Is Timothée Chalamet disguising himself as a UK rapper?
Timothée Chalamet is one of the biggest actors on the planet. The 29-year-old has been involved in some of the most popular movies of the past decade or so, including Dune, Wonka, Interstellar, and Call Me By Your Name. He may be one of the busiest celebrities in the business, but according to some, he’s still found time to disguise himself as a buzzing UK rapper.
British artist EsDeeKid has been making waves throughout 2024 and 2025, releasing his debut album, Rebel, in June. The rising rapper is best known for songs like ‘Phantom’ with 68 million Spotify streams, and ‘LV Sandals’ and ‘4 Raws’, which each have 46 million and 39 million streams. In a short space of time, he’s acquired over seven million monthly Spotify listeners and 377,000 Instagram followers.
EsDeeKid’s true identity is unknown due to the balaclava he constantly wears online and during live performances. One of the most identifiable things about him is his Scouse accent, suggesting he’s from Liverpool, but that hasn’t stopped people from thinking Chalamet might be the man behind it all.
To start with, people think EsDeeKid and Chalamet look alike behind the mask, with the actor previously being spotted wearing a balaclava. Chalamet also made a random appearance at EsDeeKid collaborator Fakemink’s show in London earlier this year, further fuelling rumours about a possible alter ego.
Although Chalamet pulling off a Liverpudlian accent while rapping would be impressive, it’s not something to completely count out. He’s shown off his ability to perform a variety of accent in films such as A Complete Unknown and The King.
KJ Freeman first came up with the suggestion that Chalamet is EsDeeKid, telling her TikTok followers, “This is gonna sound crazy, but that rapper, EsDeeKid, I believe that may be Timothée Chalamet. This is my Spidey senses tingling. I have no hard evidence on this.”
People have also pointed out the similarities between the two names, with EsDeeKid and Timothée Chalamet both having “ee” in their names. Chalamet is no stranger to rapping either, famously performing as “Lil Timmy Tim” in high school. He also parodied SoundCloud rappers during his appearances on Saturday Night Live in 2020 and 2023.
Chalamet is a known hip-hop head, too, praising Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, Kid Cudi, and Nicki Minaj in the past. In fact, he credited Cudi for his entire acting career. “Kid Cudi is my favourite artist ever,” he said. “I wouldn’t be acting without him; I wouldn’t have pursued this crazy career.” A viral clip also saw him knighted by Lil B at New York University.
During an interview with Nardwuar, he had high praise for Lauryn Hill’s only solo album. “Listen, I’m gonna be honest to my lack of music education,” he said. “This is an album I got into [in] the last year, which I know makes me about 20-30 years late to The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. But I was absolutely floored by how incredible this album is.”
While it’s highly unlikely that Timothée Chalamet is spending his pastime in the UK rapping in a Scouse accent, people seem to think it’s a possibility. With a history of loving rap music and some strange coincidences, the theory is there for those who want to believe it.