Pico Iyer makes acting debut as table‑tennis official in 'Marty Supreme'

Pico Iyer, the travel writer, says he made his acting debut in the film Marty Supreme, playing Ram Sethi, the head of the International Table Tennis Association, opposite Timothée Chalamet on sets in New Jersey and Tokyo, he wrote in The New York Times.

Iyer says director Josh Safdie contacted him after seeing his TED Talk “What Ping‑Pong Taught Me About Life,” which has been viewed more than two million times, and that casting director Jennifer Venditti and Safdie persuaded him to take the part despite having never acted. He describes waiting alone in an arena, being filmed by Darius Khondji, improvising heated exchanges with Chalamet, wearing a boxy suit and suspenders, and working long, often late nights alongside crew members such as Jack Fisk and actor Geza Rohrig.

Iyer writes that he does not know how his scenes will fit into the final film or whether its ending is happy or sad, and that Marty Supreme does not arrive in Japan until March; he adds that a promised headlock sequence probably ended up on the cutting‑room floor. He says the last scene wrapped with Chalamet embracing him, and that he returned to the two‑room apartment he shares with his wife, eager to play ping‑pong again. Iyer’s latest book is Aflame, and his new TED Talk on silence went online this week.

Key Topics

Culture, Pico Iyer, Marty Supreme, Timothée Chalamet, Josh Safdie, New Jersey