Marty Supreme Cast Guide: Cameos Joining Timothee Chalamet

Timothée Chalamet might not seem like the obvious choice for an exhilarating sports movie, and yet with Marty Mauser, he throws himself into a role that never stops surprising for all two hours-plus. Chalamet reportedly has been practicing table tennis for six years getting ready to play Mauser, a ping pong champion, hustler and showman loosely based on 1950s sensation Marty Reisman. Chalamet’s beguiling rogue character blends comedy, action and romance in a role totally distinct from Bob Dylan in “A Complete Unknown” or Willy Wonka, just to name a few. He’s been nominated for two Oscars and has been nominated for a Golden Globe for actor in a comedy movie for “Marty Supreme,” so the only question now is how far can he go?

Gwyneth Paltrow plays Kay Stone, a faded but still glamorous movie star of the 1930s in “Marty Supreme,” and despite a notable age difference, Chalamet’s Marty finds seducing her to be his ultimate achievement. Stone is starring in a play financed by her coarse husband (played by Kevin O’Leary) and finds the over-confident Marty to be an intriguing diversion as he woos her from London to New York. Paltrow convincingly jumps into the erotically charged pairing, marking a welcome return to the screen for the Oscar-winning actress who has been focusing more on her entrepreneurial activities of late.

She’s been making waves in the love-it-or-hate-it HBO series “I Love L.A.” this year, but in “Marty Supreme,” Odessa A’zion takes on a totally different role as a spirited young woman on the Lower East Side in 1950s New York. Rachel Mizler grew up with Marty Mauser but somehow got saddled with an abusive brute of a husband and a job in a pet shop. She finds solace with the unreliable but much more charming Marty, and ends up becoming his accomplice in a dangerous caper to retrieve a dog from an enraged farmer. A’zion has starred in movies like “Hellraiser” since starting out in her mother Pamela Adlon’s series “Better Things.”

Kevin O’Leary is best known as “Mr. Wonderful,” a successful Canadian entrepreneur who has been a regular on the long-running reality series “Shark Tank” since 2009. In “Marty Supreme,” O’Leary makes his acting debut playing Milton Rockwell, the manipulative businessman husband of Kay Stone, who first charms Marty with his interest in Marty’s table tennis career before turning on him in the most evil ways. “Marty Supreme” marked a reunion for O’Leary and Paltrow, who has appeared on “Shark Tank.”

The former “Nanny” star and SAG-AFTRA president plays Marty Mauser’s long-suffering mother Rebecca, who would prefer Marty work at his uncle’s boring but dependable shoe store instead of trying his luck at table tennis. Drescher got her start in features including “Saturday Night Fever” and “This Is Spinal Tap” before starting her long TV career. As a native of Queens, she brings an authentic New York flavor to the role of the beleaguered mom who doesn’t quite get her ambitious and conniving son.

Tyler, the Creator is known for his music career and long list of music videos, and the hip-hop artist has appeared in TV shows including “The Mindy Project” and provided voices for “Big Mouth” and other animated projects. “Marty Supreme” is his first major film role, and he plays Marty’s loyal friend Wally, a taxi driver who gets caught up in Marty’s wild scheme to hustle local ping pong players and earn a few extra bucks to finance an expensive trip to an overseas tournament.

Japanese table tennis champion Koto Kawaguchi makes his movie debut in “Marty Supreme” as Marty Mauser’s formidable opponent Koto Endo. In real life, Kawaguchi has won titles in several deaf ping pong championships. The character of Endo is based on Hiroji Satoh, a Gold Medalist in the 1950s who competed against Marty Reisman and was the first player to use sponge-coated paddles.

Veteran New York indie filmmaker and sometimes-actor Abel Ferrara plays Ezra Mishkin, a violent and vindictive criminal with an overzealous affection for his mangy dog, who tangles with Marty when his pup goes missing. Ferrara helmed gritty, atmospheric crime dramas like “Bad Lieutenant” and “King of New York” that appear to be big influences on both Safdie brothers.

Comic actress Sandra Bernhard plays Judy, a yenta neighbor of the Mauser family. The Michigan native is a longtime New Yorker, and with formative roles like Martin Scorsese’s “The King of Comedy,” she cemented her place in Gotham’s film and theater worlds. The famously outspoken actress went on to appear on “Roseanne” and recently made appearances on “Severance” and “Percy Jackson and the Olympians.”

Before he was a well-known playwright, screenwriter and director, David Mamet was a ping pong hustler. No, seriously. In college, Mamet and his friend, comedian and table tennis champ Jonathan Katz, hustled onlookers by letting Mamet, the lesser player, win games for money. Later on, Mamet became a habitué of the upper West Side table tennis gym owned by Marty Reisman, the ping pong legend whose life inspired “Marty Supreme.” Dustin Hoffman and Matthew Broderick were among the parlor’s other famous patrons. In “Marty Supreme,” Mamet plays Glen Nordmann, director of the play that Gwyneth Paltrow’s faded star Kay Stone is starring in.

Fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi normally plays himself in his onscreen appearances, in shows such as “Sex and the City” and “Gossip Girl.” In “Marty Supreme,” he takes on one of his few fictional roles as Merle, a cheeky press agent for retired movie star Kay Stone who gets to deliver a memorable line. Mizrahi, an old family friend of the Safdies, had hired Josh and Benny Safdie to do a campaign for Liz Claiborne back in 2009, so he goes way back with the brothers.

Director Josh Safdie packed the cast of “Marty Supreme” with a bevy of intriguing cameos from colorful character actors and non-professionals alike.