Timothée Chalamet said an agent asked him to put on weight after he missed out on big roles. Rejection helped him play Bob Dylan in 'A Complete Unknown.'
- Timothée Chalamet told Apple Music that an agent asked him to put on weight early on in his career.
- Chalamet said it was believed his body type stopped him getting cast in major movies like "The Maze Runner."
Timothée Chalamet said that casting directors rejected him for major movies early in his career, including "The Maze Runner" and "Divergent," because he was too thin.
But he said the rejection prepared him for his latest role as the music legend Bob Dylan. Dylan had an unconventional music career, beginning as a folk singer before controversially transitioning to rock in the mid-1960s.
In an interview with music journalist Zane Lowe, released on Apple Music's YouTube channel on Tuesday, Chalamet said: "I wanted to be a big movie actor. But if I auditioned for 'The Maze Runner' or 'Divergent,' things of that variety that were popping when I was coming up, the feedback was always, 'Oh, you don't have the right body.'
"I had an agent that called me and said, 'You got to put on weight basically.' Not aggressively, but you know."
Representatives for Wes Ball, the director of "The Maze Runner," and Neil Burger, the director of "Divergent," did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
Actors have faced pressure to lose and gain weight for roles for decades, but in recent years stars including Zac Efron, Brendan Fraser, and Kumail Nanjiani have spoken up about the toll it took on their mental and physical health.
Chalamet took a different direction.
He starred in smaller movies including "Little Women," "Lady Bird," and "Call Me By Your Name" until audiences started noticing him.
Chalamet is now part of Hollywood's new generation of movie stars, after appearing in hit films such as "Dune" and "Wonka."
"I found my way into these like very personalized movies," Chalamet said. "For me, finding a very personal style movie like 'Call Me By Your Name' or 'Beautiful Boy' or 'Lady Bird' or 'Little Women,' 'Miss Stevens,' 'Hot Summer Nights.' Those were like smaller budgets but very personable movies."
Chalamet said that the Manhattan Theater Club in New York, where the interview took place, was where he found his rhythm, confidence, and flow and realized that vulnerability was his strength.
Explaining how his journey helped him play Dylan in the upcoming movie "A Complete Unknown," Chalamet said: "I can relate to some of these things he went through. Bob wanted to be a rock 'n' roll star.
"He couldn't keep a rock 'n' roll band because they would all get hired by other kids that had more money literally in Minnesota."
Dylan's transition to rock was met with backlash from folk fans at the time, but ended up helping his career. Dylan became one of the best-selling musicians in the US, won 10 Grammys, and was named the greatest songwriter of all time by Rolling Stone in 2015.