But now, it looks like Timothée Chalamet won’t be the only Timothée Chalamet in the film industry. Following the success of the film “Anora,” actor Mark Eydelshteyn is being called “the Russian Timothée Chalamet” for his “untamed curly hair” and “similar awkward, energetic charm.” Also like Chalamet, Eydelshteyn (whose last name has also been spelled “Eidelstein” in English-speaking media) is Jewish.
Here are 18 things to know about him.
1. Mark was born on Feb. 18, 2002 in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia to a Jewish family.
2. He’s an Aquarius!
3. His mom is a dialect coach and his dad is a sports journalist.
4. As a child, his mom would punish him for fighting with his brother by making him memorize passages from books or plays like “The Catcher in the Rye” and “Yevgeny Onegin.” Later, this would inspire him to become an actor.
5. He graduated from the Moscow Art Theatre School in 2023.
6. In Russia, he’s starred in 2022’s “The Land of Sasha” and 2024’s “Guest from the Future.”
7. He also starred in a Russian World War II film called “Tzadik” where he plays a Jewish boy named Moishe Tal.
8. Mark isn’t opposed to the Timothée Chalamet comparison. In fact, Russian media made the comparison before English-speaking media did!
“For me, it’s a mind-blowing situation, because in Russian people are saying I’m a Russian Timothée Chalamet and now you’re saying it in English … it’s crazy, it’s like a joke that has gone out of control,” Mark told Variety. “It did become a little annoying, but then I watched ‘Dune,’ and now I think he’s probably one of the best actors of my generation. Him and Barry Keoghan.”
9. Mark attended the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, where he took quite a few photos:
“It may be the highest point of my happiness in my life when I sat in this hall in Cannes and people were laughing. I thought, Thank you, Mother, for this. I’m not mistaken,” Mark told Vulture, crediting his mother for introducing him to reciting plays and poetry.
10. While in school, Mark co-wrote and directed a short film!
11. Mark was inspired to audition for “Anora” by Russian actor Yura Borisov. The pair were working together on “Guest from the Future.”
“Between takes, [Borisov] just asked me, ‘Do you know who is Sean Baker?,'” Mark told The Hollywood Reporter. “He said, ‘Sean Baker is looking for some teenager from Russia who can speak in English.’ I said, ‘No, no, it’s not me.’ ”
Despite his initial hesitations, Mark did end up auditioning.
12. In “Anora,” Mark starred alongside fellow Jewish actor Mikey Madison. Mark plays Ivan, the son of a Russian oligarch who pays a sex worker named Ani (Mikey Madison) to be his girlfriend. All hell breaks loose, however, when the couple elopes and Ivan’s parents send their henchman after them.
“He does have this very sensitive, deep side to him that I was lucky to be able to get to know better,” Mikey told Vulture. “His English wasn’t as evolved as it is now when we were shooting. But we laughed a lot, hysterically. I knew immediately that we would have some kind of chemistry.”
13. According to Mikey, Mark puts a lot of himself — “his energy, his youthfulness, his quirks” — into his performance.
14. Mark sent in a self-tape audition for “Anora” where he was naked in bed! He decided to do this because he envisioned the character of Ivan wearing dirty designer clothes. However, Mark couldn’t afford designer clothes. So, he filmed himself naked.
“It just blew us away — not only his boldness, but also he was truly funny and down to earth. We couldn’t consider anyone else for the role,” director Sean Baker said of Mark’s audition tape.
15. He was pretty anxious on the set of “Anora.”
“Eydelshteyn says Baker told him before rolling that he could smoke a vape pen. The actor looked at the vape and thought, You are my closest friend here. I will work with you. We are going through this journey together. You will help me, I hope. Thank you, man,” New York Magazine writer Bilge Ebiri wrote. “And so he started vaping incessantly, which became a trademark of his character.”
16. He’s not sure how he’ll explain to his parents that his character in “Anora” drinks, does drugs, curses, etc.
“I will have to explain to them, ‘It’s not your son. You’re not oligarchs. It’s just a role,’” he told Vulture.
17. Mark might be wearing a Star of David in this photoshoot for the Russian magazine Sobaka!
18. Mark hopes to take on more film roles in Europe and America following his success with “Anora.”
