Of all the actors who could play Stephen A. Smith in a movie about him, bet you didn’t have Timothée Chalamet on your bingo card.
Chalamet showed off his sports analyst prowess last week on College GameDay, sitting between Pat McAfee and Kirk Herbstreit as the show’s guest picker. And despite mass skepticism surrounding the guest choice, this was no act. Chalamet crushed it on set and with his picks. Maybe that’s because the acclaimed actor starring in an upcoming Bob Dylan biopic really aspires to be a sports analyst. More specifically, he aspires to be Stephen A. Smith.
Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo went off Wednesday morning on First Take, ranting that he can’t get anyone from the Bob Dylan movie on his radio show. And then he saw Chalamet on College GameDay.
.@MadDogUnleashed has a pitch for you @RealChalamet 👀 pic.twitter.com/kycfdzSHF0
— First Take (@FirstTake) December 11, 2024
“Pat McAfee wouldn’t know ‘Like a Rolling Stone’ if they played it in his backyard! He wouldn’t know anything about Bob Dylan!” Russo ranted. “He don’t know Bob Dylan! None of ‘em know Bob Dylan…I know Bob Dylan!”
Russo said he even went to Chalamet’s father in an attempt to get the actor on his radio show to promote the upcoming biopic. He might be a Hall-of-Famer with his own SiriusXM channel. He might love movies, music, Bob Dylan and unusual sports radio interviews. But Russo can’t get Chalamet on his show.
As Russo ranted about being turned down, Smith sat there with a smirk on his face. Because he knows something about Chalamet that literally nobody could have predicted.
“I have to confess. This guy, I mean, I don’t know him at all. But I was just contacted by my social media dude that this guy is an aspiring sports analyst,” Smith said of Chalamet. “And the person that he most wants to be like is me.”
Smith later confirmed he was being serious. Although maybe his social media dude wasn’t. It seems crazy. A 28-year-old who is widely considered one of the most talented actors in the world and very well might enter the Oscar conversation with this latest film, wants to be Stephen A. Smith? Then again, when you consider he’s in line for a $100 million payday to continue First Take on ESPN, who doesn’t want to be Stephen A. Smith?
[ESPN]
