In the 2010s, few TV dramas were as popular asHomeland, and the Showtime series even featuredTimothée Chalamet in an early-career role. The Emmy-winning show premiered in 2010 and centers on CIA agent Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes), who believes rescued POW Marine Sergeant Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis) was “turned” by Al Qaeda and plans to carry out a terrorist attack on the United States of America. From that premise, Carrie travels the world as she deals with a variety of international threats.
It wasn’t long afterHomelandthatTimothée Chalamet saw his career skyrocket. He quickly became one of Hollywood’s buzziest young actors to watch when he broke out in 2017’sCall Me By Your Name. His role as the lovesick Elio Perlman earned Chalamet an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. From there, Chalamet has continued to impress in both arthouse films likeThe French DispatchandBones and Alland major Hollywood blockbusters likeWonkaand theDunefranchise. He’ll next appear as Bob Dylan in the biopicA Complete Unknown, which could earn him his second Oscar nomination.
Timothée Chalamet Played Finn Walden On Homeland
Finn Is The Vice President’s Son Who Is Introduced In Season 2
Timothée Chalametmade hisHomelanddebut in season 2, episode 1, “The Smile”, as Finn Walden, son of the Vice Presidentof the United States of America.Homelandseason 2 sees Nicholas Brody embarking on a political career, resulting in his daughter Dana (Morgan Saylor) attending school with Finn. Finn is the quintessential rich, spoiled politician’s kid. His cocky attitude initially rubs Dana the wrong way, but the more time she spends with Finn, the more she realizes the perks of her new life.
Season 2, Episode 12
“The Choice”
The young Chalamet is excellent in the role.While he plays up Finn’s entitlement and makes him a truly revolting character, he’s also able to dial up the charisma, making it easy to see why Dana succumbs to his charms. However, while Finn certainly had some villainous traits, he was small potatoes compared to the legitimate threats to the United States whom Carrie doggedly tries to thwart. This is the main focus ofHomeland, not a bratty teenager, andFinn Walden and his family are unceremoniously killed off the show via a bomb attackin the season 2 finale.
Chalamet’s Homeland Character Is A Terrible Boyfriend Who Belongs On A Different Show
His Hit-And-Run Storyline Didn’t Belong On An Espionage Drama
Even if he played a more likable character, Timothée Chalamet was never going to be aHomelandfan favorite due to Finn’s association with Dana Brody. Dana was essentially the Skyler White ofHomeland, as the fandom hate for her character reached epic proportions. Viewers bemoaned her moody teen angst, and while the internet as a whole could have been kinder with their comments, people had a point thatthe teenage drama of Dana and Finn’s storylines felt out of place in an espionage thriller.
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A TV show is not complete without that one character audiences cannot help but hate, and they love to do so, even if the character is not a villain.
This reached a fever pitch inHomelandseason 2, when Finn accidentally hits and kills a woman when out joyriding with Dana. Rather than admit what he’d done, Finn simply drives off and his family covers it up. This level of soap-operatic drama is similar to theLandry murder storyline inFriday Night Lightsseason 2, in which the Jesse Plemons character kills a man who was attacking his girlfriend. Just likeHomelandis an espionage series,Friday Night Lightsis about football and daily small-town Texas life. A murder coverup storyline just doesn’t fit.
Timothée Chalamet’s 2012 stint onHomelandpredates his film career. He made his theatrical debut in 2014 with Jason Reitman’sMen, Women & Children, where he played Danny Vance.
This isn’t to say that Finn or Dana are bad characters; it’s just that rather than try to shoehorn them into a show where they don’t fit likeHomeland, they should be the protagonists of their own stories. A series about the wild world of politicians' kids could be fascinating. Andwhile Timothée Chalamet tends to pick heroic roles, he definitely knows how to play a bad boyfriend, as evidenced by his exquisite yet layered performance inLady Bird. Maybe it’s time for Chalamet to embrace his villainousness onscreen again — just don’t get in Carrie Mathison’s way.
Homeland
Cast
Homeland is a suspenseful drama series centered on CIA officer Carrie Mathison, portrayed as a top agent despite her bipolar disorder. Released on August 14, 2025, the series follows her as she navigates the complexities of intelligence work with the guidance of her mentor, Saul Berenson.
