Robert Downey Jr praises Timothée Chalamet’s 'Marty Supreme' performance at DGA event

Robert Downey Jr has publicly praised Timothée Chalamet’s role in Marty Supreme during DGA conversation

Robert Downey Jr has publicly praised Timothée Chalamet’s lead performance in Josh Safdie’s Marty Supreme, describing it as a “generation-defining performance” in what he called “a decade-defining film”. The comments were made during a conversation at the Directors Guild of America in Hollywood on January 14, attended by around 600 Academy, BAFTA and guild members.

Downey, who spoke with The Hollywood Reporter prior to the onstage event, said his decision to contact Chalamet followed a strong reaction to the film. After watching Marty Supreme, Downey reached out to the actor via FaceTime to express his support and to offer to moderate a public Q&A to draw attention to the performance.

He told THR that moments like this reminded him of the encouragement he received early in his own career from figures such as Warren Beatty and Anthony Hopkins.

During the discussion, Downey said, “To me, this is a decade-defining film, and I think it is a generation-defining performance.” He added that Marty Supreme was a film audiences should recognise as significant, saying viewers needed to “plant a flag and say, ‘This matters.’”

Chalamet responded by thanking Downey for the support, calling it unexpected. “I’m so grateful. And it happened totally organically,” he said, adding that he has long admired Downey’s career, from Chaplin to Oppenheimer. Chalamet described Downey as a role model and cited Chaplin as an influence on his own performance in A Complete Unknown.

Onstage, Downey further praised Chalamet’s technical growth and character work, calling the performance “an astonishing achievement”. Chalamet credited much of the work on Marty Supreme to director Josh Safdie, saying, “Josh is just a master,” and expressed interest in collaborating again.

The evening concluded with Downey addressing Chalamet directly, telling him that following Marty Supreme, “it no longer remains to be seen,” referencing his own experience seeking validation at a similar age.