Viola Davis Thinks Timothée Chalamet’s SAG Awards Speech Wasn’t About ‘Ego’; Says She ‘Completely Understood’

Viola Davis reacted to Timothée Chalamet’s SAG Awards acceptance speech about being one of the “greats.” The actress revealed why she understood what he meant!

Written by Shreya Patnaik , Entertainment Journalist

Updated on Mar 29, 2025 | 08:15 PM GMT | 17.3K

L- Viola Davis, R- Timothée Chalamet (PC: Getty Images)

Timothée Chalamet delivered a powerful speech after accepting his Best Actor SAG Award for his performance in A Complete Unknown. The young actor took to the stage, shared his wish to be one of “the greats,” and name-dropped some legendary actors.

Viola Davis was one of the names he mentioned, along with Michael Jordan and Daniel Day-Lewis. When Access Hollywood caught up with Davis, they asked her thoughts on the Dune actor giving her a shout-out.

The EGOT winner revealed that her teenage daughter, Genesis Tennon, whom she adopted in 2011, showed her the clip of Chalamet’s speech. “It was a speech about excellence. It wasn’t about celebrity, it wasn’t about ego. I completely understood it, and it was beautiful,” Davis told the outlet.

At the 2025 SAG Awards, the young actor bagged the award for performance by a male actor in a leading role. Chalamet went to the stage to receive his first award for playing Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown.

He told the cheering audience that he can’t “downplay” the significance of the award because it meant a lot to him. I know we’re in a subjective business, but the truth is, I’m really in pursuit of greatness,” he added at the time.

The Wonka actor is currently shooting for the sports drama Marty Supreme, directed by Josh Safdie. The movie is set in 1950s New York City, and will see Chalamet play iconoclastic table tennis star Marty Reisman.

Lately, the young star has been creating buzz for his public appearances with girlfriend Kylie Jenner. A source told Life & Style! that he loves taking the reality star’s help in selecting his outfits. “He pretty much lets Kylie do whatever she wants,” the source added.

The source also revealed that he doesn’t mind the criticism and often deflects it with a joke or changes the topic.