Opinion: Why Timothée Chalamet is wrong about opera and ballet

The Hollywood star has angered many with his dismissive comments, but he's missing out on two vital and thriving art forms.

Summary

• Hollywood actor Timothée Chalamet has criticised opera and ballet
• Artists from those industries have fought back against his comments
• There are plenty of fantastic opera and dance productions to see in London which disprove Chalamet's views

The 2026 Oscars race has had its fair share of controversies and spirited debates, but few could have predicted that its closing stages would see one of the major Best Actor contenders, Timothée Chalamet, essentially declare war on opera and ballet. Yet Chalamet, who is nominated for frenetic ping-pong movie Marty Supreme, has angered the arts world by saying in an interview: “I don’t want to be working in ballet or opera or things where it’s like ‘Hey, keep this thing alive, even though, like, no one cares about this anymore.’”

The deluge of responses to Chalamet’s offhand comment suggests that, on the contrary, plenty of people care deeply about these art forms, and the rebuttals frequently demonstrate the passion and creative flair which characterise them. UK Opera Association chief executive Thangam Debbonaire rightly pointed out that opera and ballet train talent, build careers, and inspire and employ people “who also work in other art forms including cinema”. Did you hear that, Chalamet? You wouldn’t have had Wonka without a veritable army of singers, dancers and musicians supporting you.

Chalamet’s family is steeped in ballet

The actor’s idiotic critique – which you could argue is punching down, since he is in the power position here as a Hollywood star – is all the more astonishing given that his family has a long-standing association with ballet. As Chalamet himself noted: “I was always backstage at the New York City Ballet. My grandma worked at the New York City Ballet, my mother worked at the New York City Ballet, and my sister danced there.” That contributed, he added, to him “dream[ing] big”.

Chalamet went on to study at the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in New York – the institution that loosely inspired the movie, TV series and stage musical Fame. This week, the school’s principal published an open letter addressed to its alum, saying: “At LaGuardia, we do not rank art forms.” The letter continued: “Timothée […] you come from this world. We know your heart, and we know you know better.”

Perhaps the Hollywood bubble is to blame: Chalamet is now surrounded by people who wrongly consider film vastly superior to every other industry. But this does feel like a disappointing betrayal of his roots, not to mention the hard-working, dedicated and brilliant artists who contribute so much to our culture, mostly, alas, without enjoying Chalamet levels of fame and fortune.

Opera and dance are for everyone

The most cheering reaction to the actor’s ignorant comments is the numerous companies wittily proffering Chalamet-themed promo codes to their current productions. Seattle Opera invites you to get tickets to Carmen using the code “Timothee”, and Pittsburgh Opera suggests that instead of bashing opera, audiences could “have a bash at the opera” with promo code “Timmi”. TodayTix is currently offering $20 off tickets with the code "TIMMY". Many have also cheekily extended invitations to Chalamet himself, including Sadler’s Wells and the Royal Opera House.

Truly the best outcome from this unedifying scandal would be audience members – including the tone-deaf Chalamet – feeling inspired to check out an opera or ballet production, if only to find out for themselves whether these are art forms in danger of extinction or, as they will surely discover, thriving industries that honour their mighty heritage while also producing bold, innovative, boundary-pushing work.

London is an opera and ballet hotspot

Audiences in London are certainly spoiled for choice at the moment. Should Chalamet swing by the capital this season, he could take the Royal Opera House up on their invitation and catch everything from Mozart’s glorious romp The Marriage of Figaro and Donizetti’s heart-warming comedy La fille du régiment to Verdi’s portrait of power, Rigoletto, Bellini’s gripping drama I puritani, Camille Saint-Saëns’ electrifying Samson et Dalila, Britten’s almighty tragedy Peter Grimes, and Puccini’s heart-rending love story La bohème.

Meanwhile @sohoplace hosts Tao of Glass, the extraordinary collaboration between composer Philip Glass and performer-director Phelim McDermott, featuring meditations on life, death and wisdom, presented via an ensemble of musicians and puppeteers in a storytelling tapestry.

Chalamet should also visit the Royal Opera House for its world-class Royal Ballet productions, which this season include Kenneth Macmillan’s darkly passionate Mayerling, the spellbinding classical ballet Giselle, Frederick Ashton’s sunny delight La fille mal gardée, three must-see works (including a world premiere) in Wayne McGregor: Alchemies, and an intriguing Royal Opera House debut by a ground-breaking contemporary duo in So Are We: León & Lightfoot.

Sadler’s Wells is just as exciting, with Northern Ballet’s sizzling new production Gentleman Jack– about “the first modern lesbian”, Anne Lister – plus a visiting New York City Ballet star in Turn It Out with Tiler Peck & Friends, and a trailblazing modern company celebrating a milestone in Still Pointless – BalletBoyz at 25.

Young audiences (and perhaps Chalamet, too) will love the My First Ballet series, which offers a shortened version of a classic work with a narrator; this spring, it’s Cinderella. Sadler’s Wells also hosts a legendary all-male company at its West End venue, the Peacock Theatre, with Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo – Mixed Bill. Plus you won’t want to miss English National Ballet’s ravishing The Sleeping Beauty at the Royal Albert Hall.

Opera and dance are at the heart of the arts

That’s not to mention all the myriad ways in which opera and dance talent cross over into other mediums, whether theatre, film or TV. Music and movement are vital components, as is that combination of dedication to a long-established craft and eagerness to find new modes of expression.

Should Chalamet return to the stage – as he was due to do in 2020, starring opposite Eileen Atkins in 4000 Miles at the Old Vic, before a pandemic cancellation – he will be surrounded by artists who do not make an artificial distinction between art forms, but instead celebrate how each enriches the other. In other words: this is worth making a song and dance about. Respect for and celebration of all artists matters, even if you're a Hollywood megastar.

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Main photo credit: Timothée Chalamet in Marty Supreme (Photo courtesy of the movie). Inset: Timothée Chalamet in Wonka, La bohème at the Royal Opera House, the Royal Ballet's Mayerling, Gentleman Jack at Sadler's Wells (Photos courtesy of the movie and the productions)