Timothée Chalamet recently reunited with director Christopher Nolan at the AMC Universal Citywalk in Los Angeles to screen Interstellar in IMAX 70mm, marking a special moment for the actor and filmmaker. During the event, Chalamet, who played Tom, the teenage son of Matthew McConaughey’s character Cooper, called Interstellar his favorite film among Nolan’s works, highlighting the significance of this Christopher Nolan Interstellar scene in his career.
Chalamet Reflects on His Role and Connection to Interstellar
Chalamet openly shared that his part in Interstellar was not large, ranking around number 12 on the call sheet, but that the film came to him during an uncertain phase in his life and career. Despite the size of the role, he described it as the project he had watched more than any other movie ever made.
Though my role is not enormous in ‘Interstellar,’ I think I was number 12 on the call sheet, this film came to me at a time in life, in my career, where things were certainly not set yet,
Chalamet told the audience.
And it’s remained my favorite project I’ve ever been in. It’s the film I’ve seen the most of, of all the films ever made in human history.
– Timothée Chalamet, Actor
Chalamet revealed that after watching Interstellar for the first time, he cried for an hour upon realizing his role was significantly smaller than expected. He shared with Nolan before the screening that his hopes for substantial screen time had been misaligned from the start.
This was a script [Nolan’s brother Jonathan] wrote for Steven Spielberg,
Chalamet reminded the crowd.
When I got the part, I googled the project. The original story was about a father and his son, so I thought, ‘Oh man, I made it!’ And then obviously they reworked it and young Tom was a smaller part, but that’s okay.
– Timothée Chalamet, Actor
Nolan humorously interjected,
Never believe what you read online!
The Evolution and Origins of Interstellar
Nolan explained that Interstellar began as an idea from physicist Kip Thorne, who pitched a scientifically grounded sci-fi story to Steven Spielberg, centered on exploring the vast universe. Jonathan Nolan initially developed the screenplay for Spielberg, but the project did not move forward until it became available again after Spielberg pursued other films.
Right after we collaborated on ‘Dark Knight,’ my brother got the job and went to work with Steven. I get to call him Steven. He’s Mr. Spielberg to you,
Nolan told Chalamet.
He worked on it for a lot of years. It had incredible ideas and moved through all these different iterations, but until Steven was ready to make it, whatever it is, it never quite got that momentum. Steven went off to do another film so it became available.
– Christopher Nolan, Director
Nolan further described how he merged his own half-developed time-travel ideas with Jonathan’s script once the opportunity arose. This creative blend became the foundation for Interstellar.
I had a lot of conversations with Jonathan over the years and what he was doing and what his ambitions was. I was excited by it. I was incredibly struck by his first act. I had been working on a time travel idea… things looking at time. I had half-baked projects that I hadn’t committed to. When it became available, it was a case of me saying to Jonathan, ‘How would you feel if I took this and tried to combine it with some of my ideas and change a bit with what it was?’ He was fine with it. He could tell the spirit of what I was trying to do was to get to what he was initially excited about it.
– Christopher Nolan, Director
Reception and Legacy of Interstellar
Interstellar was released in theaters in November 2014, earning $681 million worldwide and receiving five Oscar nominations, winning for Best Visual Effects. Despite commercial success, critical reception was mixed, contrasting with the acclaim Nolan’s earlier films, such as The Dark Knight trilogy and Inception.
Nolan reflected openly on the lukewarm initial response to the film, noting its complexity may have challenged audiences.
You’re trying to be polite. The film was received in a slightly ambiguous way,
Nolan acknowledged when Chalamet mentioned the rocky reception.
It was a little bit sniffy. Some of the responses were a bit sniffy from critics and a little from audiences. It made very good money around the world, particularly. There was a sense of people not quite being… it sounds egotistical to say they weren’t ready… but they weren’t ready for it from me.
– Christopher Nolan, Director
He also addressed a harsh critique he heard early on: being called
“a cold guy who makes cold films,”
which stayed with him during subsequent projects. Nolan countered that the emotional core of Interstellar was what attracted him to the film.
I had some producer anonymously say of me, ‘He is a cold guy who makes cold films.’ Then it sort of stuck on me for several projects,
Nolan explained.
The reason I was attracted to my brother’s first act is because it’s about family and humanity and it’s deeply emotional. That’s the film I wanted to make. It’s a film that wears its heart on its sleeve.
– Christopher Nolan, Director
Chalamet expressed empathy for Nolan’s feelings, saying the film always moved him deeply.
It kills me you didn’t feel that love right away,
Chalamet said.
This movie makes me weep more than anything.
– Timothée Chalamet, Actor
Nolan responded by emphasizing the emotional impact the film continued to have on viewers during screenings.
When you make a film on that scale… every screening we did as we were finishing the film, there would be somebody who would be in tears and deeply moved by it. That’s enough,
Nolan said.
You can’t also ask the culture to immediately embrace something. It’s asking too much in a way. If you talk to individuals who’ve connected with the film in a really profound way, then you know it’s there. You’ve done your job. The rest is about the zeitgeist and where you fit in with it.
– Christopher Nolan, Director
He acknowledged feeling both relieved and humbled by the film’s box office success, noting that its popularity seems to grow over time.
It was an incredible relief and a humbling thing,
Nolan said.
The project seems to touch people more and more year after year and sort of grows.
– Christopher Nolan, Director
Interestingly, Nolan observed a shift in how audiences recognize him, with Interstellar increasingly mentioned over his earlier hits.
For years, people would recognize me somewhere and talk about ‘Dark Knight,’
Nolan noted.
But over the last 10 years it’s become ‘Interstellar.’ It’s a wonderful thing. We re-released it two years ago and it made $5 million. It’s amazing the success it’s had. It’s incredibly rewarding. One of the strange things about directing is you immerse yourself in an obsessive way with a project. The worst response you ever get is when people say, ‘Meh, it’s okay. It’s fine.’ You’d almost rather they felt something, either they passionately dislike it or passionately, obsessively fall in love with it.
– Christopher Nolan, Director
The Bold Scene Chalamet Insisted On Filming
Among the memorable moments in Interstellar, the sequence where Cooper watches messages from his children as they grow over the years stands out. Chalamet contributed to filming scenes in that emotional series of messages.
Nolan recalled one particular moment where Chalamet chose to pursue a darker tone despite his reservations.
When you were filming the messages from home, there was a particular thing where you were hitting a dark tone,
Nolan recounted.
It felt too much for me. I didn’t particularly like it. I told you about it and you went ahead and did whatever the fuck you wanted and carried on. But I was like, ‘He knows what he wants to do and has an idea.’ It wasn’t about being stubborn. You had planned what you wanted to do. You planned your choices and you didn’t want to abandon that on a casual whim for me. You wanted to test that and challenge that and see if I kept coming back, which I didn’t. I’ll find a logic to that in the edit suite.
– Christopher Nolan, Director
This persistence by Chalamet in shaping his performance highlighted his instinct and vision, which Nolan ultimately supported, trusting the editing process to bring coherence.
