Monica Barbaro Opens Up About Guadagnino’s ‘Artificial’ and Weighs In on Chalamet’s Ballet Controversy

Actress Monica Barbaro is addressing two major Hollywood talking points: Luca Guadagnino’s upcoming OpenAI drama Artificial and the backlash over Timothée Chalamet’s recent comments about ballet and opera.

Barbaro trained as a dancer before moving into acting. She now joins the ensemble cast of Artificial, which stars Andrew Garfield as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Guadagnino directs the film from a script by Simon Rich. Artificial will dramatize the chaotic events surrounding Altman’s removal from OpenAI in 2023 and his unexpected return just days later.

Barbaro plays Mira Murati, OpenAI’s former chief technology officer. Murati became a key figure during the company’s leadership crisis, giving Barbaro a significant role in Guadagnino’s dramatization of the real-life events.

For Barbaro, working with Guadagnino has also marked a major career moment. The filmmaker has earned widespread acclaim for movies including Call Me by Your Name, Suspiria and Challengers.

Amazon MGM Studios backs the project, which also features Yura Borisov and other notable performers. The studio currently plans to release Artificial in 2027. Barbaro also weighed in on the controversy surrounding Timothée Chalamet’s remarks about ballet and opera.

Chalamet faced strong criticism after making comments that appeared to dismiss traditional performing arts. His remarks quickly spread online and sparked backlash from people working in the dance and opera communities.

Barbaro brought a personal perspective to the discussion. Before establishing herself as an actress, she trained extensively in ballet.

However, rather than simply criticizing Chalamet, Barbaro called for a more thoughtful conversation about classical art forms. She acknowledged that audiences continue to develop new relationships with ballet and opera while stressing the importance of keeping these traditions part of the cultural conversation.

The controversy grew into a larger awards-season talking point. The subject even inspired jokes at the 2026 Oscars, keeping Chalamet’s comments in the spotlight months after they first went viral.

The conversations come as Barbaro continues to expand her Hollywood career. Following her Oscar-nominated performance as Joan Baez in A Complete Unknown, the actress has taken on a series of increasingly prominent projects. Her work in Top Gun: Maverick also helped establish her as a rising Hollywood talent.

Now, projects such as One Night Only and Artificial are giving Barbaro opportunities to explore a wider range of characters and stories. Artificial could become one of her most closely watched films yet. Guadagnino brings his distinctive filmmaking style to a story rooted in one of the technology industry’s biggest controversies, while Garfield leads a cast tackling real figures from the rapidly changing world of artificial intelligence.

The film also arrives as Hollywood continues to grapple with AI’s growing influence. By focusing on the people and power struggles behind OpenAI’s leadership crisis, Artificial promises to explore the human drama behind a major technological story.

For Barbaro, the project represents another move toward challenging, high-profile roles. At the same time, her comments about ballet show how her background as a dancer continues to shape her perspective beyond the screen.