section_path: Career/2008–2016: Early roles
section_name: 2008–2016: Early roles
paragraph_text: 2008–2016: Early roles
  
  As a child, Chalamet appeared in several commercials and acted in two horror short films called Sweet Tooth and Clown, before making his television debut on an episode of the long-running police procedural series Law & Order (2009), playing a murder victim. This was followed by a minor role in the television film Loving Leah (2009). In 2011, Chalamet made his stage debut in the Off-Broadway play The Talls, a coming-of-age comedy set in the 1970s, in which he played a sexually curious 12-year-old. The chief theatre critic of New York Daily News wrote: "Chalamet hilariously captures a tween's awakening curiosities about sex." In 2012, he had recurring roles in the drama series Royal Pains and the thriller series Homeland, in which Chalamet played Finn Walden, the rebellious son of the Vice President. Along with the rest of the cast, he was nominated for a SAG Award for Best Ensemble.
  
  In 2014, Chalamet made his feature film debut in a minor role in Jason Reitman 's Men, Women & Children. That same year, he played the role of Tom Cooper, the son of Matthew McConaughey 's character, in Christopher Nolan 's Interstellar. The film received positive reviews, with critics praising the cast's performances, and grossed over $700 million worldwide. A decade later, Chalamet stated that Interstellar was his favorite film he had ever been in, but shared that at the time he was disappointed because it didn't boost his career as he had assumed it would. Also in 2014, Chalamet had a supporting role in Worst Friends, a comedy which had a limited theatrical release and received positive reviews. In 2015, Chalamet co-starred in Andrew Droz Palermo 's fantasy thriller One & Two, which premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival, where it received mixed reviews, before its limited theatrical release. His next role was playing the teenage version of James Franco 's character, Stephen Elliott, in Pamela Romanowsky 's The Adderall Diaries. In his final role of 2015, Chalamet played Charlie Cooper, the sullen grandson of Diane Keaton and John Goodman 's characters in the Christmas comedy Love the Coopers, which received negative reviews.
  
  In 2016, Chalamet starred as Jim Quinn in the autobiographical play Prodigal Son at Manhattan Theatre Club. Handpicked by its playwright and director John Patrick Shanley and producer Scott Rudin, Chalamet portrayed a younger Shanley, a misfit Bronx kid in a prestigious New Hampshire prep school set in 1963. His performance was praised and won him the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play, in addition to a nomination for the Drama League Award for Distinguished Performance. Chalamet also co-starred opposite Lily Rabe in Julia Hart 's Miss Stevens as the troubled student Billy Mitman. Stephen Farber of The Hollywood Reporter described Chalamet's act as "compelling" and "startling", with his character's speech from Death of a Salesman as among the best he has ever seen. Stephen Holden of The New York Times compared him to James Dean.
  
  As a child, Chalamet appeared in several commercials and acted in two horror short films called Sweet Tooth and Clown, before making his television debut on an episode of the long-running police procedural series Law & Order (2009), playing a murder victim. This was followed by a minor role in the television film Loving Leah (2009). In 2011, Chalamet made his stage debut in the Off-Broadway play The Talls, a coming-of-age comedy set in the 1970s, in which he played a sexually curious 12-year-old. The chief theatre critic of New York Daily News wrote: "Chalamet hilariously captures a tween's awakening curiosities about sex." In 2012, he had recurring roles in the drama series Royal Pains and the thriller series Homeland, in which Chalamet played Finn Walden, the rebellious son of the Vice President. Along with the rest of the cast, he was nominated for a SAG Award for Best Ensemble.
  
  In 2014, Chalamet made his feature film debut in a minor role in Jason Reitman 's Men, Women & Children. That same year, he played the role of Tom Cooper, the son of Matthew McConaughey 's character, in Christopher Nolan 's Interstellar. The film received positive reviews, with critics praising the cast's performances, and grossed over $700 million worldwide. A decade later, Chalamet stated that Interstellar was his favorite film he had ever been in, but shared that at the time he was disappointed because it didn't boost his career as he had assumed it would. Also in 2014, Chalamet had a supporting role in Worst Friends, a comedy which had a limited theatrical release and received positive reviews. In 2015, Chalamet co-starred in Andrew Droz Palermo 's fantasy thriller One & Two, which premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival, where it received mixed reviews, before its limited theatrical release. His next role was playing the teenage version of James Franco 's character, Stephen Elliott, in Pamela Romanowsky 's The Adderall Diaries. In his final role of 2015, Chalamet played Charlie Cooper, the sullen grandson of Diane Keaton and John Goodman 's characters in the Christmas comedy Love the Coopers, which received negative reviews.
  
  In 2016, Chalamet starred as Jim Quinn in the autobiographical play Prodigal Son at Manhattan Theatre Club. Handpicked by its playwright and director John Patrick Shanley and producer Scott Rudin, Chalamet portrayed a younger Shanley, a misfit Bronx kid in a prestigious New Hampshire prep school set in 1963. His performance was praised and won him the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play, in addition to a nomination for the Drama League Award for Distinguished Performance. Chalamet also co-starred opposite Lily Rabe in Julia Hart 's Miss Stevens as the troubled student Billy Mitman. Stephen Farber of The Hollywood Reporter described Chalamet's act as "compelling" and "startling", with his character's speech from Death of a Salesman as among the best he has ever seen. Stephen Holden of The New York Times compared him to James Dean.