He trains Timothée Chalamet This 72-year-old from Basel impresses Hollywood

A Basel native taught Timothée Chalamet how to play table tennis. Diego Schaaf spoke to blue News about the Hollywood star, "Marty Supreme" and how he became Hollywood's table tennis coach by chance.

Diego Schaaf had not expected to be shouted at by Timothée Chalamet. When the assistant director of "Marty Supreme" wrote to him the evening before a day of filming and asked if he could stand in as an umpire at the table tennis match the next day, he agreed. "I had to be on set anyway and see what was going on," Schaaf told blue News.

The next day, he was dressed as a table tennis referee from the 1950s, took a seat in his chair and watched the match. Chalamet lost - Schaaf knew that. After all, he had planned the match. What he didn't know was that Chalamet would improvise. "He shouted at me," Schaaf recalls today with a laugh. "I reacted the way a referee does in a situation like that: I ignored him." Director Josh Safdie liked the scene. "So we did a few more takes exactly like that," says Schaaf.

The 72-year-old Swiss actor was not actually hired to act in the film "Marty Supreme". His job was to teach the lead actor Timothée Chalamet how to play table tennis. Together with his wife Wei Wang, he runs a company in Los Angeles that advises film productions in which table tennis plays a role.

Schaaf and Wang became involved in the work on "Marty Supreme" in the summer of 2024. Initially, they wanted to use a double for Chalamet for the table tennis scenes - but no one was suitable. "We found people who looked similar, but they all played worse than Timothée," says Schaaf.

Table tennis training on the tennis court

So they had to turn Chalamet into a table tennis pro: "Someone who moves like a pro and brings intensity and explosive strokes," says Schaaf. Filming was scheduled for the fall. There were only a few months left.

They met Chalamet at his home. They set up a table tennis table on his tennis court. Wang practiced movements and techniques with him: Forehand, backhand - and above all the style of the 1950s, in which the movie is set. "The table tennis style of the 50s was more dance-like and less athletic than it is today," explains Schaaf. Today, people tend to stand low at the table, back then they were straighter and more upright.

Schaaf was responsible for the choreography. Together with director Safdie, he laid out the rallies in advance. Step by step, they put the individual shots and points together in a precise sequence.

In order to play everything exactly as planned, Chalamet and his opponent had to memorize every rally. "Where the ball comes from, where it goes, how high or low it is, and where they have to look," says Schaaf.

They filmed without the ball. The actors only had to perform the movements exactly. The ball was added later on the computer.

Chalamet was able to play all the rallies, but not at the speed required for the film - and certainly not over several takes. "Even a world-class player couldn't do that just like that," explains Schaaf. "In the beginning, Timothée wanted to play everything himself. But then he also understood that it wouldn't have been possible to get to this level in such a short time."

Schaaf had no doubts that it would work. "As soon as I spoke to Josh and Timothée for the first time, I knew it would work," he says. Safdie told him openly that he didn't know how to make table tennis convincing on film. "The director usually thinks it's easier than it actually is," explains Schaaf. However, Safdie recognized the difficulty. "I knew then that it would be a lot of work, but it would turn out well."

Chalamet also told him that he is a dancer. "As a dancer, he has full control of his body," explains Schaaf. "He understands what he has to do." He was therefore able to copy the movement sequences quickly. "We had to lightly guide his hand once or twice - then it worked."

Chalamet says in interviews that he practiced for seven years before filming "Marty Supreme". He took a table tennis table with him everywhere: to the desert for the filming of "Dune", to the set of "Wonka", to France for the Cannes Film Festival.

Chalamet has already shown a similar dedication to earlier roles. Chalamet learned to play the guitar and harmonica for the Bob Dylan biopic "Like A Complete Unknown".

This discipline also impressed Schaaf. "I immediately understood that he wanted to bring the same commitment to table tennis." Chalamet has shown an unusual ability to concentrate. "He can really get into something and then be fully involved. He often said - even if I was already satisfied: 'I'll do it again'."

The effort was worth it. The film has been nominated for nine Oscars. The table tennis scenes have been particularly praised by critics, with Vanity Fair writing: "Timothée Chalamet deserves an Oscar for his table tennis alone." Does that make Schaaf proud? "Yes, of course," he says. "We were very happy about it - especially because the movie gives the sport so much respect. It's very nice for us. We've been in the sport for 40 years."

Schaaf started playing table tennis as a teenager in Basel. But when he moved to Los Angeles in 1979 at the age of 26, he had other things on his mind. His dream: to become a musician.

But the competition was fierce. "You don't think about that as a young artist. You want to get away from Europe to America, where everything is going well. But the people you already know work there. It's difficult for newcomers." He made a living as a musician and sound engineer for ten years before switching to video production.

Around the same time, he found his way back to table tennis. He got involved in a tournament by chance - and was immediately hooked again. What fascinates him to this day is the combination of mental and physical skills that playing table tennis requires. "It's like running 100 meters during a chess match," says Schaaf.

"When the camera is rolling, everything works"

It was also at a tournament that Schaaf met his wife. Wei Wang was a US national player and took part in the 1996 Olympic Games. "She's like a tiger at the table," says Schaaf about his wife.

They began producing instructional videos together, wrote for the national table tennis magazine and set up two table tennis clubs, which they still run today. Their mission: to present table tennis in a more attractive way than the association had done until then. Less pure documentation, more emotion - viewers should be able to feel the excitement of the players at the table.

The first inquiries from the film industry soon followed. Schaaf and Wang worked with Tom Hanks for "Forrest Gump" and Matthew Perry for "Friends".

Tom Hanks and Timothée Chalamet have something in common, says Schaaf: they work better under pressure than without it. "When I was making music, I often saw how someone could play the guitar like a god. But as soon as the recording started, everything fell apart." With Chalamet and Hanks, it's the other way around. "When the camera is rolling, everything works. Everything is perfect."

When Schaaf looks back on his projects, his favorite project is still clearly "Marty Supreme": "The film took table tennis very seriously. We were able to show the sport as it is. That was particularly fun."

"O", "M", "G"

As a 71-year-old at the time, it was particularly nice to work with much younger people - and not only to keep up with them, but also to be able to push them forward. In addition to Chalamet, this also included rapper Tyler, the Creator, who had never played table tennis before. "He didn't even know how to do it," says Schaaf.

Schaaf had never met either of them before. He searched for Tyler, the Creator on the internet - and was skeptical at first. "That wasn't my style." But the rapper came to her club several times. "He was a really nice guy. Peaceful, positive, always with a laugh."

Schaaf found out about Chalamet from his niece in Zurich. He wrote to her: "You, I'm working on a movie. Do you know who Timothée Chalamet is?"

The answer came in three messages: "O", "M", "G".

Marty Supreme opens in Swiss-German cinemas on February 26.

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