Josh Safdie, the indie auteur who helmed A24 hits like Good Time and Uncut Gems alongside his brother Benny, is known for painting portraits of New York’s underbelly by casting both professionals and non-actors from the niche communities depicted on screen.
His solo directorial debut, Marty Supreme, is no different. Set in the early ‘50s in N.Y.C.’s Lower East Side, the frenetic sports movie stars Timothée Chalamet as an aspiring ping-pong legend who will do whatever it takes to achieve his version of the American Dream. Opposite the 29-year-old are fellow established actors like Gwyneth Paltrow and up-and-comer Odessa A’Zion. But the non-actors make just as much of a splash on screen. Consider filmmaker Abel Ferrara (as gangster Ezra Mishkin) and Shark Tank investor Kevin O’Leary (as business magnate Simon Rockwell), as well as the several table tennis fanatics, baseball card dealers, and real-life NYPD officers who get screentime.
