Bob Dylan gives Timotheé Chalamet his blessing ahead of ‘A Complete Unknown’ release
Bob Dylan has endorsed the casting of Timothée Chalamet in the upcoming film A Complete Unknown, a biopic that tells the story of Dylan’s early career in the 1960s.
The 83-year-old musician expressed his appreciation for the decision to cast the Oscar-nominated Chalamet in the role of Dylan, in which he stars opposite Elle Fanning as Dylan’s then-girlfriend, Sylvie Russo (based on Suze Rutolo), and Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez.
The upcoming movie follows Chalamet as Dylan as he makes his way in the New York music scene after moving from Minnesota as a 19-year-old in 1961 and the unlikely road ahead that awaits him after he unexpectedly becomes a huge star.
A Complete Unknown is set for release on December 25th in the United States and January 17th, 2025, in the United Kingdom.
Ahead of the film reaching cinemas, Dylan took to X to praise Chalamet’s performance, stating: “There’s a movie about me opening soon called A Complete Unknown (what a title!), Timothée 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.”
The film is directed by James Mangold, who has previous experience in making biopics about musical stars, having also helmed the Walk The Line, which starred Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash in the story of his early career, drug addiction and relationship with June Carter Cash, portrayed by Reese Witherspoon. Witherspoon won the Academy Award for ‘Best Actress’ in the role, while Phoenix was nominated for ‘Best Actor’ category.
A Complete Unknown uses Elijah Wald’s 2015 book Dylan Goes Electric as the main source material for telling the story, with Mangold choosing to focus specifically on events in Dylan’s early career such as his decision to switch to an electric guitar and his controversial performance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival.
Dylan’s post continued with a comment about the source material’s use in the film, saying: “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.”
Furthermore, Dylan himself also contributed towards the research for the film, passing notes to director Mangold that would then be used by Chalamet to influence his portrayal of the folk artist.
The film’s production was wrapped up in June, with the official release of the film being brought forward to December to allow it eligibility for nomination at the 2024 Academy Awards ceremony alongside other prestigious awards in cinema.
What has Timotheé Chalamet said about Bob Dylan?
Earlier this week, Chalamet was in attendance as Mangold received a ‘Visionary Tribute’ award for his work on A Complete Unknown. “I promised myself I’d keep it short and sweet, because Bob Dylan was a man of few words,” the New Yorker began his brief speech by saying, per Deadline.
The actor then explained what he hopes A Complete Unknown will achieve, adding, “If you’re already a fan of Bob Dylan, this will make perfect sense to you. If you’re not familiar with his work, perhaps our film can serve as the humble gateway to one of the great poets and chroniclers of our times.”
Reflecting on the experience, Chalamet continued: “I’m grateful to everyone who poured themselves into this project, everyone who helped me along this process.”
Additionally, the actor labelled working on the biopic as “the greatest education a young artist could receive”.
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