Kevin O’Leary Reflects on Filming “Marty Supreme”

Kevin O’Leary recently shared some insights about a particularly intense scene from his film, “Marty Supreme,” which has garnered Oscar attention. In this memorable moment, his character paddles and humiliates Timothée Chalamet’s character.

O’Leary explained to Fox News Digital that they kicked off shooting this scene around 3:45 a.m. Initially, a stunt performer was supposed to handle the hits, not Chalamet. “There was a stunt planned,” he noted, “but we had this fake paddle with a silicone hinge, and it completely broke on the first hit. It just didn’t look right.”

Chalamet, however, caught everyone off guard by insisting, “Wait a minute, that’s going to be my a-.” It was then that things took a turn.

Director Josh Safdie stepped in, saying it didn’t feel authentic enough. He told Chalamet, “This is an important scene in terms of competition, and we need some authenticity here.” O’Leary recounted how Safdie encouraged Chalamet to really take it to the stunt performer.

Chalamet, in what was his first feature film, said, “I laid my body against him so he could slap one cheek at a time while keeping the other one cool. Yeah, I left a mark with that paddle on his left cheek.” The intensity of the scene was such that some crew members found it hard to watch and had to step away.

“It was around 4:30 a.m., and it was just screaming chaos,” O’Leary remarked. “We were sort of improvising, and that made it a significant scene in the film. Even some extras, like the cameraman and lighting crew, were saying, ‘This is tough to watch. Can we take a breather between takes?’ It was a lot to absorb.”

O’Leary estimated they had to do about 30 to 40 takes to nail that scene. Oddly enough, he had a feeling Chalamet was destined for big things. “While we were shooting in Tokyo, I told Safdie on the third day, ‘Oscars, dude.’ I just knew he had this incredible energy, and every shot showed a bit of him freaking out, and it was amazing,” he said.

Chalamet, now 30, received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor on January 22. O’Leary mentioned that during filming, it was clear how talented Chalamet was, even going as far as to say, “He could win for anything he does. The kid is phenomenal.”

O’Leary also highlighted how the film was shot “old school” using 35mm film. “I’ve been in television for two decades, and there’s just something enchanting about movies that you can’t replicate on TV,” he reflected.

He contrasted the chaotic atmosphere of a movie set with the more organized nature of his usual financial and business pursuits. “It’s a complete mess in a lot of ways, but those improvisations can lead to some brilliant moments. Many of the best lines emerged from the 20th take, and you learn to embrace those little mistakes during the creative process.”