Hollywood star Shia LaBeouf took to social media on Monday to dispel any notion of animosity between himself and fellow actor Timothée Chalamet, following recent remarks that drew comparisons between the two actors. He shared a screenshot of what looked to be a warm and encouraging email from Chalamet, dated October and titled Electric. In it, Timothée praised Shia’s performance in the play Henry Johnson, staged at Los Angeles' Electric Lodge.
“Absolutely blown away by your work the other night,” Timothée wrote. “What a fantastic play. I hope you guys take it to New York. And I hope this is the beginning of your work on stage and not an anomaly!” he added.
Shia responded with a message styled like free verse: “Thank you doggy, Every blessing to you , Fun watching you evolve, Take ownership, Bang bang.”
Alongside the exchange, Shia also added his own caption: “Timothée Chalamet is doing better work than anyone alive — we been good.” He also included a line from Rudyard Kipling’s poem If: “If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken, twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools.”
{{/usCountry}}Alongside the exchange, Shia also added his own caption: “Timothée Chalamet is doing better work than anyone alive — we been good.” He also included a line from Rudyard Kipling’s poem If: “If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken, twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools.”
{{/usCountry}}The post follows an interview Shia gave to The Hollywood Reporter last week, where he reflected on Timothée’s recent SAG Awards speech. “I’m really in pursuit of greatness,” Timothée had said. “People don’t usually talk like this, but I want to be one of the greats.”
LaBeouf, who has long walked the line between acclaim and controversy, related to the sentiment: “I hear Timothée Chalamet get up and he says something like, ‘I want to be great.’ I so know the feeling. On him, it’s cute. On me, it wasn’t cute. You know what I’m saying?”