Timothée Chalamet is the star of the upcoming Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown, and the acclaimed actor recently revealed that while preparing for the role, he was given access to some rare recordings that likely would make any Dylan fan salivate. Chalamet shared the interesting details during a recent MTV interview with Josh Horowitz.
Videos by American Songwriter
The topic came up after Chalamet was asked what artist was at the top of his Spotify most-played list for 2023.
[RELATED: Timothée Chalamet Discusses How It Feels to Be Portraying Bob Dylan in Upcoming Biopic]
“My most played artist this year might have been Bob Dylan,” Chalamet revealed. Then, allowing that what he was about to say “might earn the ire and wrath of a lot of Bob fans, rightfully,” he explained that Dylan’s manager, Jeff Rosen, had sent him “a 12-hour playlist of unreleased Bob stuff from, like, 1959 to ’64.”
Chalamet pointed out that a lot of the material he was sent can be heard online, “like The Minnesota Tapes… and really, really early stuff, but some of it I can’t find online.”
He added, “I feel like I’m holding onto gold or something.”
Would Chalamet Like to Meet Dylan?
Horowitz then mentioned to Chalamet that A Complete Unknown director James Mangold had told him he’d shown the film’s script to Dylan, and proceeded to ask the actor if he’d sung for the folk-rock icon.
“No, I haven’t,” Chalamet said, then revealed that he’d just seen Dylan in concert at Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, New York, in November.
Chalamet admitted that he “would love to meet [Dylan] now, while noting that he was initially apprehensive about the possibility of meeting him after he signed on to play the role a few years ago.
“[M]y feeling for the last four years has been … God forbid I met him and he was like, ‘No,’” the actor explained. “And all this hard work would go down the drain. Yeah, yeah, that’s honestly my fear.”
Recording Music for the Dylan Biopic
It was revealed a few months ago that the film will feature Chalamet singing as Dylan, and Horowitz asked him if he’d already pre-recorded some of his musical segments for use in the movie.
“Oh yeah, I’m 70% [done],” he reported. “I think I have two or three more songs to do.”
Chalamet said he’s been working in the studio with the film’s musical supervisor, Nick Baxter, and he admitted that the “golden playlist” he was sent has been helpful as a reference for him to try to sound like Dylan did.
More Details About A Complete Unknown
As previously reported, Chalamet was first announced as taking the lead role in A Complete Unknown in 2020. The film will focus on Dylan’s effect on the early 1960s folk community, including his infamous performance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, where he upset many folk purists by playing part of his set with an electric rock band.
According to a recent report from the World of Reel website, the movie will begin shooting in February of 2024.
