Does Timothée Chalamet actually sing in A Complete Unknown?
The biographical musical drama film A Complete Unknown premiered at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on December 10, 2024, before its theatrical release in the United States on December 25, 2024.
Directed by James Mangold, the biopic charts the early career of Bob Dylan, from his earliest folk music ventures to his use of electric instruments at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. The Oscar-nominated actor Timothée Chalamet portrays Dylan in the film.
As shown in the trailer, A Complete Unknown features several iconic Dylan songs. Chalamet himself sang the songs live in the film. Read on to learn more about his preparation for the task.
Chalamet sang the songs himself in the Dylan biopic
As per a report published by Variety on December 10, 2024, the actor did pre-record his vocals but on the day of shooting, he sang the songs live. James Mangold opted to go with the live performances instead of the pre-recorded vocals as he was “blown away” by Chalamet’s live singing.
The Dune actor invested a lot of time and effort into preparing for the biopic. The New York Post published a report on December 23, 2024, detailing the entire process. Chalamet reportedly “kept getting lessons and practicing through COVID”. He kept up the practice in between other projects, with his aim to learn the 13 Dylan songs he would play in the film.
The report carries the following statement from the actor:
“I went through the script, and I kind of ordered them in a hierarchy. Those a little bit easier to play are the ones I’ll start with, and then I’m going to work my way through the harder ones. I think the first song that we started with was ‘Masters of War.’”
Additionally, the actor told Entertainment Weekly on November 26, 2024:
"It was important for me to sing and play live. Because if I can actually do it, why should there be an element of artifice here? And I’m proud that we took that leap."
The actor underwent rigorous training for the role
To be able to play Dylan as authentically as possible in A Complete Unknown, the Call Me by Your Name star had to receive intensive training to master the vocal and instrumental style of the iconic musician.
Rob Paparozzi, Chalamet’s harmonica coach on the film, told The New York Post that the actor’s pre-recorded singing had him “floored”. Rob said that the actor 'had already put in some time and committed to this'.
Chalamet’s vocal coach, Eric Vetro, ensured that the actor’s voice stayed healthy throughout the filming process. He explained in the report:
“I would start morphing the exercises into ones that I thought would gear his voice to sound a little bit more like Bob, keeping his facial muscles a little bit more relaxed, his mouth a little bit more like Bob’s.”
Chalamet started taking guitar lessons for A Complete Unknown in 2019 from guitar coach Larry Saltzman. The coach noted how the actor had ‘a combination of hard work and gift’, never getting ‘hung up on something’ even if the training proved to be difficult.
Sound mixer Tod Maitland told Entertainment Weekly that A Complete Unknown’s music was ‘a hundred percent live’, using the aid of no ‘earpiece, no timing mechanism or anything.'
What is A Complete Unknown about?
The film follows the early career of musician Bob Dylan. The narrative begins in 1961 when he moves to New York City. Upon his arrival, he impresses Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger with a song that he had written.
The film explores Dylan’s collaboration with the likes of Joan Baez, Seeger and Albert Grossman while highlighting the political and social edge of his songs that catapulted him into stardom in the 1960s.
However, A Complete Unknown also probes into Dylan’s knack for experiments, especially his willingness to embrace electronic guitar and rock instruments, which culminated in his famous performance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival.
Writer-director James Mangold told Entertainment Weekly on November 15, 2024 that while Dylan was the ‘center’ of A Complete Unknown, the film also depicted the intersection and crisscrossing of the other artists of the time, all linked by their ‘relationship to Bob’.
A Complete Unknown is currently playing in theaters.
