In a new cover story by Rolling Stone, actress Elle Fanning wisecracked how she was initially “let down” by her first encounter with Timothee Chalamet, who is playing Bob Dylan in the upcoming film, A Complete Uknown.
‘A Complete Unknown’
Thanks to a certain global pandemic as well as multiple Hollywood strikes, A Complete Unknown, the biopic covering legendary Bob Dylan, has been a very long time coming. Chalamet didn’t waste this extra time, however. Instead, it seems that he absolutely poured himself into the role, studying Dylan from every angle he could think of.
Not only did Chalamet work with a vocal coach to nail down Dylan’s very distinctive way of speaking and singing, he also worked with a movement coach to emulate Bob’s physical presence. And, of course, he also spent time learning how to play guitar and harmonica.
For an actor who grew up listening to rap music, taking the leap to Bob Dylan’s discography was a profound one. Chalamet himself claims to be a “devoted disciple in the Church of Bob” and has seen his musical tastes expand even further, mentioning The Grateful Dead as a new obsession.
Directed by James Mangold (of Logan and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny fame), A Complete Uknown takes a deeper dive into the young Bob Dylan’s life, focusing on his early rise to fame and the massive shift he created in the folk music scene by picking up an electric guitar at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965.
The film also stars Ed Norton as Pete Seeger, Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez, and Elle Fanning as Sylvie Russo. Interestingly, Sylvie Russo is not a real person but rather is based on Suze Rotolo, who was Bob Dylan’s girlfriend and muse in the early ’60s. Suze Rotolo passed in 2011, but was forever memorialized on the album cover for The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. Mangold said that her character was slightly fictionalized since Rotolo was “just a real person” in a film surrounded by well-known legends like Pete Seeger and Joan Baez.
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Fanning’s First Meeting with Chalamet
Here’s where Fanning joked about her disappointment. You see, during production, Chalamet embraced method acting by keeping himself largely isolated and asking the cast and crew to address him only as Bob Dylan. This approach is common among actors portraying highly specific characters, as it helps them fully immerse themselves in the role and maintain a continuous connection to the character, rather than switching in and out of the portrayal between scenes.
When Elle Fanning received a pre-production meeting note that she was set to meet with director James Mangold and “Bob Dylan,” she immediately began reeling. “I was thinking about all these things to say and ask,” she told Rolling Stone. When the day came, she walked into the room thinking, “I’m meeting Bob Dylan today!” but instead found herself in a meeting with Mangold and Timothee Chalamet as Bob Dylan.
Joking with Rolling Stone, Fanning admitted, “I’m probably the first person in life to be let down by having a rehearsal with Timothée Chalamet, right? Like, the first girl in history.”
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Release Schedule
A Complete Unknown is set to be released by Searchlight Pictures in theaters on December 25. Christmas Day releases can be big business for films as cinemas are one of the very few places doing business that day.
Head over to Rolling Stone to read the full story on Chalamet’s journey to playing Bob Dylan and how he approached the method style of acting to portray the legendary Bob Dylan.