Timothée Chalamet and Denis Villeneuve’s teamwork evidently showed in the Dune franchise, and even though this is their first epic collaboration, the pair had already met before, though in another project.
The French-American actor tried his luck to audition for a film Villeneuve was helming at the time, but unfortunately, he was not chosen. It would have made a huge change in the actor’s career, but fate certainly had a different plan for him.
Timothée Chalamet Tried To Audition For A Denis Villeneuve Movie
During an interview with GQ magazine, director Denis Villeneuve shared that Timothée Chalamet was his first and only choice for the role of Paul Atreides in Dune. Upon meeting the young actor, the filmmaker expressed his thrill to finally see him, but Chalamet said they had already met before.
It turns out, he once auditioned for 2013’s Prisoners, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Hugh Jackman, though he did not make it.
“Of course! He did a great audition, but he didn’t physically fit the part. He was probably swearing at me because I didn’t take him.”
Chalamet shared the same story in an interview with ETalk and confessed he has been wanting to work with Villeneuve since he was a teenager.
“He is one of the best, if not the best working director right now. I had auditioned for Prisoners when I was 15 years old, a movie with Jake Gyllenhaal and Hugh Jackman, so I’ve been trying to work with him for a long time.”
Having worked with Chalamet in two Dune movies, Villeneuve has seen the actor grow and improve his craft (via Screen Rant):
“I thought Timothée did a fantastic job, and I was moved many times to see how he, as an actor onscreen, gets much more confident and even better on set as he became a real leading man.”
The unfortunate audition was only a way to redirect their paths to cross one day and collaborate on a massive blockbuster franchise. Dune is, so far, the biggest project in Chalamet’s career, and definitely, the same goes with the filmmaker.
Timothée Chalamet Never Gave Up On His Dream
Timothée Chalamet never imagined he would be working with Denis Villeneuve after he lost the audition mentioned above. In an interview with Deadline, he recalled in late 2017 or early 2018:
“I remember I was trying to put myself in front of him as much as possible and set up a meeting with him. We had a night at the BAFTAs where one of my good friends saw Denis across the room and was like, ‘Hey buddy, he’s right over there.’ So, we went over to talk to him. I kept trying to put myself in front of him, but I didn’t really get a sense of the possibility [of working with him].”
Perhaps it was Chalamet’s outstanding body of work combined with his star power that convinced Villeneuve he was the perfect lead actor for his passion project.
Dune: Part Two is now showing in theaters.
