Singer Frank Ocean recently interviewed “Call Me by Your Name” actor Timothée Chalamet for fashion magazine Vman39, revealing insights into the breakout star’s career trajectory, high school rap project, and current plans. But one of the most memorable revelations? The way his name is actually pronounced.
“My whole life I was Timmy, then as I got older, it seemed like Timmy was ‘youthing’ me out, so it’s been Timothée since,” Chalamet told Ocean. “I tried Timo and Tim, too. The real pronunciation is Timo-tay, but I can’t ask people to call me that—it just seems pretentious.”
The actor, 22, elaborated, “My dad is from France, so it’s a French spelling, but it seems like too much of an obligation to ask people to call me that.”
Sweet, selfless
Ocean responded, “That’s sweet. Very selfless. Has anyone on the street called you Elio (his character in the film) yet?”
“That’s been happening,” Chalamet confirmed. “Though riding the 2 Train…hasn’t changed. I guess people don’t really give a f**k in New York. I actually get more people stopping me for ‘Lady Bird,’ and going, ‘Is that the douchebag from ‘Lady Bird?’ So that’s awesome.”—OLIVER PULUMBARIT