Timothée Chalamet proclaimed he wanted to be “one of the greats” before losing Best Actor at the Oscars 2025, but he’s still very much on his way to achieving that dream. The star of A Complete Unknown received his second Oscar nomination this past year and was considered a major contender to possibly win. Although the Academy Awards went a different direction with Adrien Brody’s Best Actor win, Chalamet still earned some recognition during the awards season. This included a memorable SAG speech when he won Best Actor where he boldly and somewhat controversially shared his career aspirations.

After taking the stage at the 2025 SAG Awards to accept the Best Actor win after a surprise selection over Adrien Brody, Chalamet stated that he’s “in pursuit of greatness” and wants to be considered one of the best to ever do it. His full statement:

I can’t downplay the significance of this award because it means the most to me, and I know we’re in a subjective business, but the truth is, I’m really in pursuit of greatness. I know people don’t usually talk like that, but I want to be one of the greats. I’m inspired by the greats. I’m inspired by the greats here tonight. I’m as inspired by Daniel Day-Lewis, Marlon Brando, and Viola Davis as I am by Michael Jordan, Michael Phelps, and I want to be up there. So I’m deeply grateful. This doesn’t signify that, but it’s a little more fuel. It’s a little more ammo to keep going. Thank you so much.

Chalamet’s speech did not impact the Oscars 2025 outcome as voting had already wrapped. However, it could have potentially swayed voters in his favor if the timing was different. Chalamet has been positioned as arguably the biggest star of his generation in Hollywood, and an Oscar win would have been the industry’s chance to further prop him up as the future. After another Oscars loss, it might seem on the surface that he’s not quite on par with Daniel Day-Lewis, Marlon Brando, or Viola Davis. The reality is that Chalamet is arguably in a class of his own throughout history.

Timothée Chalamet’s Oscars Pedigree Is Incredibly Rare For Under 30 Actors

Chalamet Is One Of Three Actors With His Current Resume

Timothée Chalamet has not won an Oscar, but he is in rare territory with the Academy Awards. He’s a two-time Oscar nominee in Best Actor already, as he was nominated for Call Me By Your Name for the 2018 ceremony. Chalamet lost that year to Gary Oldman for The Darkest Hour. With his nomination for A Complete Unknown this year, Chalamet became only the third person to have multiple Best Actor Oscar nominations before they turned 30.

James Dean and Marlon Brando are the only other actors under 30 in history to have multiple Best Actor Oscar nominations. Brando was the first to do it with nominations for A Streetcar Named Desire (1952) and Viva Zapata! (1953). He then became the first three-time nominee in the category under 30 the following year with Julius Caesar. While Brando won an Oscar for On the Waterfront (1955), he was 30 by the time the ceremony happened. James Dean then received two posthumous Oscar nominations in Best Actor for Rebel Without a Cause (1956) and Giant (1957).

This already puts Chalamet in a small circle that some of his idols and contemporaries could not accomplish. Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Cruise, John Travolta, Ryan Gosling, and Orson Welles all had one Oscar nomination before they turned 30. Then there are Hollywood greats like Denzel Washington, Tom Hanks, Al Pacino, Brad Pitt, Will Smith, and Christian Bale who didn’t get a single Oscar nomination before they turned 30. Chalamet’s modern “rivals” like Austin Butler, Tom Holland, Jacob Elordi, Barry Keoghan, Bill Skarskgård, Josh O’Connor, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson have a combined zero Oscar nominations under 30 years old.

Looking strictly at Chalamet’s idols and who he considers to be the “greats,” he still stacks up incredibly well. Daniel Day-Lewis didn’t get his first Oscar nomination until he was 33 years old. Even Viola Davis waited until she was 44 years old for an Oscar nomination. Brando had one more nomination at Chalamet’s age, but the A Complete Unknown and Call Me By Your Name star has the same amount of Oscar wins (0) as them all combined.

Timothée Chalamet Is Also A Mega Box Office Star

He’s A Big Draw For Audiences Too

Being a favorite of awards season is certainly nice, but Chalamet has also done an incredible job of turning himself into a bankable star before he turned 30. A Complete Unknown got eight Oscar nominations and has made roughly $120 million at the worldwide box office. That’s not even one of Chalamet’s more impressive efforts. He’s already found a major franchise for himself with his starring role in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune movies, which have collectively made over $1.1 billion at the box office. Chalamet also headlined Wonka and got a huge win as it legged out to over $630 million.

A mᴀssive franchise that’s becoming a trilogy, another seemingly franchise starter that’s also a reboot of a beloved classic, and a biopic on Bob Dylan show Chalamet’s varied approach to making box office hits. He’s also been part of Interstellar and Little Women, which both did very well at the box office. Doing all that before he’s even 30 years old would make some current major movie stars jealous.

