A Complete Unknown might be most easily described as “the Bob Dylan biopic” — except that making a traditional biopic about Bob Dylan would be an impossible task, given the artist’s famously mysterious nature. That’s why Timothée Chalamet, Consequence’s Film Performer of the Year, dove into playing the famed musician with no expectation of getting a deeper insight into Dylan’s soul. Instead, he simply did his best to capture the power of Dylan’s talent, and his impact on those around him.
In the above video interview (or watch via YouTube), Chalamet explains why he was grateful for the amount of time he had to prepare to play Dylan: As opposed to many film projects, where an actor might be able to spend a few months working on their performance, he had literal years to dive into the legacy of the musical icon.
He needed that time, he says, because “there were the literal, maybe more technical sides like the guitar-playing or the harmonica-playing or physicality stuff that I could grind my teeth in, but more impactfully, if that’s a word to, to me, was just getting to find my connection with the music and with the figure that is Bob Dylan.”
Watch the interview above, and check out the full cover story, featuring additional insights from co-stars Edward Norton and Monica Barbaro. Chalamet’s interview is also available to hear on our new Consequence UNCUT: Annual Report podcast, exclusively on Amazon Music, alongside discussions with TV Performer of the Year Anna Sawai, Composers of the Year Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (plus their Challengers [MIXED] collaborator Boys Noize), Comedian of the Year Nikki Glaser, and more!
Make sure to peep our complete 2024 Annual Report for more exclusive interviews and best-of lists (like the 25 Best Films of the Year).
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