Having an actor that can successfully play two different roles in two different movies, both of which released within a week of each other, is the tell-tale sign of a truly gifted and talented actor. 

Timothée Chalamet displays just this and can be seen in his recent films, “Dune” and “The French Dispatch,” released in U.S. theaters on October 22 and 28, respectively.

“Dune” is a recent adaptation of the novel of the same name by Frank Herbert. While a previous adaptation had already been made in 1984 by David Lynch, director Denis Villeneuve seems to have outdone himself.

This visually stunning film follows a young man’s exploration of himself and determination of his family’s future on one of the most dangerous planets in the universe. From its skillful use of color to depict the wonders of the sand and its seemingly book-accurate costumes, this adaptation has stunned movie-goers and “Dune” book fanatics alike.

Timothée Chalamet, playing Paul Atreides, starred in the film. While he had not previously acted in sci-fi films, Chalamet excelled in his performance and stunned audiences. His portrayal of Atreides was praiseworthy, down to his stoic looks and contrasting emotions found throughout the movie.

A week later, Chalamet starred in another film, uniquely different from “Dune.” 

From the directorial genius of Wes Anderson came “The French Dispatch.” The movie is essentially a love-letter to journalism and follows the journey of a small newspaper centered in Kansas that has an infatuation with another small town in France called Ennui. 

Told in separate parts to mimic the different sections of a newspaper, each story follows the writer and their journey through the process of writing. Story #2 explores the journey of writer Lucinda Krementz, played by Frances McDormand, and her focus on a boy’s manifesto written for a youth revolution. Played by Timothée Chalamet, Zeffirelli is a youth-activist, partaking in a student protest in Ennui that eventually turns into a “chess revolution.” 

With the arrival of both films, each featuring Timothée Chalamet, audiences can see how talented he is. Playing two vastly different roles takes an immense amount of talent, especially when it comes to directors Villeneuve and Anderson. Both directors have different thought processes and views when it comes to films. 

It takes an actor like Chalamet to pull it off. As can be seen in “Dune” and “The French Dispatch,” Chalamet goes from a stoic young man born into a great destiny who must determine his family’s future, to a young revolutionist with less of an aloof personality and more of a flighty one.

In “Dune,” Paul Atreides is formal, being that he has a great destiny that he does not quite understand and must learn how to navigate. He is also an heir to his family’s “house,” meaning he has to learn the responsibilities of taking care of his people. Chalamet plays this character to a tee, with many fans of the original book praising him for his accurate portrayal.

In “The French Dispatch,” Chalamet’s character, Zeffirelli, is more of an insecure and flighty one. The whole plot of his story focuses around the writing of his manifesto and his wish for the journalist, Krementz, to edit it. 

The audience can tell that Zeffirelli just wants praise and someone to tell him it is a fantastic piece of writing. Chalamet’s execution of his performance of Zeffirelli was marvelous. It was as if Chalamet himself was truly passionate about Zeffirelli’s manifesto and even the art of writing itself.

Chalamet’s talent in the movie industry, being able to play two vastly different characters in two very different movies released within a week of each other, is valuable to many directors and the tell-tale sign of a great actor.