The aspiring young actor Timothée Chalamet (27) has a famous mentor: As he revealed in an interview with “GQ”, Tom Cruise (61) gave him valuable career tips – and thus basically pushed him to become a leading actor.
Since his breakthrough role in the romantic drama “Call Me by Your Name” (2017), Chalamet has been considered one of the most exciting young actors in Hollywood. He was inspired by action star Tom Cruise for his career – and also got some tips from him. “After I met Tom Cruise, he sent me an extremely inspiring email right after finishing the first ‘Dune,'” said Chalamet. “He basically said that in old Hollywood you would get dance and fighting training, and no one holds you to that standard today. So it’s up to you. The email was really like a rallying cry.”
She probably encouraged him to train a lot and get fit – and thus become interesting for leading roles. Cruise’s email also reportedly contained contact information for any expert Chalamet might need for blockbuster stunt training – including trainers who would teach him how to drive a motorcycle and fly a helicopter. Just like Tom Cruise did in the “Mission: Impossible” films. The 61-year-old is known for doing most of the stunts himself.
For the sequel to “Dune,” Chalamet also took a lot of inspiration from Cruise. “‘Top Gun’ was a huge inspiration for me last summer.” He even organized a screening for the entire cast: “Some of the crew were a little upset about taking part, but I just thought it was one of the greatest films I’d ever seen.”
It certainly looks like Chalamet’s orientation towards the Hollywood star has paid off: Director Denis Villeneuve (56) noticed a clear difference in his physical preparation and performance during the filming of “Dune: Part 2”, which will be released next year cinemas should come. “As far as the action goes, I felt he was much more trained than in the first part and was ready for the fight sequences. I was impressed with his level of discipline in the second part.” He was always the first on set and ready to go at any time. “I was super pleased and impressed with how Timothée really embraced this discipline and became a real leading man in this film for me.”
