‘He Lives Like S–t.’ What Timothée Chalamet Does For The Sake Of Making Movies Is Not For The Faint Of Heart

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Timothée Chalamet has been working within the film industry for a while now, as he’s headlined more than a few films. With that, the Dune star has more than his share of experience being on a set. Of course, that’s not always the case with everyone Chalamet works with. Most recently, the fan-favorite actor headlined the acclaimed Marty Supreme, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award. But, while the spoils of filmmaking can be great, Chalamet and other actors can deal with tough conditions on set.

Marty Supreme marks the acting debut of Kevin O’Leary, who’s best known for his role on the reality TV series Shark Tank. Up to this point, “Mr. Wonderful” has shared some insight into what it was like playing the antagonistic Milton Rockwell in Josh Safdie’s sports dramedy (and that includes the scrapped “vampire” scene). His most recent comments were shared on The Iced Coffee Hour (and posted to YouTube), and they spoke to the less-than-ideal set accommodations that can be be present for certain actors, including Chalamet:

I thought the same way about Hollywood parties — complete bullshit. Then I actually went to work on a feature film for eight months. They work like hell. Their working conditions are brutal. They work 18 hours a day. You know, when you’re shooting on the streets of New York or in Tokyo, I mean, it is exhausting. And you’re living in a shitball trailer with a [portable] toilet.

Honestly, it may be easy to assume that all actors have stellar living conditions on sets and, admittedly, some do. Yet that’s not always the case and, over the years, there have been actors who’ve opened up about the pitfalls of essentially living in a trailer for months while working. There may still be those who believe every aspect of filming a motion picture is great for an A-list star. But, as O’Leary further emphasizes, all that glitters is not gold:

It sounds glamorous to make a movie. It is not glamorous. It is not at all. It’s hard work. And now I get it. and I have a new respect for them. So, you know, for anybody listening, don’t make an assumption that Timothée Chalamet runs around making movies and lives like a king. He lives like shit. It’s shit. It’s really, really hard.

There’s also more to this than an actor’s living quarters. An actor obviously has to do the work as well, and that includes memorizing lines. Kevin O’Leary recalled a key part of the script-related obligations involved on Marty:

And it’s exhausting because you got to get through that seven pages of script and, if you have to stay there till 6:00 in the morning, you’re going to stay at 6:00 in the morning and then you gotta get up two hours later and do it again.

More on Marty Supreme

That Time Timothèe Chalamet Spent 6 Hours Aging Himself Up For The Wild Credits Scene Marty Supreme Never Used

That all sounds quite rough, to say the least. Still, in the case of Marty Supreme, it’s hard to argue with the finished result. As a whole, the film is fantastic from production and performance standpoints, and Chalamet shines in the lead role of Marty Mauser. Kevin O’Leary seems quite impressed with his young co-star, and he even bet (and lost) $1,000 on him winning Best Actor at the Oscars. O’Leary also previously noted how Chalamet used a padded butt and opted not to have a double for that paddling scene involving Rockwell and Mauser.

Everyone involved with Safdie’s film deserves kudos for their hard work in front of and behind the camera, and other various crews deserve their flowers as well. I’ll certainly be thinking about how Timothée Chalamet lived throughout the duration of production whenever I rewatch the movie.

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On that note, Marty Supreme will be streamable with an HBO Max subscription starting on April 24. Anyone who’s already hyped for Chalamet’s next film should know that Dune: Part Three hits theaters on December 18 as part of the 2026 movie schedule.