Timothée Chalamet Tells Kendrick Lamar Acting Is a ‘Form of Insanity’

Timothée Chalamet knows how iconic it is to be alongside Pulitzer Prize winner Kendrick Lamar.

Chalamet, who is an Oscar frontrunner for leading (and singing in) Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown,” interviewed Lamar for an Apple Music segment that aired on NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football.” Lamar is performing at the halftime show for the 2025 Super Bowl. Chalamet recently both hosted and was the musical guest on”Saturday Night Live.” Chalamet also has appeared in a slew of Apple ads, with the Apple Music spot being his first interview with a musician for the brand.

When asked by Lamar about how he prepares for roles, Chalamet explained that he always has to practice acting.

“The thing about acting is, if you don’t have an audience, it’s just a form of insanity. And you’re just, what are you doing?” Chalamet said in the video that is reminiscent of Schoolboy Q’s “John Muir” short film under Lamar’s label. “So I definitely try to warm up and then, you know, lose that self-consciousness when you finally get back out there. But that takes time.”

Chalamet continued, “I always try to embrace failure — you were talking about that the other day — the most important part of a bad day is the way you leave it. If you can leave a bad take or a bad day with a positive attitude, then you’ve got nothing to fear.”

Lamar himself is also more than familiar with how it works in Hollywood: The musician developed the “Black Panther” soundtrack, has had collaborations with “South Park” co-creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and acted alongside Taylour Paige for short film “We Cry Together.” 

Lamar teased to Chalamet that he is “always locked in and always trying new things” to stay sane.

“I have to keep the pen moving. It’s my form of sanity,” Lamar said. “It also has given me the opportunity to learn myself, find out who I am. A lot of these records I write, man, a lot of stuff I probably would have never expressed or even known about myself if it wasn’t for an instrumental behind it.”

Check out the full video below.