Timothee Chalamet isn’t bothered by people mispronouncing his name. The ‘Wonka’ actor is always willing to help others get it right. Recently, during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the 28-year-old actor explained the correct pronunciation of his first name. It all started when host Jimmy Kimmel noticed an accent mark over one of the “e’s” in his name on a billboard and asked about the proper way to say it.
“Honestly it’s ‘Tim-oh-teh,’ ” Chalamet revealed. “But I would not oblige you to say it like that and it can be Timothy or Timmy or Doug’ or Allen.” Kimmel, 56, confirmed, “It’s ‘Tim-oh-teh?’ ” To which Chalamet responded, “That’s what it was supposed to be — my parents cursed me with that.”
Kimmel quipped, “They did? And you were like, ‘No, I’m not going along with that,’ ” to which Chalamet confirmed, “I’m not going along with that so, it’s whatever you like.” The late night host playfully rationalized that “Tim-oh-teh” rhymed with Chalamet, but Chalamet disagreed, saying that his middle name, Ha, disrupts it. “My middle name is Hal, which breaks it up in a — It breaks it up in a bizarre way,” Chalamet clarified. Actress Florence Pugh added, “That’s not the flow.”
What does Florence Pugh call Timothee Chalamet?
Chalamet, whose father hails from France, has not been shy about sharing the correct pronunciation of his name. In a previous interview with Frank Ocean for VMan Magazine, he stated, “I can’t ask people to call me that; it just seems really pretentious.” Elaborating, Chalamet explained, “My dad is from France, so it’s a French spelling, but it seems like too much of an obligation to ask people to call me that.”
Over the years, various celebrities have playfully given him nicknames, adding a touch of humor to the situation. Pugh, for instance, affectionately dubbed him “Timothée Chala-mala-bing-bong.” Pugh shared on The Graham Norton Show that she found joy in his surname, confessing, “I loved his surname Chalamet and every time I read it, I read it as ‘Chala-mala-bing-bong.’” The nickname even caught on with Pugh’s family. “My gran met him last week and after she came up, she was like I met ‘Timothée Chala-mala-bing-bong,’ ” she said.
Florence’s gran calling timothée “chalamalabingbong” could be the most adorable things💖💝🥺😭 pic.twitter.com/3hpdQOSoi8
— Timothée Update TH (@timothee_TH_up) January 27, 2024
‘Florence is really special’
Before starring in the second installment of Dune, Chalamet, and Pugh had previously worked together in ‘Little Women’. Expressing his excitement to reunite with her on the sets, Chalamet told Variety, “We were joking on set that we keep doing these movies, and we end up together even though we should be ending up with different people. Florence is really special. She’s an incredible actor.”