When Josh Bennett responded to an ad looking for extras for a table tennis movie, little could he have imagined the whirlwind journey that led to him sharing the screen with Hollywood icons Timothee Chalamet and Gwyneth Paltrow.
Josh responded to the ad on the Table Tennis England website in August 2024, which led to an impromptu virtual audition while sitting on his bed. He landed a small role and within a few weeks was rehearsing in New York before filming later last year.
In the 1950s-set film, Chalamet plays Marty Mauser, a character loosely based on the life and career of American table tennis star Marty Reisman, and who is already racking up nominations, including in the categories of best film, actor and screenplay at the Golden Globes.
Chalamet reportedly trained for the role for six years so his table tennis skills would look authentic, although Josh was able to share a few tips and tricks on set.
We caught up with Josh, who is currently ranked number 14 in England, to talk to him about an experience he calls ‘surreal but very cool’.
“It kind of came out of nowhere,” he says. “I put my name in for a table tennis player background, filled out the form, had to make a little video of myself and describe myself. And then literally within 24 hours I heard back from the casting agents and they said, ‘Okay, we want to fast track you to potentially be in this role.’
“I had to do a bit of acting behind my own camera. I just sat in bed and they gave me a scenario to act out, which was obviously very strange for me.
“Then, days afterward, it’s like ‘alright, you’re in, we need you to come to New York for these dates’. It was just an absolute whirlwind.”
Josh, who is 26 and plays for BATTS in the British Clubs League Premier Division, works for Jaguar Land Rover as an ergonomics specialist and says the company has been very helpful.
He had no previous acting experience, but he said the cast and crew made him feel comfortable. No spoilers here, but it even ended with some dialogue and was mentioned in the credits.
“I also met Timothée Chalamet, which is really cool, and got to play with him,” he says. “Maybe to my surprise, he has been playing for a long time. He has brought himself to a good level, which hopefully everyone will see in the film.”
“The whole experience was quite surreal, I also met the directors (Josh Safdie and Ronald Bronstein) and I saw Gwyneth Paltrow from a distance, which was cool. Everyone made you feel so welcome. Timothee himself was a really nice guy. Before you know it, you just feel very comfortable in that scenario.”
In addition to Josh, moviegoers will also see European table tennis legend Timo Boll on screen. No more plot spoilers here, but Josh says of the film: “Obviously I’m going to be biased because I’m in it, but I think it was fantastic. It’s one of those movies where you’re really watching it intently, high intensity – it’s the best movie I’ve seen in 2025. I hope everyone loves it.”
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