Speaking at the Independent Spirit Awards 2018 on Saturday, Call Me By Your Name producer Rodrigo Teixeira called Timothée Chalamet the “new Leonardo DiCaprio.”
The critically acclaimed love story was nominated for six awards at the bash, with Chalamet ultimately winning the 'Best Male Lead' gong for his breakout role.
Talking to reporters before the ceremony, Teixeira opened up about his experience working with the 22 year old actor.
“Actually I think he’s one of the best actors in the world,” he told Variety on the show’s ‘Blue Carpet.’
“Maybe he’s the new Leonardo DiCaprio? He’s a great actor, a great person, and he’s given everything he has to do this film. We’re so proud and happy to work with him.”
Chalamet FaceTimed his Call Me By Your Name co-star Armie Hammer for emotional support at the awards ceremony, which he attended wearing an oversized Off-White shirt. Co-host Nick Kroll poked fun at the outfit, joking: “Timothée, thanks for taking a break from the gas station."
Dabbing on his way up to collect the ‘Best Male Lead’ award, Chalamet talked about having “faith in our country.”
He said: “I’m trying to really savour this moment. I don’t know if this thing’s ever really going to happen again.
“I hope it doesn’t sound cheesy when I say it, but I have a lot of faith, I have a lot of faith in this industry. I have a lot of faith in our country.
'”I have faith because of Greta Gerwig and Luca Guadagnino and Josh Safdie and Jordan Peele and Daniel Kaluuya and filmmakers that aren’t here…
“We’ve got a whole new wave. We’re going to be good... Thank God we have the [Mudbound director/writer] Dee Reeses and everybody.”
Call Me By Your Name also won the coveted award for Best Cinematography, which went to Sayombhu Mukdeeprom.
