Bob Dylan Shares Praise of Timothée Chalamet
Less than three weeks away from the release of A Complete Unknown, Bob Dylan has taken to social media to praise Timotheé Chalamet, who plays him in the upcoming biopic.
Dylan wrote, “There’s a movie about me opening soon called A Complete Unknown (what a title!). Timothee Chalamet is starring in the lead role. Timmy’s a brilliant actor so I’m sure he’s going to be completely believable as me. Or a younger me. Or some other me.”
Dylan adds, “The film’s taken from Elijah Wald’s Dylan Goes Electric – a book that came out in 2015. It’s a fantastic retelling of events from the early ‘60s that led up to the fiasco at Newport. After you’ve seen the movie read the book.”
A Complete Unknown has received a lot of press in recent months and understandably so, considering its subject and its star. Last month, Chalamet sat down with Zane Lowe and detailed what all he did to portray Dylan. Not only did he work with a dialect coach, but he worked with a movement coach. He said he also worked with a harmonica coach for five years. Chalamet even spent time in Dylan’s hometown of Hibbing in Minnesota.
For A Complete Unknown, Chalamet said he had to learn 13 songs, but said he could “probably play 30.” As far as what it was like to perform live on the film’s set, Chalamet said, “It was the most unique challenge I’ve taken on, but where my confidence came through is eventually doing all the music live.”
It seems as though all of his work paid off. Just take a listen to Chalamet perform the classic “Subterranean Homesick Blues.”
That work could, in fact, lead to an Oscar nomination, at the very least. As previously reported, A Complete Unknown will hit theaters on December 25, which has often been the date films hoping to win big during Awards Season has dropped in the past.
A Brief History of A Complete Unknown
This Bob Dylan biopic has long been in the works. News of Chalamet cast as Dylan dates back to January 2020. At the time, the biopic was titled Going Electric.
In October 2020, the Dylan biopic was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Cinematographer Phedon Papamichael told Collider then, “I don’t think it’s dead, but it’s a tough one to pull off in a COVID-era because it’s all in small clubs with lots of extras in period costumes, so you’ve got lots of hair and makeup.”
In April 2023, director James Mangold confirmed Chalamet would be singing in the film and not lipsync to any Dylan recordings. Mangold further noted the film, which is based on Elijah Wald’s 2015 book Dylan Goes Electric, will chronicle Dylan coming to New York in his late teens to pursue music.
