"I want to be up there"- Michael Phelps receives special shout out from Timothee Chalamet during SAG Awards

Michael Phelps received a special shout-out from the American actor Timothée Chalamet during the SAG Awards. Phelps is the most decorated American swimmer and one of the most successful Olympic athletes.

Phelps has had a stellar career with exceptional performances at the Olympic Games, winning 23 gold medals, three silver and two bronze. Along with this, he also won 26 gold, six silver and one bronze medal in the World Championships Long-Course events. Similarly, he also won exceptional events in the Short Course World Championships.

After retiring in 2016, Phelps is running his foundation, 'The Michael Phelps Foundation,' which is aimed at the water safety of children. With his legendary victories, he has inspired several personalities including Chalamet. The latter received an award for Outstanding Lead Actor at the 2025 SAG Awards.

Following this win, Chalamet delivered a speech, as quoted by SI.com, where he opened up about being inspired by Phelps and Michael Jordan.

"I know people don't usually talk like that, but I want to be one of the greats. I'm inspired by the greats. I'm inspired by the greats here tonight. I'm as inspired by Daniel Day-Lewis, Marlon Brando and Viola Davis as I am by Michael Jordan and Michael Phelps, and I want to be up there,' said Chalamet.

Along with the success, Phelps has also navigated through several adversities in his life, including suffering from depression and anxiety.

When Michael Phelps opened up about forcibly preparing for his last Olympics post-depression

Michael Phelps once sat in an interview with CNN in 2017, where he spoke about preparing forcibly for the 2016 Rio Olympics after suffering from depression. He revealed that he ate forcibly to follow his diet and decreased his body fat percentage to 4.5%.

"I knew I had to get myself in the best physical shape I could, especially at the age of 31," Michael Phelps said. "For me that was eating or sleeping right, doing every little ABC to make sure I was as prepared for every single workout as I could."

Talking about how tired he used to get, Phelps added:

"Eating became a job. There are days when you’re tired and you don’t want to eat but you have to, you’re forcing yourself to eat and it was just painful. I got down to four-and-a-half percent body fat. I mean, it’s basically like skating on thin ice – any lower than that is unhealthy."

After his retirement from swimming, Phelps is usually seen trying his hand at golf and also never falls short in cheering the athletes from various sports on his social media.