Timothée Chalamet Refused Butt Double for ‘Marty Supreme’ Ping Pong Paddle Spank Scene

by

Timothée Chalamet is known for his dedication to his roles, and he took it to a new level in his recent film, Marty Supreme. His character endures a rather unusual punishment – being spanked with a ping pong paddle – and Kevin O’Leary, his co-star, says Chalamet insisted on performing the scene himself, refusing to use a stunt double.

Josh Safdie (brother of filmmaker Benny Safdie) directs Marty Supreme, a story about a determined young man from New York City’s Lower East Side who dreams of becoming a table tennis champion. In pursuit of his goal, Marty resorts to deception and infidelity, which unexpectedly leads him into the world of Kay Stone (Gwyneth Paltrow), a socialite, and her influential husband, Milton Rockwell (Kevin O’Leary, known for his role as Mr. Wonderful on Shark Tank).

Marty and Kay sneak off to be together, while Milton, a wealthy businessman, becomes interested in the young athlete. When Marty asks for financial support, Milton agrees, but with a humiliating condition: Marty must endure a painful prank in front of his friends. This bizarre challenge is the price Marty has to pay to compete in the Tokyo championships.

Kevin O’Leary told Variety that Timothée Chalamet insisted on performing a difficult and uncomfortable scene himself, despite being given the option to have a body double used instead.

I was completely floored by Timothée’s dedication! When it came to filming that hit, he absolutely refused to use a stunt double. They had someone ready, but he insisted on doing it himself. He didn’t want anyone else becoming famous for that moment, he wanted it to be authentically him.

I was absolutely fascinated hearing about the making of the film! Apparently, they initially gave the actor a fake paddle, but it broke immediately during the first take. Poor Timothée Chalamet ended up with a seriously red bottom because the director, Josh Safdie, wanted around 40 takes of that scene! The actor playing the guard, O’Leary, said Josh kept telling him to hit harder, and he really did! He even admitted he felt like Chalamet’s character deserved far worse for his actions, and he’s still not satisfied with how much the character suffered – he’s apparently still pretty upset about it!

‘Marty Supreme’ Star Went All-Out To Pull Off the Role


A24

Interestingly, director Josh Safdie shared that Timothée Chalamet went to great lengths to prepare for his role. In the movie, his character, Marty, is severely nearsighted and can’t see without glasses. To truly understand what that felt like, Chalamet wore actual prescription lenses during filming, which he described as feeling like looking through a fishbowl.

We jokingly told him we’d put powerful contact lenses in his eyes – plus ten – and then put very strong prescription lenses in front of those, so if he ever lost his glasses, he’d be completely blind. He called me later and said, ‘I actually have the plus ten lenses in, and I’m really dizzy!’

I was so impressed by the dedication of the team to really become Paul Atreides. It wasn’t just about the big picture, but the tiny details too! They even used makeup to give Timothée Chalamet realistic freckles and what looked like old acne scars. The director, Josh Safdie, explained they wanted him to look like someone who’d lived a hard life, someone who’d been in fights. And honestly, it worked so well! Gwyneth Paltrow was completely taken aback, saying she couldn’t believe how natural it all looked and how she’d never noticed such details in actors before. It really showed how much thought went into every aspect of his character.

Read More

2025-12-31 17:48