A Complete Unknown cast features Chalamet as Dylan, Norton as Pete Seeger, Barbaro as Joan Baez, Elle Fanning as Sylvie Russo, and Boyd Holbrook as Johnny Cash. Directed by James Mangold, the movie was first announced in January 2020 and experienced numerous delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the SAG-AFTRA strike.

While speaking with Rolling Stone, Barbaro and Norton revealed that Chalamet ensured there were as few distractions as possible in order to immerse himself in playing Dylan. Barbarao said that Chalamet was "in his own world, in a way that I think Bob often was as well. And it was actually really conducive to the dynamic between Bob and Joan." When Mangold mentioned that Chalamet's Dylan voice was slipping, Chalamet and Barbaro decided that instead of talking in between takes, "We both were just like, "Nope, no more talking!" Check out Norton's comments about Chalamet's performance below:

He was relentless. No visitors, no friends, no reps, no nothing. "Nobody comes around us while we’re doing this." We’re trying to do the best we can with something that’s so totemic and sacrosanct to many people. And I agreed totally — it was like, we cannot have a f***ing audience for this. We’ve got to believe to the greatest degree we can. And he was right to be that protective.

What This Means For A Complete Unknown

Timothée Chalamet And The Rest Of The Cast Deliver Strong Performances

Due to A Complete Unknown's numerous delays, Chalamet spent approximately four years preparing himself to play Dylan. When filming finally began in 2024, he fully immersed himself in bringing Dylan to life and doing justice to telling the story of the beloved musician. Even though the biopic does not release until December 25, Chalamet's dedicated performance already has him poised to be one of the Oscars' Best Actor nominees.

While Chalamet's performance will be the main draw for A Complete Unknown, the movie will also benefit from the other actors. Barbaro and Norton demonstrate in their comments that they were just as determined to minimize distractions and fully entrench themselves in the musical world of the 1960s that Dylan, Seeger, and Baez inhabited. This level of dedication and investment in the project will help A Complete Unknown be an equally authentic and rewarding biopic, especially for fans of Dylan and his revolutionary musical talents.

Our Take On Monica Barbaro And Edward Norton's Comments

A Complete Unknown Will Be A Memorable Music Biopic

While there are many music biopics, A Complete Unknown feels as though it has the potential to particularly stand out. Chalamet's appearance and singing voice in the movie's trailer were well-received as accurate depictions of Dylan. Hearing about the lengths Chalamet and his co-stars went to behind the scenes to make the biopic as authentic as possible makes it even more compelling. A Complete Unknown has the chance to be a stellar movie that could earn Chalamet his second Academy Award nomination and his first win.

Source: Rolling Stone