Timothée Chalamet admits it’s “hard to live” in an era defined by social media.
“To be young now, and to always be young – I can only speak for my generation – has to be judged intensely,” the 26-year-old actor said during a press conference at the Venice Film Festival, per E! News.
Chalamet – who promoted his upcoming movie “Bones and All” – told reporters that “it was a breath of fresh air” to play a character named Lee, who grew up in a time long before platforms like Reddit, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok existed.
“Without judging that, you can find your tribe there, but I think it’s hard to live now,” he explained.
“I think [a] social collapse is in the air – or it smells like it – and, without being pretentious, that’s why movies hopefully matter, because that’s the artist’s role… to shed light on what is going on.”
On Friday, Chalamet’s latest film received a 10-minute standing ovation after its premiere at the festival.
The Luca Guadagnino-directed horror film, which also doubles as a coming-of-age story, is set in the Ronald Reagan-era United States, when two teenage cannibals from Indiana – Lee (Chalamet) and Maren (Taylor Russell) – the road in search of his missing father.
The Italian filmmaker previously chose Chalamet to direct his 2017 queer romantic drama ‘Call Me By Your Name’, set in Italy in 1938. His acclaimed performance as 17-year-old Elio marked the actor’s breakthrough role after the worldwide film success, which also put Guadagnino, 51, in the international spotlight.
Since then, Chalamet has starred in several coming-of-age stories spanning the entire gamut of genres, from the cult classic sci-fi “Dune” to Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of the timeless tale “Little Women” to Shakespeare’s historical fiction epic. “The King.”
Regardless, Chalamet’s bold statement to the press still paled in comparison to his look at the same day’s premiere of “Bones and All,” which saw the actor unleash a frenzy as he walked the red carpet in a ruby backless halter top. and matching pants.
The Haider Ackerman-designed look was reportedly tailor-made for the “Beautiful Boy” actor, as he had apparently tweaked the “fit” from the brand’s 2018 women’s collection.