With electrifying energy and a gimlet gaze, Timothee Chalamet commands the ping pong table in the new cinematic sensation, Marty Supreme. The film, which hit UK cinemas on Boxing Day, is already a box office smash, taking over £9 million and generating serious Oscar buzz for its leading man.
The Man Behind the Myth: Marty Reisman's Wild Life
The film is inspired by the utterly remarkable life of 1950s table tennis champion Marty Reisman, a character so larger-than-life that even Hollywood had to tone down some of his exploits. Reisman, who died in 2012 aged 82, was a self-confessed inveterate hustler, a showman, and a sublime talent.
He won and lost three fortunes, smuggled gold bullion in a muslin vest, and made tens of thousands of dollars conning opponents. His life was a rollercoaster featuring two nervous breakdowns, a daughter lost to a cult, and famous friends from editor Harold Evans to actress Susan Sarandon.
A flamboyant dresser in silk shirts and fedoras, his slim build and sharp wit earned him the nickname 'the Needle'. He was known for measuring the net with a $100 bill and could split a cigarette in half with a ping pong ball. He'd play sitting down, blindfolded, or using a coke bottle as a bat.
From Hustler to Champion: A Sporting Legacy
But Reisman was far more than a showman. He is considered one of the greatest players ever, winning 22 major titles from 1946 to 2002, including two US Opens and a British Open. His final title was clinched at the astonishing age of 67, in one of sport's most remarkable comebacks.
Born in 1930 on Manhattan's Lower East Side to Jewish parents, he found solace in table tennis after a childhood nervous breakdown. By 13, he was city junior champion. He learned to hustle at a club that was a former speakeasy, luring marks by losing first, then doubling the stakes before revealing his true skill.
His confidence often landed him in trouble. Aged 15, he was ejected from a tournament by police after trying to place a $500 bet on himself with the head of the US Table Tennis Association. Undeterred, he toured England with an exhibition team, illicitly selling silk stockings to post-war Britons.
He later toured the world with the Harlem Globetrotters, smuggling gold for the military in exchange for uns searched transport. The classic 'hardbat' era suited his epic rally style, a mesmerising technique that Timothee Chalamet spent years perfecting for the role.
Chalamet's Transformation and the Film's Fiction
Director Josh Safdie approached Chalamet in 2018, convinced he had the energy to become 'Timmy Supreme'. The actor committed deeply, taking a table tennis table to every film set between 2018 and 2024, including Wonka and Dune 2, and using the Covid lockdown and actors' strike to hone his game.
While the film captures Reisman's spirit, it takes creative liberties. The subplot involving an older lover, Kay Stone, played by Gwyneth Paltrow, is pure fiction. Reisman was married twice, first to childhood sweetheart Geri, with whom he had a daughter, Debby, and later to devoted second wife Yoshiko.
His friend and protege, Jimmy Pelletier, noted that Reisman's real life was so incredible that fictional additions were unnecessary. The film does, however, accurately portray a pivotal career moment: his 1952 defeat to Japanese player Hiroji Satoh, who used a new foam rubber bat that Reisman despised as a 'fraud'.
Reisman's later years saw him buy a New York table tennis club, a hangout for stars like Dustin Hoffman. According to friend Matthew Syed, Reisman would have loved the film, laughing at his portrayal before heading out for another game and another bet. Marty Supreme ensures the legend of the ultimate ping pong hustler lives on.
