Hollywood actor Timothée Chalamet has made history by claiming his first major awards precursor for his performance as ‘Bob Dylan’ in ‘A Complete Unknown’. The 29-year-old actor won the Best Actor award at the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards, becoming the youngest winner in the category.
His win puts him in a good position to be a strong contender for the next 2025 Academy Awards, although Oscar voting had already taken place before the SAG announcement.
Speech of Timothée Chalamet
In his emotional acceptance speech, Chalamet recognized the sheer work that went into his performance. “I poured everything I had into playing this in comparable artist Mr. Bob Dylan, a true American hero,” he said.
Citing his aspirations to be great, he mentioned inspirations like Daniel Day-Lewis, Marlon Brando, Viola Davis, Michael Jordan, and Michael Phelps.
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Chalamet’s victory puts him above earlier SAG Best Actor winners, trumping Nicolas Cage, who was 32 when he took it for Leaving Las Vegas (1995). He won ahead of a field stacked with Ralph Fiennes (Conclave), Colman Domingo (Sing Sing), and Daniel Craig (Queer). Craig’s snub from the Oscar nominations by Sebastian Stan (The Apprentice) made headlines nationwide.
Timothée at SAG Awards 2025
The actor’s SAG win is his first after previous nominations for ‘Call Me by Your Name’ (2017) and ‘Beautiful Boy’ (2018). He has also been nominated for ensemble awards for ‘Lady Bird’ (2017), ‘Don’t Look Up’ (2021), ‘A Complete Unknown’, and his early television work in Homeland (2013).
Despite this huge victory, history indicates that a SAG Award by itself might not necessarily secure an Oscar, since no actor has ever won the Academy Award for Best Actor without winning other major precursors.
BREAKING: Timothée Chalamet wins the Screen Actors Guild award for best actor in a leading role for “A Complete Unknown,” upsetting Adrien Brody of “The Brutalist” just ahead of the Oscars. https://t.co/ineF0sIg51
— The Associated Press (@AP) February 24, 2025
Fans Reaction
Backstage in an interview with ‘Entertainment Tonight’, Chalamet reflected on his journey, recalling his presence at the SAG Awards. He said, “I was here 12 years ago for ‘Homeland’. My table kept inching closer to the front. Now I am really grateful.”
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He also took a moment to honor his mother, who has worked at Actors’ Equity for four decades. Fans overwhelmed social media with praise, hailing his speech and historic victory. One user stated, “Best speech, and he is the cutest!”
Another posted, “I love Chalamet ❤️ He is so talented and has such a bright future!”
