Timothee Chalamet says Bob Dylan's career path "hit a bone" with him due to his own trajectory in Hollywood

Timothee Chalamet is playing Bob Dylan in the upcoming biopic A Complete Unknown, something that he has been preparing for around half a decade. As the musical biographical drama gears up for its Christmas 2024 release, the Dune actor is on a press run to talk about the film.

In his December cover for Rolling Stone, published on Monday, November 18, Chalamet talked about portraying Bob Dylan in a biopic. He also shared the parallel between his and the iconic folk singer's careers. Learning about Dylan wanting to become a rock artist but ending up becoming a folk-music superstar "hit a bone" with Chalamet as it made him think about his own career trajectory.

"If he couldn't become Elvis or Buddy Holly immediately, he found Woody Guthrie and stuff that was a little more accomplishable, and happened to be really good at. And that immediately hit a bone with me," he said.

The Call Me By Your Name star explained that he had a similar experience where he had to pick indie film roles because he couldn't land roles in bigger projects. He said:

"I was knocking on one door that wouldn't open. So I went to what I thought was a more humble door, but actually ended up being explosive for me."

Timothee Chalamet started his career in indie movies like Bones and All, Call Me By Your Name, Beautiful Boy, and Lady Bird before making his way to star in the Dune movies.

He further shared some parallels he found while studying Dylan's life and music for the upcoming biopic. Chalamet said that his earlier acting projects were "so personal and vulnerable," adding that they feature an "intimacy" that he hears from Dylan's early folk songs.

Bob Dylan is unburdened by his past when it comes to his music, which is also something Timothee Chalamet said he related to. He said that he doesn't need to point at a specific something in his youth or unconventional upbringing and just let his talent speak for itself.

"I related to the feeling that my talent could be my talent... The thing you gotta say is the thing you gotta say. You don't need the Big Bang."

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Timothee Chalamet's Bob Dylan biopic is coming to cinemas on December 24, 2025

Timothee Chalamet's A Complete Unknown is a long-anticipated musical biographical drama that will bring Bob Dylan's journey to becoming the legendary folk singer on the big screen. James Mangold co-wrote and directed the biopic, which is set to his US movie theaters on Christmas Day, December 25, 2024.

The plot of the film is largely under wraps, but it's set to feature a 19-year-old Bob Dylan who went to New York City from Minnesota in search of a music career sometime in 1961. Searchlight Pictures shared the first look of the movie in an official trailer in July, showing Timothee Chalamet's Bob Dylan all over Manhattan during his meteoric rise to fame.

The trailer also teases what viewers can expect from Timothee Chalamet's character, including singing some of Dylan's iconic tracks, like his 1963 protest song, A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall.

A Complete Unknown cast also includes Elle Fanning, Edward Norton, Monica Barbaro, Boyd Holbrook, Scoot McNairy, Will Harrison, and more.