Marty Supreme Director Josh Safdie Cast Timothée Chalamet Because Of His ‘Supreme Vision For Himself’
The upcoming film from Josh Safdie – one half of the pairing that gave us Uncut Gems and Good Time – is Marty Supreme, all about a driven young man in the pursuit of greatness (in the arena of table-tennis, to be precise). So, when picking who would play Marty Mauser, Safdie knew exactly where to turn: a rising Hollywood actor who himself was a young man in the pursuit of greatness. Enter Timothée Chalamet, who Safdie met way back in 2017, before Dune, before Dylan, before Willy Wonka. It was an encounter that helped chart the course of what Marty Supreme would become.
“I saw this comet that had not landed anywhere yet,” Safdie tells Empire of that fateful meeting. “He was waiting to take off. He had this supreme vision for himself, and there was an energy there. A romantic angst.” That energy was channelled into Marty Mauser, a fictional character who also contains influences from Marty Reisman (self-confessed as America’s Greatest Table Tennis Player And Hustler, in his own memoir title), from Safdie’s own life, and conversations the filmmaker had with his regular creative collaborator Ronald Bronstein. And, of course, Chalamet. “The film was completely written for Timmy. For the dreamer side of him,” Safdie says.
The tale of Mauser relentlessly pursuing his goals holds real resonance for the director. “It was a very personal story for me, about being a dreaming kid to being an adult,” explains Safdie. “I had two kids in the course of writing this film. And doing the research, you’re in the world, you just start imagining yourself in it. And Ronnie and I mine each other. Basically like psychiatric sessions.” The pursuit of greatness has begun – get ready for another cinematic ace.
Read Empire’s fully Marty Supreme story in the Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man issue, on sale Thursday 18 December. Pre-order a copy online here. Marty Supreme is in UK cinemas from 26 December.
