‘Sweet Tea’ Timothee Chalamet woos Chinese fans days before Best Actor Oscar bid
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Timothee Chalamet poses upon arrival on the red carpet for the screening of his film Marty Supreme in Beijing on March 10.
PHOTO: AFP
BEIJING – Oscar nominee Timothee Chalamet answered to “sweet tea” and praised a table tennis champion as he wooed Chinese fans in Beijing on March 10, days before the Academy Awards.
The 30-year-old actor is in Asia promoting the movie Marty Supreme (2025), in which he plays a 1950s table tennis champion consumed by grand ambitions.
Loosely based on a true story, and benefiting from the French-American actor’s unique viral campaign, the A24 film directed by American film-maker Josh Safdie has become an unlikely global hit.
Marty Supreme, which is showing in Singapore cinemas, is up for nine awards – including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor – at the Oscars on March 15.
At an indoor red carpet event, Chalamet delighted fans by calling China’s table tennis world No. 1 Sun Yingsha “an amazing player”, having earlier purchased a poster of the reigning world champion from a local shop.
The sport, which Chalamet spent several years mastering in preparation for the film, is hugely popular in China.
Dozens of fans squeezed past one another for autographs and selfies with the three-time Best Actor Oscar nominee, who has a sizeable fan base in China.
The Call Me By Your Name (2017) and Dune (2021 to present) star is known affectionally as “tiancha”, which means “sweet tea” in Chinese.
The rare visit to China by a prominent American actor comes as Hollywood looks to cash in on the country’s box office.
China recorded 51.8 billion yuan (S$9.5 billion) in ticket sales in 2025, challenging North America’s box office of US$8.6 billion (S$10.9 billion).
Chinese fans gather as Timothee Chalamet (unseen) arrives on the red carpet for screening of his film Marty Supreme in Beijing on March 10.
PHOTO: AFP
“I feel like the movie could be as well received here as it was in the States, you know. Hopefully,” Chalamet told reporters at the carpet – which was the same shade of orange the actor has sported across his Marty Supreme press tour.
Chalamet also visited Japan and the south-western Chinese city of Chengdu, where he was filmed playing table tennis with silver-haired locals.
His Asia tour also comes as he has angered fans over viral comments suggesting “no one cares” about ballet or opera.
Marty Supreme officially opens in Chinese cinemas on March 20. AFP
