United Kingdom, April 15 -- Timothee Chalamet has been credited with boosting opera and ballet ticket sales after declaring "no one cares" about them.

The Dune star, 30, sparked controversy earlier this year by insisting the art forms are being kept "alive" despite dwindling interest but now the head of the Royal Ballet and Opera (RBO) Alex Beard has revealed the actor's remarks actually led to a surge in sales - especially among young people.

Alex told The Times newspaper: "I thought it important that we didn't issue a kind of hoity-toity response to Chalamet.

"We simply said 'Take a look at what we're doing, mate' - for instance, the fact that the largest portion of our audience by age is 20 to 30-year-olds.

"And you know what? Our ...