Charles Melton’s awards campaign for his breakout role in “May December” started in May when the Todd Haynes drama co-starring Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman premiered at Cannes.
Since then, Melton has gone on to receive a slew of award nominations and wins. He picked up Golden Globe and Independent Spirit Award noms and won a Gotham for outstanding supporting performance.
Fans of the film, however, were disappointed when Melton didn’t receive an Oscar nomination, and the movie only earned one for original screenplay.
But, I’m glad to report that Melton is doing just fine. “I’m happy,” Melton told me Wednesday night at Cultured’s art and film issue dinner (Melton and LaKeith Stanfield appear on separate covers of the magazine). “I just got back from Hawaii. I was just relaxing and processing and getting a nice little suntan. I reconnected with my friends and family because I’ve been pretty busy these last few months.”
His family members keep him grounded. “They always give me a hard time,” Melton said, smiling.
I asked Melton to recall the most “surreal experience” he had during his time with “May December.” “It’s all of it,” he said. “It’s being able to share this journey that I made this movie with — the writers, the editors, Todd Haynes, Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman. And then just meeting so many of my heroes along the way and hearing their response to the film and my performance.”
But Melton admits, “I do get star-struck often.”
Like when he met Bradley Cooper: “He’s incredible and he’s a Philadelphia Eagles fan just like me.”
Speaking of football, Melton talked about his Kansas roots. “My family lives in Kansas City so I spend time there,” he said. “It’s kind of my home state even though I’m an Eagles fan. So I was really happy to see the Chiefs win. It was a great game.”
And add Melton to the list of folks who think Taylor Swift has had a positive effect on the NFL. “I think it’s incredible,” said Melton, who was spotted at a Swift concert in August. “I am a huge fan. I love it. [The Super Bowl] was the most-watched TV show since the moon-landing in 1969!”
Guests at the Cultured dinner also included editor-in-chief Sarah Harrelson, Stanfield, Melton, Diplo, Este Haim, Chloe Cherry, Adina Porter, Shameik Moore, Celeste O’Connor and Film Independent president Josh Welsh.
