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Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet<\/strong><\/a> has been tipped for years as the next Leonardo DiCaprio<\/strong><\/a> type, and a friend close to the actor reveals exclusively to Life & Style<\/em> how he\u2019s been quietly obsessed with his older role model whilst taking cues from his style and vying to one day surpass him.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cTimmy is open about his admiration for Leo and even about the times he has directly sought Leo\u2019s advice, but there\u2019s definitely a double-edged sword to this kind of obsession he has to be aware of,\u201d the source says.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Timoth\u00e9e, 28, revealed in September 2022 that his Don\u2019t Look Up Costar<\/em>, Leo, 49, gave him some useful advice on set while they were filming.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cNo hard drugs,\u201d Leo told him, \u201cand no superhero movies.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Even though Timoth\u00e9e has stated it was Heath Ledger<\/strong>\u2019s performance as the Joker in The Dark Knight<\/em> that inspired him to become an actor, the Dune<\/em> hero hasn\u2019t gone super on the big screen yet. That means Timoth\u00e9e is likely taking his mentor\u2019s advice to heart, but he\u2019s also taking another page out of the Titanic actor\u2019s playbook \u2013 being notoriously picky about the scripts he chooses to accept!<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cLeo has devoted his entire adult life to being a certain kind of movie star,\u201d the insider says, \u201ccarefully picking projects and cultivating a global fan base.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Leo\u2019s A-list strategy eventually landed him an Academy Award for portraying frontiersman Philip Glass<\/strong> in Alexander I\u00f1\u00e1rritu<\/strong>\u2019s The Revenant<\/em>, which required steadfast commitment to early 19th-century authenticity, including eating raw bison liver and crawling inside of a gutted bison carcass.<\/span><\/p>\n Even though there have been no reports about any radical changes to Timoth\u00e9e\u2019s diet, the insider warns that following Leo\u2019s footsteps too closely comes at a cost.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt can be a very lonely life at the top<\/a> and it\u2019s obviously kept Leo from starting a family of his own or even having much of a personal life outside of his lavish vacations<\/a> and his environmental work,\u201d the insider says.<\/span><\/p>\n Timoth\u00e9e shares a similar career trajectory with Leo, at least for now. Both began as child actors and eventually hit breakout roles as young men \u2013 Leo as Arnie Grape, the brother of Johnny Depp<\/strong>\u2019s lead character in What\u2019s Eating Gilbert Grape<\/em>, and Timoth\u00e9e as Tom Cooper, the son of Matthew McConoughey<\/strong>\u2019s lead character in Interstellar<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n After playing second to A-list stars at the time, both actors began signing on to leading roles and making a name for themselves \u2013 Leo with The Basketball Diaries<\/em> and Timoth\u00e9e with Call Me by Your Name<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cBut this is what Timmy wants, and it\u2019s why he has carefully studied Leo since he was a teenager and why he made a point of paying his respects to Leo when he became a full-blown leading man in the last couple of years.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n