Timothée Chalamet and Ansel Elgort: High school rivals turn BFFs after taking Hollywood by storm
If you think Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio are BFF material, wait till you read about these two. Timothée Chalamet and Ansel Elgort used to be great friends in high school, but they have really come a long way since their days as classmates at the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School in New York City.
The duo had multiple run-ins with each other while in school, since they both played on the same high school basketball team, both had the same science teacher, and both were taught by the same drama teacher, Harry Shifman, who the young boys credit their Hollywood careers to.
"I literally would not be an actor without that man," Chalamet once shared with ABC News. "I would not be at the Oscars, I would not be nominated without him." Shifman, too, has had nothing but praise for both his former students Chalamet and Elgort.
In an interview with Vanity Fair, Shifman said of Elgort, "I was totally blown away by [Elgort]. He was always able to evoke and charm; he's very charismatic naturally." As for Chalamet, the high school teacher recounted how he was so impressed with the young man that he personally pleaded with the school's principal to get Chalamet into the school, after he had initially been rejected.
"It was already clear that [Timothée] was so interesting and gifted and compelling," Shifman said in the same interview. "I went to the principal…thank goodness the principal was responsive to me, because I was very incensed that Timmy didn't get in."
Elgort may have chosen to hang out with his then-girlfriend Lourdes Leon (Madonna's daughter), and Chalamet may have been enjoying his time with Violetta Komyshan in high school, but the two boys have definitely come a long way since their graduation with Elgort starring in the hit franchise 'Divergent', teen-drama 'Fault In Our Stars', and the critically acclaimed 'Baby Driver', while Chalamet is making movies with Steve Carell and preparing for a 'Call Me by Your Name' sequel.
Now, the boys who used to run into each other in the hallways are now running into each other at the Oscars! The two actors had an adorable reunion at the Oscars last year where Chalamet was nominated for Best Actor for his work in 'Call Me by Your Name'. They also reconnected at a New York Knicks Game, since both got courtside seats.
"LaGuardia High School Pride," Elgort wrote in his Instagram caption of the event. "It's really crazy, Timmy and I played on the same basketball team, we had the same drama teacher Mr. Shifman, we had the same science teacher Mr. Singh, and then, in the same year, both of us are nominated for a f$&king Golden Globe!!! Living the dream sitting courtside at the Knicks game together. Life is crazy."
But when it came to who was the more popular kid in high school, both Chalamet and Elgort seem to hold different opinions. "No one disliked Timmy," Elgort said during an interview with MTV. "Some people disliked me. Everyone loves Timmy."
However, Chalamet disagreed, noting how he lost nearly every high school lead audition role to Elgort, even joking about how losing out to Elgort on acting roles in school led him to have enough spare time to launch his part-time career as rapper Little Timmy Tim. "Are you kidding me?" Chalamet said. "How could I possibly have been more popular?"
Nonetheless, with Golden Globe and Oscar nominations in their pockets, the two lads can safely claim to be pretty popular all over the world. It's also not too shabby to believe that these two actors will be seeing more of each other in the years to come, as they both continue to take Hollywood by storm.
