Timothée Chalamet acts, sings, and dances in his newest film, Wonka, but in his free time, he’s a gamer, just like us.
At Sunday’s Wonka premiere in Los Angeles, he shared his favorite game du jour, Red Dead Redemption 2, the third title in the action-adventure Red Dead franchise that came out in 2018. And just like any moviegoer left on a cliffhanger, he’s wondering what happens next.
“I'm really late on Red Dead 2. Like very, very late, but I'm loving it,” Chalamet told Refinery29 while standing in front of a display of Xbox’s limited edition Wonka branded controller, console, and an edible controller made entirely of chocolate. “I'm interested to see if Arthur Morgan comes back right now [after] the end of Epilogue One. I'm guessing he comes back in Epilogue 2 because the pan out when he's on the side of the cliff doesn't look like he's dead, but if he’s dead, I could be dead wrong.”
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As for whether Red Dead could join the long list of recent video game adaptations as Hollywood turns to gaming IP for inspiration? Chalamet isn’t sold. “It's tough to do video game adaptations,” he says. “There are so many side missions in Red Dead Redemption. I don't know if it would make sense in a linear plot.”
Gaming has long been a big part of Chalamet’s roots; in 2021, Vice took a deep look at whether a now dormant YouTube account, ModdedController360, that was dedicated to modded Xbox controllers belonged to the actor pre-Hollywood. (TLDR: yes, it was him.) Last Thursday, Chalamet presented Game of the Year to Baldur’s Gate 3 at the Game Awards — and was introduced as his YouTuber name.
In a way, Wonka also harkens back to Chalamet’s early days. Before his starring turns in Dune or Call Me By Your Name, there were YouTube videos of a then-adolescent Chalamet singing and dancing in a high school talent show or rapping about statistics. In fact, director Paul King told Rolling Stone those clips helped solidify in his mind the actor for the role.
Wonka, the musical prequel that details the titular character’s journey before he becomes the famed chocolatier of Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, brings those early theater dreams to the silver screen in a way that Chalamet couldn’t imagine. “[Wonka] is a dream come true, an absolute dream come true. Can't believe it. And the way people are responding to the film? People are leaving with a smile on their face,” Chalamet said.
Wonka isn’t just a sweet holiday family film (that includes scene-stealing performances from Hugh Grant as an Oompa Loompa doling out chocolate justice). The movie really is a nod to Chalamet’s roots. As a gamer. And as a musical theater kid.
How’s that for an origin story?