Timothee Chalamet Made His Acting Debut In A Forgotten Law & Order Episode

Many regular theater-goers in New York likely play the following game. Before the show begins, try to guess how many of the actors you're about to see have been on an episode of "Law & Order" or one of its spinoffs. It may be wise to guess a number north of 15. After that, you open your Playbill and look through the actors' credits to confirm your guess. The person who comes closest without going over wins; everyone else has to pay for their meal after the show.

The "Law & Order" franchise has, as of this writing, close to 1,400 episodes under its belt, and each one of those episodes required at least one dead body and at least two suspects. This makes the property a hoop through which every working actor (especially in New York) has to inevitably jump. It's like entering the cave and taking the sword at the beginning of "The Legend of Zelda." It's something that has to happen before one's career can truly begin. Once "Law & Order" is on your résumé, you're then permitted to take on Broadway plays or other TV gigs.

This was certainly the way Timothée Chalamet began his career. Chalamet's first professional acting screen credit came in 2009 when he appeared in a "Law & Order" episode titled "Pledge." He was only 13 at the time. That same year, he was in a TV movie called "Loving Leah." The young actor also turned up on episodes of "Royal Pains" and "Homeland" before making his 2014 feature debut in the execrable "Men, Women & Children." These days, Chalamet is known for his Oscar-nominated turns in films like "Call Me By Your Name" and "A Complete Unknown," as well as blockbusters like the "Dune" movies and "Wonka." But he, like so many before and after him, got started being killed on "Law & Order."

Chalamet appeared on "Law & Order" as a character named Eric Foley. In the actor's big scene, Eric is seen entering his home after school with a friend in tow. He tells his housekeeper (Fiana Toibin) that he intends to go upstairs to play Xbox with his buddy, but also asks the housekeeper to keep it secret that he has a friend over. It seems that having uninvited guests is verboten in this household. The housekeeper says that, no, she won't keep any secrets, but that she will happily bring them snacks. The friend, annoyed, exits. Eric is heartbroken.

That's not the worst Eric will suffer in "Pledge." Soon after this scene, a killer breaks into the house, murders the housekeeper, and proceeds to attack and kill Eric as well. The killer also cuts off a lock of Eric's hair and mails it to his grieving mother (Erin Dilly) later on. It's eventually revealed that this killer (whose identity I shan't reveal here) had close ties to Eric's mother and wanted to kill her son for numerous reasons related to sexual obsession and professional jealousy.

It's quite an honor to play a dead body on "Law & Order," and Chalamet had the common privilege of starting his career that way. Who doesn't want to portray a murder victim on one of the longest-running primetime shows of all time?

Of course, Chalamet is hardly the only one to have made his professional debut on "Law & Order." Sarah Paulson started on Dick Wolf's franchise when she was only 19, for instance. Peter Sarsgaard, Ellen Pompeo, Michael Pitt, Emmy Rossum, Rob McElhenny, Leighton Meester, Rooney Mara, Claire Danes, and Peter Facinelli all appeared on the series as teens. Heck, even the late, great Philip Seymour Hoffman turned up on "Law & Order" during its very first season back in 1991. Chalamet merely joined a very prestigious legacy.