going to be immortalized, it's my ass.'"
O'Leary added that he tried to talk his costar out of filming the scene, but Chalamet wouldn't budge.
"I said, 'Look, man, your ass is gonna be blistered, let the stand-in ass do it,'" he recalled. "He said, 'No.' I said, 'I can't hold back, I'm gonna have to whack your ass.' He said, 'I don't give a sh*t.'"
Clearly, nothing was off-limits for Chalamet in bringing authenticity to his Marty Supreme performance.