The speed at which Chalamet has ascended to movie stardom is impressive. While Chalamet didn’t compare himself to Leonardo DiCaprio or Tom Cruise, they’re apt comparisons. Leonardo DiCaprio starred in тιтanic when he was only 21 years old and also had a big hit with Catch Me If You Can, but those are his only movies that made over $200 million, not adjusted for inflation, before he hit 30. Even Tom Cruise only had Top Gun and Rain Man cross that threshold. Chalamet has more $200+ million movies, five, than DiCaprio and Cruise did before they turned 30 combined, four.

No Other Actor Under 30 Has Ever Had Timothée Chalamet’s Combined Awards & Box Office Success

He’s A 1 Of 1

There’s not a huge secret to Chalamet’s approach to gaining awards and box office success either. His approach is obvious: take on some of the biggest roles available and work with some of the best directors in the business. He’s already played Paul Atreides, Bob Dylan, and Willy Wonka, three characters with varying levels of stay in pop culture. The weight of expectations that comes with those roles means they could all have gone horribly wrong, but Chalamet was smart to work with Denis Villeneuve, James Mangold, and Paul King to do each.

This has helped ensure that Chalamet is not only in some of the biggest movies of the year, but he’s also routinely in some of the best. Even without three of his most recent successes, Chalamet has already managed to work with Christopher Nolan, Greta Gerwig, and Adam McKay once each, as well as Wes Anderson and Luca Guadagnino twice a piece. Martin Scorsese even wanted to work with him so much that they made a commercial together. He’s as in-demand as it comes for young stars, and his awards and box office pedigree set him apart from the rest.

Simplifying Chalamet’s stardom to his decision to work with prestige filmmakers and pursue mᴀssive roles might make it sound easy, but no one else has ever really had this resume. It’s incredibly uncommon for movie stars to ascend to these heights before they’re 30. Having awards or box office success at a young age is more common. James Dean and Marlon Brando had the Oscar nominations but not box office hits; granted, box office data for that far back is more limited. Cruise and DiCaprio had some box office success but not the same Oscar recognition. Daniel Day-Lewis had neither.

Timothée Chalamet Is Already Set Up To Have Continued Success In His 30s

His Future Continues To Look Bright

As popular and successful as Timothée Chalamet is currently, he’s also in a position to become an even bigger star as he moves into his 30s. His next movie is Marty Supreme, the latest film from director Josh Safdie (Uncut Gems, Good Times). The film comes out two days before he turns 30 years old and is already predicted to put Chalamet back in the Oscars conversation for a 2026 Best Actor nomination. Perhaps this will be the time where he wins an Oscar. If so, he’d be the second-youngest Best Actor Oscar winner in history.

Looking a bit more into the future and Chalamet’s IP-driven movies are also expected to take shape. Dune 3 is widely expected to debut in 2026 and conclude his time as Paul Atreides. And even if the Dune Messiah book is a more challenging adaptation, Chalamet and Villeneuve should still manage to turn it into a major box office hit. There’s also early work being done on Wonka 2, which will bring the actor back as the chocolatier. There’s no telling what other major franchises Chalamet could join to remain a box office star after that.

It would also be unexpected if Chalamet ditched his pursuit of working with some of the greatest directors. A role in a Martin Scorsese or Steven Spielberg movie would certainly raise his profile higher, while there are modern filmmakers like Jordan Peele, The Daniels, Paul Thomas Anderson, David Fincher, Quentin Tarantino, and Steven Soderbergh who could look to collaborate with him. It also won’t be a surprise if he continues to work with Nolan, Villeneuve, Gerwig, Guadagnino, Anderson, and others as he seeks more awards consideration.

I’m Not Counting Out The Possibility Of Timothée Chalamet Becoming One Of The Greatest Actors Ever

He Even Wants The Pressure

Timothée Chalamet’s SAG speech made his intentions for his career direct and clear. He wants to be one of the greats, and having that mindset at such a young age makes me believe he could achieve this dream. The Michael Jordan and Michael Phelps comparisons are a bit unfair, considering how much shorter the careers of professional athletes are. Still, Jordan was already a three-time NBA champion, and Phelps was the most decorated swimmer in Olympics history before they were 30. Chalamet’s not on that level right now, but perhaps he will be in another decade or two.

To achieve that goal, Chalamet can’t afford a slump in his 30s and struggle to find projects that either give him major box office hits or the chance to win awards. If Chalamet wants to meet these expectations he’s set for himself, then he realistically needs to win multiple Oscars and continue being someone who audiences want to see in theaters, regardless of if the film is a part of a franchise or an original idea.

It might be offputting to some to hear an actor so openly express his desire to be great, but I find it refreshingly honest. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be great at what you do, and Chalamet will earn the accolades he wants one day if he continues down the path he’s on. Losing his second Oscar is not going to stop that. If anything, it’s only adding fuel to his fire. Hollywood has been desperately looking for someone to be the face of the industry and keep people going to theaters. Timothée Chalamet may just be the answer.