Timothée Chalamet reveals incredible 5-year evolution as he 'fell in love' amid new role

Actor Timothée Chalamet tells us about immersing himself in the legendary singer-songwriter Bob Dylan's life for five years in order to portray him in biopic A Complete Unknown

Already touted as the big biopic of this year, A Complete Unknown depicts the life and times of legendary folk and rock singer Bob Dylan. It’s not an easy task to portray such a celebrated musician, but Timothée Chalamet’s amazing performance as the singer-songwriter could become his most critically acclaimed yet. A rapidly rising star in Hollywood, Timothée, who is best known for playing the leads in Wonka and Dune, was determined to do the part justice, as he told OK!, and fully immersed himself in the role of the man once hailed as the greatest songwriter of all time.

This included singing and playing guitar live during filming and preparing for five years for the role. It’s no mean feat, but it’s something that came naturally to the actor due to him to falling deeply in love with Bob’s music. “And that’s not unique to me,” he says when speaking at the international press conference on Zoom from New York. “That’s why there are millions of Bob Dylan fans all over the globe — because this music, while relatable, which has had a mass success over the last decades, is also really deeply poetic and emotional and grand. It’s a fabulous thing for a young artist like myself to dive into over the course of my twenties. He’s just the greatest artist and musician to learn from.”

In fact, the 29-year-old actor likens his research into Bob’s life as an “obsession”. “It remains an obsession,” he explains. “That was simply the gift of how much time I had to work on this project and, I guess, not work on it; just to be in it and to live in it. The whole process was more than five years. It was before Covid, during Covid and afterwards. If you prepare for a role over the span of two or three months, then I would say it qualifies as research. With this, I had so much time, so I could really breathe the experience.”

Timothée also gained inspiration close to home. “A friend of my father’s growing up was a Dylan-head,” Timothée says. “He was Dylan obsessed. I don’t even think I heard any of his music. I just knew this one friend of my father’s, called Larry, was really infatuated with Bob Dylan and his lyricism — and he had a huge black and white portrait of him in his apartment. That was very striking.” The reception to the film is looking promising and Timothée is already up for prizes at the Golden Globes and Critics’ Choice Awards for his performance — and it’s likely an Oscar nomination isn’t far away.

If he does bag an Oscar for Best Actor, it would make him the youngest actor to do so, alongside Adrien Brody. But it won’t be the first time the New York-born star has been recognised by the Academy — he was nominated for Best Actor back in 2018 for his performance in romantic drama Call Me By Your Name. Although he didn’t win, it offered him worldwide recognition, which led to his subsequent roles, including the lead in hugely successful science fiction franchise Dune.

Timothée also won a legion of young fans thanks to his portrayal of quirky chocolate maker Willy Wonka in the 2023 prequel — where he also showed off his singing voice. Away from movies, Timothée is the face of fragrance Bleu De Chanel and is said to be in a relationship with reality star turned make-up mogul Kylie Jenner. They keep their romance mostly out of the spotlight, but have made several public appearances, including at last year’s Golden Globes.

And while we’re sure the masses will flock to the cinemas to watch his depiction of Bob Dylan, Timothée isn’t convinced the reclusive man himself, who sang hits such as Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door and Blowin’ In The Wind, will be purchasing a ticket. “I would be hugely excited if he saw the movie,” Timothée says. “I would think it’s a deep honour. But, you know, Bob is such a mercurial figure. He’s so mysterious that I really wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t see it. I don’t know if he ever saw No Direction Home, which is the Martin Scorsese documentary about him. I heard a rumour he had, so I would be deeply honoured and excited if it happened with this — but I wouldn’t be surprised if it didn’t either.”

Nevertheless, Timothée certainly enjoyed embracing his musical side in the film and explains, “I’ve always had a musical bone and this was a wonderful excuse to give all my time to learning the guitar, furthering my piano playing and learning the harmonica — and getting into the spirit of what folk music was in America in the 1960s.” His co-stars in the film include Ed Norton as folk singer Pete Seeger, Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez, who sang with Bob, while Elle Fanning plays Sylvie Russo, a character based on Bob’s real-life girlfriend at the time, Suze Rotolo.

Timothée praises their performances and reveals the most emotional part of filming was on the last day of shooting. “In the car home, I was feeling the output of the effort and work I’d just done,” he says. “And also, there was melancholy that this role, this character and this world that I’ve been living for five years was now over, in a sense. I also consoled myself by telling myself it wasn’t over — the way I still discover new music by Bob to this day. I’m still fascinated by his world, but the part of bringing it to life was now over. That was deeply emotional for me.”

Whatever the outcome in awards season and the box office, one thing Timothée will take away from the project is his respect and admiration for the music icon. “I think it’s the gift that keeps on giving, to be a fan of Bob Dylan, like many other great artists,” he says. “You peel back one layer and there’s another layer and another layer and there’s another layer. You can almost never get enough. That’s how I felt to work on this. And not work on it, but just to be in the world of Bob Dylan to this day.”