In the latest director's special for "W" magazine, Timothée Chalamet once again demonstrated his deep commitment to character. This time, he collaborated with director Josh Safdie to conceive a new character, Shend—a New York man in his thirties obsessed with the "Yu-Gi-Oh!" card game. While the character's premise might seem a bit absurd, it surprisingly resonates with Chalamet's own childhood memories.
Shend is a "Yu-Gi-Oh!" champion who frequents comic book stores to battle strangers. He customizes and sells game controllers from his car trunk, works as a doorman by day, and immerses himself in the card game world by night. This intense dedication to card games isn't entirely fictional.
In the interview, Chalamet confessed his own youthful passion for card games. He stated, "I was really into card games when I was a kid. I remember around 12 or 13, I used to go play at Midtown Comics." He recalled that period as his first experience with a unique sense of community.
Discussing the appeal of card games, Chalamet noted, "I love how the game brings people from different classes and races together." For a teenager growing up in New York's Hell's Kitchen, a comic book store wasn't just a place to pass time; it was a space to temporarily escape real-world labels. Regardless of background, everyone met as players at the card table.
This memory became a crucial core for Shend's character. Unlike Marty Supreme, the calculating con artist who only looked out for himself, Shend is more like a "big kid" yearning for belonging. His obsession with cards isn't just about winning; it's about finding identity.
"Shend is a very New York character," Chalamet stated. "It's that spirit of feeling like you don't belong anywhere, so you try to fit in everywhere." This mindset is amplified in the scenes where he battles strangers at the comic book store. The card game becomes an escape valve from real-world pressures for the character, and a way to extend a childhood passion.
Director Josh Safdie, meanwhile, pointed out that Shend carries a certain vulnerability.
"We all have passions, and we all have real lives," Safdie commented. "There's a genuine sense of vulnerability in Shend." As the character is torn between fantasy and reality, the card world symbolizes the innocence and possibilities he's unwilling to let go of.
From playing cards at a comic book store as a teenager to portraying a card champion on screen today, Chalamet has transformed personal memories into the soul of a character. Perhaps, as he suggested, card games once brought people from different backgrounds together at the same table, and through the character of Shend, he now allows audiences to see that shared experience of New York and of growing up.
via： W Magazine