This is the kind of backstage access only a 4-time Academy Award nominee and A-list movie star gets.
‘Dune’ trilogy star and A-list actor Timothée Chalamet got a face-to-face meeting with the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders before Tuesday’s World Cup semifinal match between France and Spain at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and the meeting turned out to be a mutual admiration society.
“It’s so nice to meet you guys,” a smiling Chalamet says in a video posted to the DCC official Instagram account. “I’m starstruck.”
Spain defeated France, 2-0, and will play in the World Cup final on Sunday against the winner of Wednesday’s other semifinal between England and defending champion Argentina.
Chalamet’s father, journalist Marc Chalamet, was born in France. Timothée Chalamet co-starred in the 2021 Wes Anderson film The French Dispatch — and French connection.
“I loved The French Dispatch because it really reminded me of my father’s heritage and how he met my mother,” Timothée Chalamet told People Magazine in 2026. “My father was on a business trip to New York while he was working as a journalist forLe Parisien, the French newspaper. Now, he works at the United Nations.”
From TMZ: “Timothée Chalamet couldn’t contain his excitement when he found himself face-to-face with the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders. The acclaimed actor’s used to being on the receiving end of adoring fans being captivated by his presence … but this time, it was the other way around.”
Chalamet’s Rise to Elite Celebrity Sports Fan
Professional sports haven’t seen a full-time fan the likes of Chalamet since 3-time Academy Award winner Jack Nicholson patrolled the sidelines at Los Angeles Lakers games.
Chalamet’s rise to worldwide stardom has coincided with his continued presence on the sidelines at New York Knicks games, a team the New York City native has been cheering for since he was a child.
This year ended up being 1 for the ages for Chalamet’s team, as the Knicks won their 1st NBA championship since 1973, defeating the San Antonio Spurs in 5 games — with Chalamet celebrating in the locker room with the Knicks following the championship-clinching win.
A-List Actor Defining Generation With Roles
Chalamet, 30, has become the defining actor of his generation in a career that began in the early 2010s with roles in “Men, Women & Children” and director Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi epic “Interstellar” in 2014.
In 2017, Chalamet’s career took off like a rocket ship with an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in “Call Me By Your Name” at just 22 years old, making him the youngest nominee in the category since 1939.
Chalamet followed that role up with a string of box-office hits, including the epic sci-fi Dune film trilogy, with the final film in that series set to be released on December 18 with Dune: Part Three alongside co-stars Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Javier Bardem, Florence Pugh, Jason Momoa, Rebecca Ferguson, and Anya Taylor-Joy.
He’s also added 3 more Academy Award nominations, including 2 more for Best Actor for the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown and the ping-pong drama Marty Supreme in 2025, making him the youngest actor in movie history with 3 Best Actor nominations, along with a Best Picture nomination as 1 of the producers for Marty Supreme.
While Chalamet does have another movie scheduled to come out — the animated film “Not Alone” in 2027 — he is yet to announce his next live-action film project after the final Dune film.
As 1 might imagine, an actor who has become Hollywood’s top box-office draw at such a young age choosing not to have a live-action movie release that will now, conservatively, be at least 2 years (assuming Chalamet has a movie come out in 2028) has caused some hand-wringing among power players.
“At a recent party attended by industry heavy hitters, talk anxiously turned to when Timothée Chalamet would commit to another movie,” Page Six Hollywood wrote on June 26. “Hollywood’s biggest next-gen star wrapped production on (director) Denis Villeneuve’s ‘Dune: Part Three’ in December — and is already six long months into what is expected to be a one-year break, sources exclusively tell us. Chalamet has nothing definite lined up. And that has multiple studios and directors on edge.”
‘Dune: Part Three’ Star Timothee Chalamet Gets VIP Treatment From Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders