Timothée Chalamet has established a reputation for bringing a chaotic energy to awards season campaigning — this year going hard for his Oscar-nominated starring role in A24’s Marty Supreme. During a recent Q&A in London, he even confirmed that he’s willing to personally invest in his press tours, including spending his own money while pulling double duty as host and musical guest on Saturday Night Live last year.
Chalamet came on SNL to promote his very impressive work as Bob Dylan in the biopic A Complete Unknown, performing three deep-cut Dylan songs right in the thick of the Oscar race. According to Chalamet, when Lorne Michaels originally offered him the hosting gig, Chalamet made being the musical guest a condition: “I said, ‘Yeah, can I do the music?’ He’s like, ‘No.’ I said, ‘Alright, I’m not doing it.’ He said, ‘OK, do the music.’”
Michaels might have agreed to let Chalamet perform, but Chalamet also noted that “I spent over six figures out of my pocket to do the SNL performance.” Unfortunately, he didn’t explain exactly how his two musical performances ended up personally costing him more than $100,000. The three songs he played — “Outlaw Blues,” “Three Angels,” and “Tomorrow Is a Long Time” — were all Dylan deep cuts that were not featured in A Complete Unknown, so music rights could have been an issue. Additionally, Chalamet was backed by a full band for both sets, including James Blake on keyboard.
Chalamet has hosted SNL three times, meaning he’s easily on track to join the Five-Timers Club before he turns 35. For more, here’s Consequence’s Jonah Krueger on becoming a reluctant fan of the star.
