Timothée Chalamet: Susan Boyle is one of the all-time great Brits

Hollywood star Timothée Chalamet is compiling his list of five Brits who he considers to be all-time greats.

“Lewis Hamilton, David and Victoria,” he begins, referring to the seven-time Formula One champion and the Beckhams.

“Fakemink,” he continues, naming the underground London rapper who recently teamed up with EsDeeKid, the anonymous Liverpool drill artist who many have linked to Chalamet.

(“No comment,” is his reply when pressed on this. “All will be revealed.”)

But Chalamet’s final pick of someone who demonstrated British greatness comes totally out of left field.

After a long pause and some deep thought, he reveals his answer: “Susan Boyle.”

Yes, it turns out that one of the biggest movie stars on the planet is an admirer of the 64-year-old former Britain’s Got Talent star, who went on to have two US number one albums.

“She dreamt bigger than all of us,” he explains, without any hint of irony.

“Who wasn’t moved by that?” he says about the 2009 viral clip of the Scottish singer performing I Dreamed A Dream from Les Misérables on the talent show.

“I remember that like it was yesterday,” the actor says. “That was like the advent of YouTube, you know.”

Chalamet, 29, knows a lot about using social media to advance a career.

The reason he is selecting great Britons, is due to one of the many ways he has found to promote his new 1950s table tennis film, Marty Supreme.

For the last month, he has been presenting jackets bearing the film’s title to people he deems as being a great.

Honourees so far include swimmer Michael Phelps, NFL legend Tom Brady and Barcelona’s Spanish wonder kid Lamine Yamal.

His promotional tour has taken him to London, where he opened a pop-up store and is now sitting in a hotel bar looking out over Hyde Park.

I had asked him which Brits would be worth of receiving a jacket, resulting in the SuBo surprise.

Chalamet’s frenetically entertaining performance in Marty Supreme has already landed him best actor nominations at both the Golden Globes and the Critics Choice Awards, and the Oscar race is currently seen as a head-to-head between him and Leonardo DiCaprio.

The film is based on real life post-war table tennis star, Marty Reisman. The semi-fictionalised film version Marty Mauser, however, has some dubious morals, getting involved in a heist and trying to destroy the marriage of his biggest sponsor, who he resents.

Despite his questionable on-screen actions, Chalamet is a big fan of his character.

“You know, when you’re in your early twenties, you’re an idiot,” he laughs. “And this movie, in large part, is about being an idiot in your early twenties.

“And if on top of that, you have a passion that you’re singular about, you risk looking foolish in addition to being an idiot.”

Marty Mauser exudes the same confidence that Chalamet demonstrated while collecting his best actor SAG Award this year for playing Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown.

During his acceptance speech he pontificated: “I’m really in pursuit of greatness. I know people don’t usually talk like that, but I want to be one of the greats,” before listing Daniel Day Lewis, Marlon Brando, Viola Davis and Michael Jordan, as people who inspired him.

I ask where his confidence comes from.

“You know, it ebbs and flows. And I feel like that’s kind of what keeps me on my toes,” he says, being far more humble than he was on stage at the SAGs, wearing a bright green shirt and leather suit.

“It’s my New York mentality insofar as if I’m on a movie or in a social situation, if things are going well, you feel great. And if not, the world’s falling apart,” he says, becoming far more introspective than I had expected.

“And I think increasingly in my life, like as I approach 30 here in a couple weeks, you want to be more on your feet. You want to grow into yourself. But that is a constant learning process. And it’s a huge learning curve. And I try not to be too hard on myself or those around me who are also growing.”

The actor’s landmark birthday presents the perfect chance to ask him how he looks back at his twenties, a decade in which he has twice been nominated for best actor at the Oscars, and starred in huge box office hits including Dune and Wonka.

A huge smile comes over his face as he says: “It’s been great. You know, it’s been awesome.

“I feel like I’m living in a dream. I’m on top of a fancy hotel in London and talking about a film I’m deeply passionate about.

“And, you know, I got to offend somebody from Scotland the second they walked in, with my English shirt,” he jokes, referencing my barely disguised displeasure at his choice of interview garb.

Chalamet’s dedication to roles is part of his success. He spent five years learning to play the guitar for A Complete Unknown; for Marty Supreme he embarked on seven years of table tennis lessons.

“I got approached with this project in 2018. So that basically gave me six, seven years to prepare on and off. In all my downtime, I would train as much as possible,” he enthuses.

“I think the responsibility in this movie, like in the Bob Dylan movie, if you were a Dylan fan or a guitar player, that that looks real to you on screen. Similarly here, if you’re a ping-pong aficionado, that that looks believable to you.”

His dedication included taking his table tennis table into the desert during Dune and it was oompah-loompah ping-pong between takes on Wonka.

And he’s already learning skills for film roles way in the future.

“I can’t give anything away, but I do have a couple of white rabbits up my sleeve.”

One thing that is totally clear, is his love of the big screen.

In the same month that Netflix has announced its intention to buy one of the major film studios, Warner Bros, Marty Supreme is a film which will have a wide cinema release and has not been made for any streaming service.

It has been produced by A24, the independent film company behind recent Oscar favourites Moonlight, Past Lives and The Brutalist.

“That is an intense question,” Chalamet muses after I ask him if he thinks cinemas will actually survive the length of his career.

“I do think with streaming stuff, there’s less incentive for these streaming companies to try to put things in theatres, which is dangerous.

“But equally, I do think cinemas will survive and thrive. And that’s not to be a false optimist.”

And he wants to play his part.

“I feel like my responsibility as a young actor especially, is less to go, ‘Hey, how do we get people to revisit this traditional form?’ And rather to go, “Hey, how do we take this traditional form and bring it to people?”

Chalamet sincerely believes that Marty Supreme will, in its own way, help cinemas be saved.

“This is an original film at a time where a lot of original films aren’t made.

“And there’s no part of me that’s a salesman that’s saying this, but I’ve never been more confident in saying, “Hey, if you bring yourself to see this movie, you won’t be let down. It’s really like a slingshot.”

Timothée Chalamet – about to turn 30 and more than ready to channel his inner Susan Boyle and dream his dream.

Marty Supreme is released on Boxing Day.