Ping-pong maverick

'MARTY SUPREME': TALE OF A BRASH SCHEMER CHASING GREATNESS

- Thami Kwazi

From ping-pong hustler to Oscar frontrunner, Timothée Chalamet delivers his most electrifying performance yet.

For years, I have described Chalamet as an acting chameleon destined for remarkable heights.

Each role he takes on seems to stretch him further, revealing new layers of craft, discipline and daring. With Marty Supreme, he once again proves that instinct right and then some.

Versatile, agile and utterly committed, Chalamet embodies what a consummate thespian should be.

His latest role places him firmly in the centre of the conversation for the Academy Awards, earning him a third Best Actor nomination at just 30 years old.

It's a remarkable achievement that puts him among the youngest actors ever to reach that milestone.

Previous nominations for Call Me by Your Name and A Complete Unknown already established him as a serious talent.

But Marty Supreme might just be the role that elevates him from brilliant performer to generational icon.

Directed by Josh Safdie, the film is set in the fast-talking, fast-moving streets of '50s New York City.

It tells the story of Marty Mauser a brash, obsessive table tennis player with a mouth that rarely stops moving and a mind constantly scheming.