Timothee Chalamet makes history as British Vogue cover star

Timothee Chalamet (Doug Peters/PA)

Timothee Chalamet has become the first man to appear solo on the cover of British Vogue in the magazine’s 106-year history.

The 26-year-old Hollywood star sports his signature curly locks for the two alternative covers, photographed by Steven Meisel.

British Vogue’s editor-in-chief Edward Enninful said he was waiting “for the moment to feel right” to have a man on the print cover and wanted it to feel “effortless”.

“Timothee Chalamet is modern man incarnate, as an actor and as a person,” he said.

“When we began talking about the possibility of this cover several months ago, it became immediately apparent that Timothee is just Timothee.

“Neither tooled nor marketed by the Hollywood and fashion machines to appeal to teens or grandmothers, women or men, he is simply himself. He is a man for everybody.

“And so here he is, a young actor at the peak of his early career, who calls to mind the Deans and DiCaprios of past decades, but with a relationship to a new generation that dismantles old-fashioned notions of masculinity as a matter of course.”

Enninful, 50, said the actor brought “energy, humility and joie de vivre” to the shoot, which Chalamet described as the favourite of his career to date.

He follows in the footsteps of global superstar Harry Styles who was the first man pictured solo on the cover of the US version of Vogue in 2020.

During his interview, Chalamet admitted the lockdown period made him “suddenly very aware” of being an adult.

He said: “When Covid hit, it required me to take a step back and be humbled to the idea that the greatest rock star…No, I don’t want to use that word, sorry, sorry. Scratch rock star.

“But (everyone has to) deal with, like, taxes and the dentist and real adulting, you know? I should have been trying to get my adult feet under myself a little bit earlier than I did.

“I found myself having to really, you know, be honest with myself that where I’ve been able to get myself to in life was balls to the wall, like throwing everything at (it) at a young age that, by some miracle, got me to where I am.

“But to then transition to an adulting mindset. I’ve always paid my taxes, I always went to the dentist, but I’m suddenly very aware of that.”

Chalamet currently stars in cannibal love story Bones And All directed by Luca Guadagnino, who worked with the actor in the 2017 film Call Me By Your Name.

The film earned Chalamet an Oscar nomination for best actor and also starred Armie Hammer.

Chalamet said: “I had a delusional dream in my early teenage years to have, in my late teenage years, an acting career.

“And in my late teenage years, working on Homeland and starting to do theatre in New York, I felt like I reduced my goal to something more realistic, which was to work in theatre and hopefully make enough money doing either a TV show or something I could sustain myself (with).

“And then it felt like every dream came true, exponentially. And then life is moving at six million miles per hour.”

Chalamet also stars in the upcoming Willy Wonka prequel, a musical about the character’s early life.

Talking about playing the title role, in which he has seven musical numbers, he added: “This movie is so sincere, it’s so joyous.

“I hate to say it, but the dream as an artist is to throw whatever the f*** you want at the wall, you know? And I guess what I’m realising is that one’s personal life, one’s adult life, can be quite boring and the artist’s life can still be extraordinary.”

The full feature is available in the October issue of British Vogue via digital download and on newsstands from September 20.