Timothée Chalamet is ‘grateful’ to have Bob Dylan’s stamp on ‘A Complete Unknown’

On December 6, 2024By Littum

Musician Bob Dylan usually lets his music do the talking, but this week he responded to the new biopic “A Complete Unknown” about his early career. He tweeted, “Timothée Chalamet is in the lead role. Timmy is a brilliant actor so I’m sure he’ll be completely believable as me. Or a younger me. Or another me.” Now Chalamet has responded in kind on Twitter.

“floored. I’m so grateful. Thank you Bob,” said the 28-year-old actor simply. Chalamet plays Dylan at the beginning of his story from his meeting with folk legends Pete Seeger (Edward Norton) and Woody Guthrie (Scott McNairy) to his crossover success as a folk artist and his struggles with fame, and finally to his performance at the Newport Folk Festival, where he incited the ire of the audience and festival programmers by performing on electric instruments.

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“Bob and his music rule the culture,” Chalamet said in a featurette for the film. He worked for years to accurately portray Dylan, perfecting his voice, body language and musicality. “It was important for me to sing and play on set because it was in the spirit of the film to do it live … Bob didn’t want to be boxed in, which for me as a young artist is the most inspiring thing.” He adds, “Many of the artists throughout American pop culture who had the balls to turn their backs on what was expected of them — that moment started with Bob.”

Chalamet is one Oscar nominee for Best Actorand the film is starting to look like a potential Best Picture contender. It was named one of the top 10 films of the year by the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute. Musical biopics have previously done well in the top category, with “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Elvis” and “Maestro” receiving nominations in recent years. And Dylan himself is already an Oscar winner (Best Original Song for “Things Have Changed” from “Wonder Boys”), so we know he’s already got the Academy’s seal of approval. It certainly doesn’t hurt Chalamet’s case that he also has Dylan’s.

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