Timothee Chalamet spent seven years preparing for his role in Marty Supreme

He told the BBC: "I got approached with this project in 2018. So that basically gave me six, seven years to prepare on and off. In all my downtime, I would train as much as possible."

Timothee actually compared his role in the new film to playing Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown, the 2024 biographical film about the music icon's early career.

The actor - who covered various Dylan songs for the hit movie - explained: "I think the responsibility in this movie, like in the Bob Dylan movie, if you were a Dylan fan or a guitar player, [is to make sure] that that looks real to you on screen. Similarly here, if you're a ping-pong aficionado, that that looks believable to you."

Timothee actually practised his table tennis skills while he was shooting other movies.

He said: "Certainly, by the time the French Dispatch was coming out [in 2021], I have a video - at risk of being unrelatable, I was in a beautiful Airbnb on a cliffside for the Cannes Film Festival. And I had a table with me. So I have a video of training with friends. It's like a gorgeous sunset."

Timothee has enjoyed huge successes in recent years, and he feels fortunate for the opportunities that continue to come his way.

The movie star shared: "I get to live this awesome life where I work on these projects that actually are near and dear to my heart. A lot of actors don't get the chance to work, let alone work on things they actually are passionate about.

"There's worse things in life than having to learn how to play the guitar and play table tennis at a high level."