Timothée Chalamet has never been shy about ambition, but with the rollout for his new film "Marty Supreme," the Oscar-nominated actor has pushed movie promotion into a new, almost performance-art-like territory — one that industry insiders say bears the influence of Kylie Jenner's famously brand-savvy family.

As Marty Supreme opens nationwide on Christmas Day following early runs in New York and Los Angeles, Chalamet has been everywhere.

He has traveled internationally for merchandise appearances, turned up on The Tonight Show flanked by people wearing oversized ping-pong balls as heads, and surprised attendees at a New York City table-tennis invitational.

At one point, he even pledged to attend "128 appearances" at pre-release screenings of the film.

The blitz has included deliberately awkward and surreal moments, such as a Zoom call shared on social media in which Chalamet pitched increasingly absurd ideas for promotion, including painting the Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower the movie's signature shade of what he described as "corroded orange, falling apart orange."

A Kardashian-Style Approach to Branding

According to sources who spoke with Page Six, Chalamet's approach reflects lessons learned from watching how Jenner's family builds and sustains attention.

One industry source who has worked with the actor said bluntly that "Timmy's been 'Kardashian-ized.'"

The comparison is less about reality television than about strategy. The same source likened Chalamet's gonzo marketing to the Kardashian-Jenner philosophy of treating public visibility as a form of storytelling and brand-building.

"Both Timmy and Kylie are just into a different genre, the way they think about life and how they want to live," Page Six's source said, adding that "he has pretty lofty goals."

The results have been tangible. "Marty Supreme," in which Chalamet plays frantic table-tennis prodigy Marty Mauser, has recorded the fastest pre-sales in A24's history, according to Deadline.

Another Hollywood source said the confidence comes with the territory.

The source added that Chalamet, like many high-profile actors, can sometimes come across as self-assured or even full of himself. However, those close to the "Wonka" star that his intense focus on his craft drives much of his behavior, including a tendency to sidestep standard publicity routines in favor of approaches that feel more authentic to him.

The same source said Chalamet often insists, "'I don't want to promote this movie using the old playbook... Let's make it fun, let's do it different way.'"

Meanwhile, the outlet reported Chalamet will also be among the Kardashian-Jenner clan celebrating Christmas Eve in Calabasas.

"They're definitely still together, but it's not like she needs to be at every promotional event [to prove it]," one industry source told Page Six.

The same source emphasized that Chalamet is "pretty quiet about Kylie" and generally "pretty private as a person."

Clearing Up the EsDeeKid Mystery

The promotional spectacle surrounding "Marty Supreme" also collided with an online conspiracy theory that Chalamet was secretly moonlighting as a masked Liverpool rapper known as EsDeeKid.

The rumors intensified after Chalamet appeared alongside the rapper in a new music video for a remix of the track "4 Raws," released this month.

In the video, Chalamet raps several lines himself, including a clear reference to Jenner, "It's Timothée Chalamet chillin' / tryna stack a hundred million / Girl got a billion / What the f**k? What a wonderful feelin'." The appearance effectively put to rest speculation that the actor and the anonymous rapper were the same person, as the two appeared on screen together.

Tags
Timothee Chalamet, Kylie Jenner