Timothee Chalamet held Odessa A'zion's hand through Marty Supreme’s toughest scenes

Actress discusses overcoming stage fright working on Josh Safdie’s latest, wildest film

Timothee Chalamet and Odessa A'zion star in Marty Supreme. AFP

Ever wonder what it’s like on a Josh Safdie set? Odessa A'zion certainly did.

“And I mean, it’s exactly like the movie,” says A’zion, who stars in Marty Supreme. “It’s chaotic, but it’s fun. It’s stressful. It’s difficult at times – really difficult at times – but it all plays into it. I couldn't believe I was there the whole time I was there.”

That's probably why it's hard to categorise Marty Supreme. To call it just a sports drama doesn’t do it justice.

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The fifth collaboration between director Safdie and writer Ronald Bronstein, it's one of the wildest films of the year – full of unexpected turns, unforgettable faces and heightened performances. It might not maintain the same nervously high pitch of the duo's last film, Uncut Gems, but it’s certainly in the same register.

“I don’t even know how they come up with these things,” says A’zion. “You read it, and you think how are we going to execute that? Or like, they’re going to do what with a bathtub?”

As much as the script terrified A’zion – “I have the biggest stage fright in the world, actually,” she says – it’s a world she had long dreamt of being a part of, so this was an opportunity she wasn't going to waste.

A'zion struggled with the film's most emotionally heightened scenes. Photo: A24

Set mostly in 1952 New York City, Marty Supreme is an ode to the rougher edges of the American dream – following an aspiring table tennis player loosely based on the life of hustler-turned-champion Marty Reisman. A’zion plays Rachel Mizler, Marty Mauser's childhood best friend, a married woman secretly as ruthless as he is, with whom he’s having an affair.

Marty (Timothee Chalamet) and Rachel often get up to no good, which almost always leads to no good. To capture the film’s nerve-racking tone, A’zion and Chalamet had to put themselves through the wringer from start to finish, hitting every emotional note they could reach. It was exhausting, A’zion says.

“But still, I had the most incredible time,” she adds. “You could put me in the most awful scenario, and I would still have the best time, because I love doing uncomfortable stuff with acting – I feel like that’s my outlet.”

What was on A’zion’s mind during those scenes is either something other actors don’t think about or just don’t readily admit: it’s weird to do weird stuff with a whole crew watching you.

Writer-director Josh Sadfie, left, and actor Timothee Chalamet on the set of Marty Supreme. Photo: A24

“It gets awkward. It’s uncomfortable. For me, the most difficult thing is trying to wipe my mind and think: 'Who cares that people are watching you right now and you're uncomfortable? Just do it. Just do it,'” says A’zion.

“I would tell myself: 'What's going to live on is what you what you do right now for Josh and for the camera and that's what matters. You being uncomfortable with people watching you doesn't matter.'”

Having Chalamet as a scene partner certainly made that easier for her – in part because watching him take creative risks inspired her to take her own.

“Timothee is so amazing at doing that. He’s just in it. It’s admirable. I’m like: 'I need to do that more.'”

The most difficult moment for her came in a key scene in which she is admitted to the hospital with Chalamet's character by her side. She got through it, she explains, by leaning on Chalamet (with whom she had an instant connection, as she told Deadline) not for creative inspiration, but for emotional support.

“I just had to start screaming out of nowhere. I’m like, can someone start with me? This is weird. But Timothee was so great in that scene. In any scene where I was uncomfortable or awkward, he was there the entire time. He stayed holding my hand the whole time between takes,” says A’zion.

A'zion, who also stars in I Love LA, pushed herself harder than she ever had for Marty Supreme. AFP

“And Josh was amazing. I was anxious because I felt like I didn’t get it out the way I was supposed to. We started on my coverage and then went to Timothee. I felt like my screams didn’t sound real until it was turned around.

“I wanted to do it one more time, but we didn’t have any more time. But Josh would always say: 'I would never move on if I didn’t feel like we had it.'”

A similar dynamic played out in a scene set on a farm – best left unspoilt – where A’zion was required to launch herself into an extreme physical and emotional state in the back seat of a car.

“It was so much fun, but it was so difficult. I had to go from sitting still to suddenly sounding horrified and out of breath. I don’t know how I got through it,” she adds.

A Safdie set leaves little room for hesitation. Marty Supreme asked its actors to commit before they felt ready, and to trust that discomfort would lead somewhere truthful. For A’zion, that demand wasn't something to endure – it was the reason to show up. It was unlike anything else. Even now, before the film’s wide release, she’s already clamouring for more.

“I wish I could go back and redo it. I wish that I could do every single movie with them,” she says.

Marty Supreme opens in the US on Thursday, with a Middle East release still unannounced