Timothée Chalamet of Netflix epic 'The King' visits Korea

Two years ago, U.S. actor Timothée Chalamet starring in “Call Me by Your Name” captivated the attention of Australian film director David Michod, who looked for an actor to play a main role in his movie “The King.” The director said at a public screening held in Busan’s Haeundae District on Tuesday that it was not easy for him to find a young actor with great sensitivity, adding that he was lucky and happy to work with Chalamet. Michod said that he just saw a soulful young actor in him.

“The King” is the first Netflix content to be invited to the 24th Busan International Film Festival. It reinterprets William Shakespeare's “Henry V” and shows Prince Hal who is full of free soul, played by Chalamet, ascending the throne to turn into one of the greatest kings. As one of the most promising young Hollywood stars, Chalamet was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor last year for his role in “Call Me by Your Name.”

At the public screening in Busan, Chalamet said that playing a British king as an American actor gave him a new challenge. That’s why he practiced British accents so hard with his tutors and through online classes. He confessed that he found it the hardest to act throughout three weeks’ rehearsals for the scenes of the Battle of Agincourt, adding that the director demanded a hodgepodge of actions rather than clear-cut choreographed motions just as described in the scenes with lightsabers in “Star Wars.”


Kyu-Jin Shin newjin@donga.com