Gamer Alert: Dune's Timothée Chalamet has a secret YouTube channel

Move over, Ninja. The next big gaming influencer is here! It turns out actor Timothée Chalamet had a brief stint as a gaming YouTuber long before he assumed the role of Paul Atreides in the new Dune movie. Following the film’s release and the announcement of Dune Part 2, the Xbox 360 controller-focused YouTube channel that Chalamet briefly posted on in early 2010 is gaining traction.

In one of the weirdest gaming revelations of 2021, we have learned that Timothée Chalamet’s passion for video games is much deeper than we knew, even if the Fortnite-featured actor is not coming for Ninja’s crown anytime soon.

What happened — On October 27, VICE published an exhaustive report connecting the channel ModdedController360 to the Call Me By Your Name actor. Hilarious lines like “Chalamet’s hands are another piece of evidence” alone make the article worth reading. It breaks down how particular objects in ModdedController360’s videos match an old Instagram post from Chalamet.

However, Chalamet’s personal history as a gamer has been an open secret for quite some time now. VICE has merely exposed it to the masses.

FaZe Clan’s Nate Hill published an interview with Chalamet and Dune co-star Zendaya on October 22. In one segment (clip included above), Chalamet openly confesses to being the person behind ModdedController360.

“I used to paint modded controllers. I did three. I would like open them up and paint them and I would charge people $10 ... I made like $30, but it took me like 5 hours ... My parents were like, ‘You’re spraypainting all over the house! You can’t do this anymore!’”

Currently, the ModdedController360 channel features three videos with comments disabled on all of them. The host, who never reals his face, shows off Xbox 360 controllers that he’s modded. There’s a red and black Red Tiger controller, a blue and silver controller, and one that is green and red. The videos range from 45 seconds to a minute long, with Chalamet briefly showing off his creations from every angle.

In a world of pure imagination — Upon further investigation, the Wonka actor has discussed being a gamer multiple times in the past. OneEsports documented numerous times where he discussed his history with video games. We also found an interview with IGN where Chalamet highlights Rockstar Games’ L.A. Noire and Red Dead Redemption and Activision’s Call of Duty series as some of his favorite games.

He rarely brings up his history as a YouTuber, and probably for a good reason. The videos are of pretty low production quality and were produced when Chalemet was much younger. And they have almost nothing to do with his current relevance as an actor.

Of course, it’s not fair to make fun of him for making videos about something he was passionate about before his acting career. Still, it’s bizarre to see what one of Hollywood’s most famous actors was up to in his teenage years and confirm that he was, indeed, a passionate enough gamer to make videos about it on YouTube.

Nothing ever truly dies on the internet. You’re truly one of us now, Timothée.