Timothée Chalamet’s Marty Supreme Campaign Is Now In Phase 2 (& It’s Genius)

As someone who watches a lot of them unfold each year, the marketing campaign for Marty Supreme was a thing of beauty. Facing the expectation of headlining A24’s most expensive movie to date, Timothée Chalamet sought to leverage his star power in unconventional ways, chasing viral moments while making a spectacle out of his own hustle. In doing so, he dipped into the personality of his character, the braggadocious table tennis pro Marty Mauser, and grafted it onto his own.

It’s entirely possible this started way back in February 2025, when Chalamet won Best Actor at the SAG Awards for his performance in A Complete Unknown. In a move he admitted was unconventional, he declared on stage in front of his peers that he was “in pursuit of greatness” and even namechecked some of his fellow actors as inspirational:

“I know the classiest thing would be to downplay the effort that went into this role and how much this means to be, but the truth is, I’m really in pursuit of greatness. I know people don’t usually talk like that, but I want to be one of the greats. I’m inspired by the greats. I’m inspired by the greats here tonight. I’m as inspired by Daniel Day-Lewis, Marlon Brando, and Viola Davis as I am by Michael Jordan and Michael Phelps. And I want to be up there.”

At the time, it felt like a rare moment of movie-star sincerity, and it may well have been. In retrospect, though, it sounds a lot like what Chalamet would go on to say over and over again in the run-up to Marty Supreme‘s release, just without the playful swagger. Now, thanks in part to his having hyped up this movie and his career during the press tour, his latest movie is on track to break A24’s domestic box office record, currently held by Everything Everywhere All at Once.

With that taken care of, Chalamet has switched into phase 2 of his Marty Supreme campaign. And it could win him his first Oscar.

Last February, when Chalamet was seen as sneaking up on eventual winner Adrien Brody in the Best Actor race, his comments at the SAG Awards sparked a variety of reactions. Some, myself included, appreciated his earnestness and drive to achieve true movie stardom, something that seems all too rare these days. But others saw it as arrogant – especially coming from someone who would’ve become the youngest-ever recipient of the Best Actor Oscar had he won – and were put off by it.

The Marty Supreme press tour has sparked some similar reactions, though tempered by the context of Chalamet being quasi-method with it. On the road to winning the Academy Award, that could be a problem. Best Actor already has a history of snubbing young men; Adrien Brody was 29 when he became the youngest winner ever for The Pianist, while the tenth-youngest winner of Best Actress (Julie Christy for Darling) was 26. If Chalamet at 30 is seen as not only young, but an entitled upstart, his chances of securing enough votes over veterans like Leonardo DiCaprio and Ethan Hawke are slim.

It appears Chalamet and his team are well aware of this, and have changed tack accordingly. He’s won two prizes so far this awards season, first at the Critics Choice Awards and then at the Golden Globes, and both times he’s given notably subdued acceptance speeches. He’s shouted out his fellow nominees and highlighted his talented collaborators. He’s been honest about how much the awards mean to him, as he was at SAG, while also emphasizing gratitude and appearing surprised to have been called up on stage.

He’s projecting a potent mix of humility and relatability, and doing so at a crucial time: On Monday, January 12, the day after the Golden Globes, Oscar nomination voting officially opened. Those who loved his Marty Supreme campaign might’ve been fired up to see the actor hype his own wins, but he wouldn’t have won over any of his holdouts. This way, he’s sending a clear signal that he was indeed channeling Marty for the promo, and now that the movie’s out and making its money, he can drop the act.

It’s a clever strategy, and a fitting twist in this whole Marty Supreme saga. As fun as it might have been to see him keep up the energy all through awards season, this shift speaks to his ambition more than another flashy stunt could have. This is the maneuver of someone who really wants to win. Something that Daniel Day-Lewis, Marlon Brando, and Viola Davis all have in common? Oscars. And when Brando won Best Actor for On the Waterfront, he, too, was 30.