If You Want to Be Inspired, Learn to See

How Timothée Chalamet inspired me to become a full-time writer.

Photo by Timon Klauser on Unsplash

Sometimes, just knowing that someone else can do something remarkable makes it possible for you to do it too. — Sebastian Verlac, Shadowhunters

I first saw Timothée Chalamet in the movie Little Women. I didn’t know that was his name at the time — the actor who plays Theodore Laurence (Laurie) in Greta Gerwig’s 2019 film adaptation of the American Novel, Little Women. When I saw him for the first time, when I saw him in his first scene in the movie, I burst into curiosity. I remember thinking, “Who is this actor? How is this the first I have seen of him? How is he this good an actor?”

There was something about him — a softness, a vulnerability that engulfed every gesture, every wrinkle, every little expression he wore when he embodied this character (Laurie). He was such a surrendered presence that each time I saw him, no matter what scene it was, I felt everything. I felt all the emotions (his and mine). I felt everything Laurie was feeling, and then some.

Months down the road, while aimlessly scavenging the internet, I inevitably landed upon another movie of his: Call Me by Your Name, and that movie split me into a million pieces. I mean, there I was — at the end of the movie — sobbing…