Timothée Chalamet struck a sour note with the opera and ballet communities during a conversation with Matthew McConaughey.
The movie stars participated in a Variety & CNN town hall last week in which the pair debated how the pacing of movies and streaming series appeals to different generations who consume media on a wide range of mediums. Chalamet confessed to understanding why some people prefer fast-paced entertainment that starts with a bang, while others like movies that take a more patient approach to storytelling.
“I’ve done it myself to go on a talk show and go, ‘Hey, we gotta keep movie theaters alive. You know, we gotta keep this genre alive,’” the 30-year-old actor said. “And another part of me feels like, if people wanna see … like ‘Barbie’ [or] ‘Oppenheimer,’ they’re gonna’ go see it and go outta’ their way to be loud and proud about it.”
The Academy Award-nominated actor, who hopes to win an Academy Award for his performance in “Marty Supreme” on March 15, then tried to explain his need to do work he finds relevant.
“I don’t wanna be working in ballet or opera, or, you know, things where it’s like, hey, keep this thing alive,” Chalamet continued, “even though it’s like, no one cares about this anymore. All respect to the ballet and opera people out there.”
The arts publication Playbill pointed out that Chalamet — whose grandmother, mother and sister were ballerinas — was quickly rebuked by the creative communities he offended.
The Metropolitan Opera and Los Angeles Opera fired off posts on social media alluding to productions they’re hosting that have experienced a high demand for tickets. New York City Ballet principal dancer Megan Fairchild questioned Chalamet directly.
“Timmy, I didn’t realize you were a world-class dancer or opera singer who simply chose not to pursue it because acting’s more popular,” she said.
Chalamet appeared to realize he’d gotten himself into hot water immediately after making his controversial comment.
“Damn, I just took shots for no reason,” he told McConaughey.
