Timothée Chalamet is no danger of being typecast.
Asked on SiriusXM’s The Morning Mash Up who would he like to play if he were to do another biopic, the actor, who plays Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown, went deep with his answer on the sports-themed show.
Chalamet didn’t choose a legendary underdog like U.S. Olympic Hockey captain Mike Eruzione. He didn’t choose a colorful insider a la Ted Lasso. The 28-year-old didn’t even choose someone close to his own age.
“What about the Ernie Johnson biopic, the host of Inside the NBA?”
Johnson, for those who don’t know, is the 68-year-old longtime host of TNT’s Emmy-winning talker. Known more for colorful his bow ties and gentle demeanor than his cool factor, Johnson is nevertheless a very thoughtful choice, whether Chalamet was serious about it or not.
The six-time Emmy winner and Sports Broadcasting Hall-of-Famer is treated with great deference — and called “The Godfather” — by his Inside the NBA cohorts Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith. Johnson’s career has included everything from working a FIFA World Cup to hosting TNT’s NFL and Wimbledon coverage to doing Olympics, MLB and PGA golf play by play.
Johnson is also a devout Christian who, with his wife Cheryl, have adopted four children, including Michael, who came from a Romanian orphanage. Michael was slightly autistic and diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. He died at age 33 but not before his infectious motto, “I love you, too” which Michael shared with everyone he met, “had impacted more folks than I could ever hope to,” according to his father.
After Chalamet revealed his pick, Morning Mash Up host Ryan Sampson endorsed it.
“I like that,” Sampson replied.
“It’s out in the universe now,” the show’s Nicole Ryan added.
“You never know, he might already have a short list of people that I’m not on,” Chalamet responded modestly.
In the meantime, the actor’s next project is A24’s Marty Supreme, in which he will portray pro ping pong player Marty Reisman. The film is directed by Josh Safdie from a script he cowrote with Ronald Bronstein. Then there is Dune: Messiah, also on Chalamet’s docket for the near future.