Leonardo DiCaprio vs Timothée Chalamet: Marty Supreme Ignites Hollywood’s New Leading Man Showdown

File this under: very online debate I did not have on my bingo card. A YouTuber just threw a match on the early-2026 Best Actor race, and now cinephile Twitter (sorry, X) is litigating whether Timothee Chalamet out-acted Leonardo DiCaprio. Yes, we’re talking about a 1950s ping-pong hustler vs a paranoid revolutionary. Welcome to awards season.

The spark: a YouTuber says Timothee blew past Leo

James Phyrillas, aka Schaffrillas, went there on December 26, saying DiCaprio’s performance in One Battle After Another can’t touch Chalamet’s turn in Marty Supreme. Subtle vs shapeshifting — the age-old craft debate with fresh ammo.

"No offense to Leo's great performance in OBAA, but the idea that it's even in the same league as Timothee in Marty Supreme is hilarious"

The replies split fast. Some argued Leo’s sly, comedic restraint is the point and it’s one of his best. Others crowned Timothee the heir apparent, talking up his period-specific swagger and all-in physicality. A few voices of reason said both can be great at once, and reminded everyone the Academy made Leo wait years — so, yes, Timothee might be next in line to learn patience.

The films, the stats, the receipts

Both movies hit big fall slots and took different paths to the same conversation.

Marty Supreme premiered at the New York Film Festival on October 6 and opened Christmas Day. Critics called it a career high for Chalamet, with shoutouts for Josh Safdie’s direction and the script. It landed three Golden Globe nominations and showed up on multiple 2025 top ten lists.

One Battle After Another debuted September 8 at the TCL Chinese Theatre in LA and rolled out nationwide September 26. It led the Golden Globes with nine nominations and has banked $205.2 million so far. Different vibes, same oxygen.

• Directors: Josh Safdie (Marty Supreme) vs Paul Thomas Anderson (One Battle After Another)
• Writers: Ronald Bronstein & Josh Safdie vs Paul Thomas Anderson
• Source: Original story vs adapted from Thomas Pynchon’s novel Vineland
• Producers: Josh Safdie, Ronald Bronstein, Eli Bush, Anthony Katagas, Timothee Chalamet vs Adam Somner, Sara Murphy, Paul Thomas Anderson
• Cast: Timothee Chalamet, Gwyneth Paltrow, Odessa A'Zion, Kevin O'Leary, Tyler Okonma, Abel Ferrara, Fran Drescher vs Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro, Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor, Chase Infiniti
• Cinematography: Darius Khondji vs Michael Bauman
• Score: Daniel Lopatin vs Jonny Greenwood
• Production companies: Central Pictures vs Ghoulardi Film Company
• Distributors: A24 vs Warner Bros. Pictures
• Premieres and releases: NYFF Oct 6, US theatrical Dec 25, 2025 vs LA premiere Sep 8, US theatrical Sep 26, 2025
• Running time: 150 minutes vs 162 minutes
• Budget: $60–70 million vs $130–175 million

Wait, a 1950s ping-pong hustler?

Yup. Marty Supreme follows Marty Mauser, a motor-mouthed Manhattan table-tennis phenom hustling his way toward a world championship in Tokyo, dodging shady sponsorship schemes along the way. Chalamet started training back in 2018 after meeting Safdie — who basically shaped the part for him — and leaned hard into the movement side of it. He pulled from old-school ping-pong greats and, surprisingly, from ballet he grew up around in his family. Think footwork and flow, not just racket speed.

Safdie, for his part, looked at the energy and saw exactly what he needed. As he put it, "He was Timmy Supreme."

Chalamet on the holiday slot, the pressure, and going up against Leo

Chalamet has quietly built a tradition: seven straight years with a December movie (Little Women, Wonka, now this). He talked about turning the annual release into a family thing and how wild it’s been to have that many eyes on him while trying to keep his head screwed on straight.

"Now that I've got these movies coming out around Christmas, we've made it a little tradition in my family to see them together. My mom's already seen Marty four times — that's more than I have at this point! But my dad hasn't seen it yet, so I told him, 'Wait until we all watch it at Christmas!'"

On the awards showdown with DiCaprio, he’s exactly as diplomatic as you’d expect: it’s an honor, he idolizes the guy, and he thinks Leo’s work in One Battle is tremendous.

Meanwhile, Australia just weighed in

The AACTA International Awards dropped their nominees, and both headliners are front and center in Best Lead Actor: Timothee Chalamet for Marty Supreme and Leonardo DiCaprio for One Battle After Another. They’re up against Russell Crowe, Joel Edgerton, and Hugh Jackman.

Best Film is stacked too: Hamnet, Marty Supreme, Nuremberg, One Battle After Another, and Sinners. On the TV side, Jean Smart leads the Best Actress nominees for Hacks, while Best Actor in a Series pits Owen Cooper, Stephen Graham, Gary Oldman, Seth Rogen, and Noah Wyle against each other. Drama and Comedy Series nods include Adolescence, Severance, Slow Horses, Hacks, and The Bear. Winners get crowned February 6, 2026, at Home of the Arts on Australia’s Gold Coast.

So, are we really picking between a swaggering 50s table-tennis hustler and a wary revolutionary? Apparently. Awards season loves a clean narrative, and right now the conversation is split right down the middle between big-shape transformation and deadly-precise understatement.

Your turn: who actually owns Best Actor this year — Timothee or Leo? Sound off in the comments.