Timothée Chalamet, winner of the Best Actor Award for “Marty Supreme”, speaks onstage during the 31st Annual Critics Choice Awards at Barker Hangar on January 04, 2026 in Santa Monica, California. Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Critics Choice Association/AFP Picture by KEVIN WINTER / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP He defeated rival Leonardo DiCaprio, whose raucous political thriller “One Battle After Another” took the night’s top prize for best picture, as well as best director and best adapted screenplay for Paul Thomas Anderson. In “Marty Supreme,” Chalamet plays a 1950s table tennis champion consumed by grand ambitions.
Loosely based on a true story and benefiting from the Franco-American actor’s unique viral campaign, the film, directed by Josh Safdie (“Uncut Gems”), has become an unlikely global hit. “Josh, you made a story about a flawed man with a relatable dream,” said Chalamet. “And you didn’t preach to the audience about what’s right and wrong, and I think we should all be telling stories like that, so thank you for this dream.” The movie is loosely based on the life of table tennis star Marty Reisman, a man driven by the belief that he can achieve fame and fortune through a sport little known in the United States.
Chalamet – the “Dune” superstar and two-time Oscar nominee who recently portrayed Bob Dylan in “A Complete Unknown” – rigorously trained in table tennis for the role. The 30-year-old has, in the past, made no secret of his ambitions to win multiple Academy Awards, and will now be the frontrunner for the ceremony on 15 March. The awards bestowed by North America’s largest critics’ group could give movie campaigns much-needed extra momentum as Oscar voting nears.
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This year, it took the coveted first weekend of awards season, usually occupied by the Golden Globes, which will take place in Beverly Hills next weekend. Jessie Buckley won best actress for her tragic role as the wife of William Shakespeare in period drama “Hamnet.”
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