Timothée Chalamet just became the ultimate try-hard.

Awards show speeches are a mixed bag.

On the scale of boring to inspiring, and everything in between, you really never know what you're going to get.

So when Timothée Chalamet took the stage at the recent Screen Actors Guild Awards, clutching his shiny new trophy for his portrayal of Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown, we didn't know what to expect. Particularly because many had put their money on Adrien Brody to win for The Brutalist, which has been sweeping the awards circuit thus far.

But deliver the unexpected, Timmy did.

Watch part of Timothée Chalamet's speech at the SAG Awards 2025. Article continues after video.

If you missed it, here's what he said:

"I can't downplay the significance of this award because it means the most to me, and I know we're in a subjective business, 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, Michael Phelps, and I want to be up there. So I'm deeply grateful. This doesn't signify that, but it's a little more fuel. It's a little more ammo to keep going. Thank you so much."

Wow. It's a lot to take in.

Listen to The Spill for more SAG Awards gossip. Article continues after podcast.

Now, in a situation like this, the expected response would typically be industry-wide mockery. Can you imagine if Adrien Brody had won and made the same speech?

Let's be brutally honest: if Bradley Cooper — a man who so desperately wants an Oscar there's a running joke about it — had given this kind of speech, we'd be mocking him via memes and scathing tweets. If Jared Leto had uttered these words, we'd need a national day of mourning to recover from the collective eye-roll.

And yet, that's not what happened. Instead, everyone's reaction was basically… well, surprisingly positive.

@timhalchal

TIMOTHÉE SHOWED UP AT THE “TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET LOOKALIKE CONTEST” IN NYC TODAY! 😭😭😭 #timothée #timotheechalamet

♬ original sound - K. (fan account) 💘

So how is Timmy getting away with this level of earnest dreaming in the era of cynicism? Let's get into this deeply serious investigation into the current glitch in the celebrity matrix.

As serious and committed as his SAG award speech was, this man is the definition of a lovable goof.

This is a man who attended his own lookalike contest in New York, something most Hollywood stars would scoff at. Not only did he attend, but he also took time to pose for photos, too, and invite his own lookalikes to a Saturday Night Live performance. If that doesn't exempt you from the normal rules of celebrity behaviour, what does?

While other actors are carefully crafting press releases and curating their 'serious actor' vision boards, Timmy's out here crashing college marching bands. He's riding Lime Bikes to premieres, like he suddenly remembered he had a red carpet just moments earlier. He's getting £65 fines for incorrectly parking said Lime Bikes.

@umnmarch

oh hey @Timothée Chalamet 👋 but seriously, THANK YOU! #marchingband #universityofminnesota #timotheechalamet #acompleteunknown #bobdylan

♬ original sound - UMN Marching Band

His press tour for his Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown is a culmination of everything we love about this uniquely genuine man. Whether he's dressing up and paying homage to Dylan himself or bringing a child's toy (a beyblade) as an accessory for his red carpet look, he's doing it right.

His fanbase, particularly the internet phenomenon 'Club Chalamet,' has become more powerful than any publicist — and remarkably, they're just as earnestly unabashed as he is.

While most fan accounts maintain a veneer of cool detachment, Club Chalamet boldly declares that getting an Oscar is the goal for Timmy with zero irony or embarrassment. They've perfected the art of seeing Timothée exactly as he is: a once-in-a-generation talent unafraid to show raw emotion and ambition, with the occasional chaotic energy of someone who attended a performing arts school in New York City.

It's precisely this shared earnestness — this refreshing willingness to care deeply and say it out loud — that makes both Timothée and his admirers so oddly endearing in an era of carefully constructed celebrity personas.

People... ignore the static, this is what it's all about.

This! 👇🏽 pic.twitter.com/lqkcTrZwvb

— Club Chalamet 💫 (@ClubChalamet) February 14, 2025

Taking your craft seriously while taking yourself not seriously at all seems to be the key to Timmy's ongoing success.

What makes Timothée so bulletproof is this precise contradiction. He can earnestly tell us he wants to be mentioned alongside Brando and Davis, while still appearing down to earth. Coming from his mouth, his dedication to his craft and his hard work on this film doesn't take away from his silliness elsewhere.

He can campaign hard for an Oscar, without us rolling our eyes so hard they fall out of our heads. He can declare "I'm aspiring to greatness" while being undeniably lovable.

In fact, not only does it not come off as pretentious, but there is something so endearing about Timmy acknowledging how much the award meant to him, rather than playing it down, like many in the industry have done before him.

In a celebrity landscape where being too earnest gets you mocked and being too calculated gets you cancelled, Timothée has found the perfect sweet spot — he's simultaneously the most serious actor of his generation and also quite possibly the most ridiculous.

And honestly? We're here for it. Speech and all.

Feature Image: Getty.