Whether you know him as Laurie Laurence, Willy Wonka or Elio, Timothée Chalamet has quickly become one of the most well-known stars of our generation. But how has he gotten to this point at such an early stage in his career, and why are we so obsessed with him?

One of Timothée Chalamet’s earliest on-screen appearances was in “Interstellar” in 2014 as Tom, the main character’s son. However, his breakout role was in the 2017 film “Call Me by Your Name,” co-starring alongside Armie Hammer. His character, Elio, is a 17-year-old living in Italy who had a relationship with an older man, leading to unrequited love, heartbreak and a summer that changed his life forever.  Although this film had some controversial moments, there was no doubt that Chalamet had made an impression on his audience through this story. Also in 2017, Chalamet was involved in Greta Gerwig’s film “Lady Bird,” portraying the character Kyle—the stereotypical “bad-boy” who break’s Lady Bird’s heart and helps her realize boys are not worth losing a friend over. 

In 2018, Timothée Chalamet starred in “Beautiful Boy” as a son with a drug addiction, alongside Steve Carell, who played a father who would do anything to bring his child back. This contrasted strongly to his role in Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of “Little Women,” which came out in 2019. Chalamet portrayed Laurie Laurence, the neighbor of the March sisters who solidified our obsession with him. Whether you wanted him to end up with Jo or with Amy (the correct answer, if you know, you know), the “It’s no use Jo!” scene definitely altered your brain chemistry. If you haven’t watched it yet, I would highly recommend it.    

Now a well-versed actor, Chalamet has gone on to prove himself in a wide variety of genres, from 2021’s sci-fi film “Dune” to 2023’s movie-musical “Wonka.” Chalamet’s latest film, “A Complete Unknown,” demonstrates his commitment to character. He portrays Bob Dylan, one of the most legendary singers of the 20th century, and his resemblance in both looks and sound was amazing to watch. 

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As talented as Timothée Chalamet is on the big screen, his sense of humor in real life is part of his charm. While he was a student at the prestigious LaGuardia High School in New York City, Chalamet was the class clown (just watch his statistics rap), and could always be seen performing. His alter ego “Lil Timmy Tim” even made an appearance on “Saturday Night Live” alongside Pete Davidson in the skit Rap Roundtable.  Speaking of “SNL,” he was just recently the musical guest and host of January 25th’s episode.

Chalamet’s seemingly random side quests have taken over social media, and have made keeping up with him a full time job. Whether he is showing up to his own lookalike contest, reporting on college football, or riding a bike on a red carpet, social media always goes crazy for Chalamet and his adventures. 

So what does this mean for Timothée Chalamet’s future? He is set to star in A24’s film “Marty Supreme” later this year, so we are sure to see a lot more of him in the media. Chalamet has the potential to be one of the defining stars of our generation, if he has not arguably achieved that status already. With all of his success in just the first ten years of his career, Timothée Chalamet is here to stay.