timothy chalamet He has once again found himself at the center of online debate after an old video resurfaced showing him discussing ballet and opera years before his recent controversial comments about the subjects. The clip, which began circulating widely on social media, dates back to 2019 when Chalamet was promoting the historical drama The King, directed by David Michôd. In the video, the actor reflects on his early ambitions and how his acting career shaped his outlook on art.
Timothée Chalamet calls opera and ballet ‘dying art forms’ in 2019 revival video
Speaking about working in film, Chalamet commented that some traditional performance styles feel as if they are fading from mainstream attention. “No, not the ‘woe is me’ thing,” he said in the clip. “But you start working on films, you start acting, you start doing your thing.” He then said he began to view subjects such as opera and ballet as “a dying art form”.
The resurfaced footage gained popularity shortly after Chalamet caused controversy with similar comments during a public interaction last month. At a town hall event hosted by Variety and CNN, the actor joined Matthew McConaughey for a discussion about the entertainment industry.
During a February 21 broadcast on CNN, Chalamet talked about the evolving relationship between audiences and artistic mediums. He explained that although he respects efforts to preserve certain genres, audience interest ultimately determines which forms flourish. “I admire the people who go on talk shows and say hey, we’ve got to keep movie theaters alive,” he said, referencing the advocacy campaigns often seen in the film industry.
“If people want to see it, like Barbie, like Oppenheimer, they’ll go see it and go out of their way to be loud and proud about it,” he said. “I don’t want to work in ballet or opera where it’s like, ‘Hey! Keep this thing alive even if nobody cares about it anymore,'” he said, before adding that he meant no disrespect to the people involved in those art forms.