Timothée Chalamet is taking on the complicated role of Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown. The biopic will be released later this year, and the teasers Searchlight Pictures has dropped feature the Dune actor singing. But there’s one question all Bob Dylan fans want to know: Is Timothée really singing live? Hollywood Life has the answer, below.
What Is A Complete Unknown About?
Per Rotten Tomatoes, the synopsis of A Complete Unknown reads, “Against the backdrop of a vibrant music scene and tumultuous cultural upheaval, an enigmatic 19-year-old from Minnesota arrives in the West Village with his guitar and revolutionary talent, destined to change the course of American music. As he forms his most intimate relationships during his rise to fame, he grows restless with the folk movement and, refusing to be defined, makes a controversial choice that culturally reverberates worldwide.”
Did Timothee Chalamet Really Sing Playing Bob Dylan?
During a July 2024 interview with Rolling Stone, director James Mangold revealed that Timothée, whom he calls “Timmy,” actually sang live on set. When asked whether it was “the idea” to use the cast’s live performances for the film, James clarified, “It’s not the idea. That’s what we’ve done! Yeah.”
“I think what’s so wonderful about what Timmy is doing is that, while not answering questions about Bob, at the same time I think he does in a very poetic way, which is to suggest really empathically through his performance how one might want to make music, but one might not want to have people in your face all the time,” the filmmaker told the publication. “I think he walks a really beautiful line of allowing an audience to see what a joy it is for this character to make music and what pure joy he experiences in his camaraderie with other musicians and his exploration of ideas and words and music, both making it and listening to others.”
James also pointed out that Timmy’s “profound” skill throughout his performance was “his almost genetically predisposed discomfort with what his own great achievements then bring upon him and that, in terms of people wanting things, transactional relationships, or relationships that are tainted by the immense power and talent.”
“And I think he does an incredible job of growing the character up because one of the things I think that will be startling is, most Dylan fans don’t focus on the boy in the newsboy cap who’s arriving in town,” the Walk the Line director said. “And Timmy really carries this character from a 19-year-old boy telling tales of working on the carnival into this person that we recognize as an icon. Timmy finds the path to carry us there.”
A Complete Unknown Cast
Aside from Timothée, the rest of the main cast features Monica Barbaro, Elle Fanning and Ed Norton. Monica was famously seen in Top Gun: Maverick and plays the role of singer Joan Baez; Elle was recently seen in The Girl From Plainville. She plays the role of Sylvie Russo. As for Ed, he plays Pete Seeger in the film.