How Timothée Chalamet Prepared to Play Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown

Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re breaking down the rigorous, years-long process that Oscar nominee Timothée Chalamet engaged to play the one and only Bob Dylan.

Who Is Bob Dylan?

To understand Timothée Chalamet’s complete and utter transformation into, well, the complete unknown himself, we have to take a deeper dive into the subject of director James Mangold’s 2024 biopic. The future Bob Dylan was born Robert Allan Zimmerman in Duluth, Minnesota in 1941, eventually rebranding himself in homage to the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas. Dylan dropped out of college in 1960 to move to New York City as a way to pursue a career in music — and crucially, to meet with his idol, folk legend Woody Guthrie. Over time, Dylan’s unique songwriting POV, which often found him tackling hot-button issues of the day, raised his profile, and music fans and other performers sat up and took notice. Of his second album, 1963’s “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan,” famed critic Janet Maslin wrote that “his mixture of moral authority and nonconformity was perhaps the most timely of his attributes.”

What Was the “Electric Dylan Controversy?”

Although Dylan himself has consistently downplayed the label, it doesn’t feel inaccurate to say that he was largely considered the “Spokesman of a Generation” by the mid-1960s. Dylan, ever the provocateur, formally rejected the moniker with the 1965 album “Bringing It All Back Home,” which has retroactively been regarded as one of the greatest, most influential rock albums ever recorded. Notably, the album’s first half featured electric instrumentation — new territory for Dylan, and for American folk music. Dylan’s decision to quote-unquote “go electric” was met with widespread controversy from folk fans and Dylan’s peers, who felt that the musician was selling out, and thus abandoning his roots. Dylan’s 1965 headlining set at the Newport Folk Festival was infamously met with boos from the audience, who felt betrayed at the sight of Dylan wielding an electric guitar. This controversy would ultimately serve as the subject matter for “A Complete Unknown.”

Why “A Complete Unknown” Took Almost 5 Years to Make

So, now that we’ve laid the groundwork, let’s fast-forward almost 60 years to January 2020, when director James Mangold announced that he’d be making “A Complete Unknown,” and that Oscar nominee Timothée Chalamet would be playing Bob Dylan. At the time, the film was announced under the working title “Going Electric” (can’t argue with that). Unfortunately for Mangold, Chalamet, and literally everybody else, March of that year saw the COVID-19 pandemic enter full swing, shutting down countless industries. Little news about the project emerged until November 2022, when Chalamet confirmed that the film was still in production. A few months later, in February 2023, the film’s official title was announced, and it was confirmed that “A Complete Unknown” would be Mangold’s next project, following “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.”

How Timothée Became A “Devoted Disciple In the Church of Bob"

Never let it be said that Chalamet is a slacker. While “A Complete Unknown” languished in COVID-19 development hell, the “Call Me By Your Name” and “Dune” star was hard at work honing and perfecting his Bob Dylan impression, as well as researching the enigmatic singer-songwriter’s long and storied career. As Chalamet noted in a wide-ranging “Rolling Stone” interview, he initially expected only four months to do that work — thanks to COVID, he got five years. Brian Hiatt[a], who interviewed Chalamet for the article, wrote that “Chalamet never quite left Bob Land. On his phone is a video of him on the set of Dune singing “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” in Paul Atreides’ intergalactic pajamas, and a photo where he’s playing guitar in his Willy Wonka outfit.”

Yes, That’s Really Him Playing!

For “A Complete Unknown,” Chalamet ate, drank, and bled Dylan, even visiting Dylan’s childhood home, which has since been converted into a veritable Dylan museum by its current owner. As Hiatt writes in the “Rolling Stone” article, Chalamet worked with a “vocal coach, a guitar teacher, a dialect coach, a movement coach, even a harmonica guy.” The actor was adamant on preserving a sense of realism for the film, and you’ll see it all onscreen. Chalamet, who was originally set to learn just 13 songs for the film, ended up learning 30, some of which are played live by him in the film. Said Chalamet, “You can’t re-create it in the studio [...] If I was singing to a prerecorded guitar, then all of a sudden I could hear the lack of an arm movement in my voice.”

How He Benefited From A Lot of Coaching

Speaking to Apple Music’s Zane Lowe ahead of “A Complete Unknown’s” release,” Chalamet revealed that he had worked with dialect coach Tim Monich[b] to approximate Dylan’s inimitable, nasal wail. This was in addition to vocal coach Eric Vetro, and movement coach Polly Bennett. It wouldn’t be the first time this particular trio had worked together to help a young actor bring a rock legend to life — they had previously done so for Austin Butler in “Elvis,” which saw him Oscar-nominated. However, while it’s inarguable that Chalamet was surrounded by a winning team, you also have to give him (and his work ethic) credit! According to Larry Saltzman, Chalamet’s guitar teacher for “A Complete Unknown,” “If I presented something to him like, ‘OK, this is the real way, but there’s a little bit of a shortcut,’ his answer to that was always ‘Don’t show me the shortcut.’”

Why Timothée Chalamet Was the Only Choice to Play Bob Dylan

With his star still on the rise, it’s hard to argue that Chalamet has the makings of a future Hollywood legend. Still under 30 at the time of “A Complete Unknown’s” release, the actor already has an Oscar nomination under his belt, as well as numerous collaborations with high-profile auteurs, like Christopher Nolan, Denis Villeneuve, and Greta Gerwig. Clearly, we aren’t the only ones who think so: in the aforementioned “Rolling Stone” article, Chalamet revealed that none other than Tom Cruise had given him advice on how to properly be an old-school leading man. Chalamet also discussed how he could relate to Dylan in his early career: “You feel boxed in — and you feel like you have something more to say.” With “A Complete Unknown,” the young actor is at the perfect stage in his career to embody the legendary folk singer, and we can’t wait to see what he’ll do next.


Are you excited to see “A Complete Unknown?” Do you think Timothée Chalamet is up to the task of playing the rolling stone himself? Let us know in the comments below!
[a]https://youtu.be/ekOZuEP0v_I?si=xoP52OZ6V84FBOYi&t=12
[b]MAWN-ick https://youtu.be/Ha_cHQxGFMI?si=tV1c2uD13VIxoFAX&t=1319 https://youtu.be/fXdcA9Ouf7w?si=_GWsiKGoPa5zFhKX&t=1411
VEE-troh https://youtu.be/AqrkXkQ8Ihc?si=ehlFzUx5ovT6Muwu
https://youtu.be/auc7f1OPRr0?si=EQZXc2q-fNjci4Ul&t=23
salts-min https://youtu.be/AUOMHEGAoFI?si=uCoc_c3vyTqeq8x9&t=4649