Timothée Chalamet has opened up about the unexpected source of inspiration behind his acting career — professional wrestling. During a CNN/Variety Town Hall aired February 21 alongside Matthew McConaughey, the Oscar-nominated star of Marty Supreme described WWE as "hugely influential" to his development as a performer.
Asked by a student audience member whether wrestling had shaped his approach to acting, Chalamet didn't hesitate. "Hugely. Professional wrestling for me was sort of a guidepost growing up because I wanted to be an athlete, I just didn't have the skill, the body, the physique, the speed," he said. "WWE and professional wrestling was somewhere in the middle. It was like the titans — our athletes, both men and women — but with this showmanship and storytelling."
Chalamet pushed back on the common criticism that wrestling is scripted, drawing a distinction between predetermined outcomes and the real physical toll on performers. "It's planned, it's scripted, it's fake some people say — but the blows are real. The bruises are real."
Greek Theater, The Boogeyman, and Sabu
The Dune and A Complete Unknown star waxed philosophical about wrestling's deeper appeal, comparing it to ancient performance traditions. "Not to get too pretentious, but almost in a Greek theater setting — the archetypes that these guys represent," he said. "I loved a wrestler named The Boogeyman and he was just archetypally nightmarish."
Chalamet also paid tribute to ECW legend Sabu, who passed away in May 2025 at the age of 60 just weeks after wrestling his retirement match. "When I listen to those old WWE clips or this guy Sabu who just passed away this past year, his entrance theme," Chalamet said, his reverence clearly genuine.
He also revealed that earlier the same day, he had shown McConaughey a Kevin Nash entrance video — an especially fitting moment given that Nash appeared alongside McConaughey in Magic Mike (2012). "I showed [Matthew McConaughey] a Kevin Nash entrance video because he did Magic Mike with Kevin Nash," Chalamet explained.
WWE Is "Of the People"
Chalamet connected his passion for wrestling to a broader point about WWE's cultural identity, name-dropping Bad Bunny and IShowSpeed as examples of the company's mainstream pull. "I just feel like it's of the people, no matter how cheesy that sounds," he said. "WWE is more of an Americana thing. New York's got a lot of love for WWE."
Bad Bunny has been one of WWE's most celebrated celebrity crossovers, headlining Backlash 2023 in Puerto Rico in what many consider the greatest celebrity match in company history. Chalamet's comments suggest he views that kind of crossover appeal as central to wrestling's enduring power.
This isn't the first time Chalamet has publicly gushed about WWE. He previously appeared on Cody Rhodes' What Do You Wanna Talk About? podcast in late 2025, where he dove deep into his love of wrestling with The American Nightmare.
When asked what his wrestling name would be, Chalamet had a ready answer: "The French Fool."
The CNN/Variety Town Hall, filmed before a live audience at the University of Texas at Austin's Moody College of Communication, is now available to stream in full on Variety's YouTube channel.
