Timothée Chalamet first revealed in September 2022 that his “Don’t Look Up” co-star Leonardo DiCaprio once gave him brief but essential career advice: “No hard drugs and no superhero movies.” DiCaprio has never gone down the comic book movie route, and it’s a path Chalamet has also avoided so far despite the majority of his contemporaries signing up for Marvel and DC films in recent years.
Is Chalamet still committed to DiCaprio’s advice? In a recent interview with The New York Times while on the press tour for “Dune: Part Two,” Chalamet said the door on starring in comic book movies is not completely shut the way it might be for DiCaprio.
“Well, Leonardo DiCaprio said to me, ‘No superhero movies, no hard drugs.’ Which I thought was very good,” Chalamet said. “I follow them both! But the movie that made me want to act is a superhero movie, ‘The Dark Knight.’ If the script was great, if the director was great, I’d have to consider it.”
Never underestimate the power of Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight,” clearly. Chalamet has long been outspoken about his love for the landmark 2008 comic book tentpole. Accepting the best actor prize for “Call Me by Your Name” at the New York Film Critics Circle Awards back in 2018, Chalamet spoke about “The Dark Knight” changing his life.
“When I was 12 years old, after attending one of my sister Pauline’s [ballet] performances, I petitioned my Mom and grandma to see Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Dark Knight’ with me,” Chalamet said. “We went to AMC Empire 25 in Times Square for a 7:30 screening. I left that theater a changed man, and I’m serious about that. Heath Ledger‘s performance in that film was visceral and viral to me, and I now had the acting bug.”
Chalamet would get his chance to work with Nolan on “Interstellar,” in which the actor had a small supporting role as Matthew McConaughey’s son. It wasn’t until 2021’s “Dune” that Chalamet got the chance to headline his own major studio tentpole, and now he’s back for the upcoming sequel “Dune: Part Two.” Throw in last year’s holiday hit “Wonka” (which has surpassed $600 million at the worldwide box office), and Chalamet has emerged as a leading man with real star power sans any comic book movies to his name so far.
It’s somewhat rare for an actor Chalamet’s age not to be involved in the comic book world. Just take a look at his “Dune” co-stars. Zendaya and Florence Pugh are both members of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (as are Dave Bautista and Stellan Skarsgard), while Jason Momoa was DC’s “Aquaman” for a stretch of films. Even Josh Brolin dabbled with comic book movies in the 2010 flop “Jonah Hex.”
“Dune: Part Two” opens in theaters March 1 from Warner Bros.