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Timothée Chalamet Reveals He Went to Sleep Panicked Preparing to Play Bob Dylan: Actor Calls the Project His 'Eternal Focus'
Timothée Chalamet spent five years preparing for A Complete Unknown, admitting he went to sleep panicked during filming, fully dedicating himself to portraying Bob Dylan with precision.
Timothée Chalamet spent five years preparing to portray Bob Dylan in his upcoming biopic A Complete Unknown. The 28-year-old, who stars as the legendary folk singer in the feature directed by James Mangold, graces the December cover of Rolling Stone. It was in conversation with this outlet that he shared in-depth details about his preparation to portray the younger version of the now-83-year-old icon on screen.
“It [the role] was something I went to sleep panicked about,” Chalamet admitted. The Dune star revealed that even brief distractions—whether from his phone or other activities—felt like a betrayal of the project. “I had three months of my life to play Bob Dylan after five years of preparing for it. So, while I was in it, that was my eternal focus,” he explained, adding that Dylan “deserved that and more.”
“God forbid I missed a step because I was being Timmy. I could be Timmy for the rest of my life,” Chalamet lamented. The Academy Award nominee stressed that he pushed his preparation to a level where he almost psychologically knew he had reached his limit.
Chalamet also reflected on parallels between his career and Dylan’s, sharing how he could relate to the revered musician’s journey. Drawing a comparison, he noted how Dylan followed Woody Guthrie when aspiring to be Elvis Presley or Buddy Holly seemed unattainable. Similarly, Chalamet pursued indie films when the doors to mainstream cinema initially remained closed. Just carrying their dreams worked well for their careers, he observed.
A Complete Unknown chronicles Dylan’s arrival in New York City at age 19 during the early 1960s. Directed by Mangold, the biopic features an ensemble cast including Elle Fanning, Edward Norton, Monica Barbaro, Boyd Holbrook, Dan Fogler, Scoot McNairy, and Norbert Leo Butz.
Fanning, who portrays Sylvie Russo—a fictionalized version of Suze Rotolo, Dylan’s girlfriend and muse during the early ’1960s—also contributed to Chalamet’s Rolling Stone cover story. Reflecting on her co-star’s live singing on set, Fanning described the experience as magical.
When Chalamet performed Masters of War and A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall, some crew members debated whether he was singing live or lip-syncing due to the performance’s exceptional quality. Fanning proudly clarified that Chalamet was indeed singing live, showcasing his vocal talent.
A Complete Unknown is set to hit theaters on December 25.
ALSO READ: Why Timothee Chalamet Was Not the First Choice for Bob Dylan's Biopic? Find Out
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