Timothée Chalamet’s Panic About Nailing Bob Dylan Role

The weight of Bob Dylan’s legacy is not lost on Timothée Chalamet.

The 28-year-old actor knew he was in for a challenge upon landing the role of the Bard in the upcoming biopic A Complete Unknown, and was so determined to do Dylan justice that he took a borderline Method approach to his performance.

“It was something I would go to sleep panicked about, losing a moment of discovery as the character — no matter how pretentious that sounds — because I was on my phone or because of any distraction,” Chalamet told Rolling Stone in a new interview. “I had three months of my life to play Bob Dylan, after five years of preparing to play him. So while I was in it, that was my eternal focus. He deserved that and then more.”

He added, “God forbid I missed a step because I was being Timmy. I could be Timmy for the rest of my life!”

Timothée Chalamet; Bob Dylan in 1966.

Noam Galai/Getty; Cummings Archives/Redferns

By his own admission, Chalamet knew very little about Dylan when he landed the role in the James Mangold-helmed biopic. Had everything gone according to plan, he would have had four months to get educated and prepare to portray a young Dylan onscreen. But thanks to a global pandemic followed by two Hollywood strikes, Chalamet had a whopping five years — and in that time, became a self-proclaimed “devoted disciple in the Church of Bob.”

Though the actor still has yet to actually cross paths with the rock n’ roll icon, he did his research and trained accordingly, working with a vocal coach, a guitar teacher, a dialect coach, a movement coach, and even a harmonica coach. Chalamet explained, “I had to push the preparation, the bounds to almost to psychologically know I had pushed it.”

His costars can attest. Monica Barbaro — who takes on the role of fellow folk singer Joan Baez — noted that Chalamet was often “in his own world” on set. Though he wasn’t totally Method, he took care to protect his mindset. Or, as Edward Norton put it, “he was relentless.”

Delving into Chalamet’s approach, Norton said, “No visitors, no friends, no reps, no nothing. ‘Nobody comes around us while we’re doing this.’ We’re trying to do the best we can with something that’s so totemic and sacrosanct to many people. And I agreed totally — it was like, we cannot have a f—ing audience for this. We’ve got to believe to the greatest degree we can. And he was right to be that protective.”

Chalamet credits that attitude to some of the experienced performers he had the pleasure of sharing the screen with earlier in his career.

“The great actors I’ve worked with, Christian Bale on Hostiles or Oscar Isaac on Dune, were able to do that and guard their process,” Chalamet recalled. “Particularly for something that’s really like a tightrope walk.”

Timothée Chalamet in ‘A Complete Unknown’.

Macall Polay/Searchlight Pictures

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A Complete Unknown, penned by Mangold and Jay Cocks, is set in the early 1960s and follows 19-year-old musician Bob Dylan at the start of his career all the way until his unforgettable rock performance at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965.

While Chalamet had much on his shoulders as the film’s star, the story calls upon its entire ensemble to tell the story of his rise to fame, by chronicling his formative early relationship with Pete Seeger (Norton), as well as romances with both Baez and Sylvie Russo (Elle Fanning). Fanning’s character is based on the late artist Suze Rotolo, who was renamed for the film.

“Bob is the center of the movie, and all the other characters intersect, crisscross, and cross-pollinate,” Mangold previously told Entertainment Weekly. “But what unites them all is their relationship to Bob.”

He continued, “All of these characters have an absolutely tremendous effect on each other at this moment. Each of them are talents blossoming in this turbulent moment in the country and rising together to stardom.”

A Complete Unknown hits theaters on Dec. 25.

##FAQs

###Q: When is A Complete Unknown set to be released?
A: A Complete Unknown is set to hit theaters on December 25th.

###Q: What is the focus of the movie A Complete Unknown?
A: The movie focuses on the early career of musician Bob Dylan, chronicling his rise to fame and his relationships with other key characters.

###Q: How did Timothée Chalamet prepare for his role as Bob Dylan?
A: Chalamet underwent extensive training and preparation, working with various coaches to embody the character of Bob Dylan effectively.

###Q: Who are some of the other actors involved in A Complete Unknown?
A: The movie features actors like Edward Norton, Monica Barbaro, and Elle Fanning in key roles alongside Timothée Chalamet.


Credit: ew.com