Timothée Chalamet Apologised to Kylie Jenner After Birthday Surprise, Actor Admits He Was 'Grump'

Timothée Chalamet did what most people do when they think they are being dragged somewhere pointless on their birthday. He sulked in the passenger seat, complained about the drive, and only later realized he had been set up for something genuinely thoughtful by Kylie Jenner.​

The story came out in a clip from a CNN and Variety town hall conversation with Matthew McConaughey, his Interstellar co-star, where Chalamet admitted he was 'grumpy' before the surprise clicked into place. Jenner, he said, had arranged a private IMAX screening of Interstellar for his 30th birthday last December.

It is the kind of anecdote celebrities normally sand down until it sounds heroic. Chalamet left the rough edges in, which is probably why it is going viral.

Timothée Chalamet, Kylie Jenner and the IMAX Apology

Chalamet told McConaughey he had no idea where Jenner was taking him, and he was irritated by the mystery. 'I was grumpy on the way there because I didn't know where she was taking me,' he said, adding, 'It's my birthday. Why are we driving 30 minutes outside of L.A.?'​

Then came the reveal. 'I got to the theater and it was Interstellar in IMAX,' Chalamet said, before delivering the part every boyfriend should tattoo onto their brain, 'Oh, I'm sorry for being so grumpy on the drive.'​

For anyone outside the US who does not speak fluent Los Angeles, that '30 minutes' line carries a lot of work. In a city where people organize their lives around avoiding traffic, a half-hour drive can feel like a small moral injury, even when being chauffeured to one's own birthday surprise.​

Chalamet also sounded less like a movie star than a slightly obsessive film student, confessing he has 'legitimately maybe seen it 22 times' and that he watched it '12 times' in theaters when it first came out. That is not a casual favorite.​

Timothée Chalamet, Kylie Jenner and the Awards Season Body Language

The birthday moment has been folded into a larger narrative about a couple who keep insisting on privacy while repeatedly showing up, together, in the most photographed rooms in America. E! and other outlets have reported the pair started dating in 2023, though neither has offered a neat relationship timeline on the record, so details should be taken with a grain of salt.

What is on the record is Chalamet's willingness to acknowledge Jenner in public when the stakes are high. At the 2026 Critics Choice Awards, People reported he won Best Actor for Marty Supreme and thanked Jenner during his acceptance speech.

'And lastly, I'll just say, thank you to my partner of three years,' he said. 'Thank you for our foundation. I love you. I couldn't do this without you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, thank you so much.'​

E! reported that the camera cut to Jenner, who smiled and mouthed back, 'I love you.' Viewed cynically, it could be dismissed as awards-season theatre; viewed fairly, it appeared as though two people were briefly forgetting the room was watching.

Away from the red carpets, the couple has also been drawn into the Kardashian family orbit in ways that feel almost aggressively ordinary. In January, E! reported that Khloé Kardashian said on her Khloé in Wonder Land podcast that a family dinner turned into a late night, with Jenner and Chalamet staying until '1:30 in the morning.'

So yes, Chalamet was grumpy about a 30-minute drive. He apologized when he realized he was being handed the one gift you cannot buy off a shelf, a private room, a huge screen and a movie he has practically memorized.