Never let anyone say that Timothée Chalamet doesn’t do his homework. In his first extensive interview about playing Bob Dylan in the upcoming biopic Completely unknownthis willy wonka The star told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe that he learned how to play 13 Dylan classics for the film, in addition to working with a harmonica coach for five years to master the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer member’s signature style.
In addition to bringing in an athletic trainer to help him embody the mystical icon’s body posture, Chalamet told Lowe he embarked on a “spiritual gathering” road trip from Dylan’s hometown to emulate the Minnesota native’s early days as The experience of a budding folk singer.
“It was the best experience I’ve ever had as an actor, or the most rewarding experience I’ve ever had, and that doesn’t necessarily translate into how well it works, not just for people, but probably in the finished product, because I Chalamet said of the long journey of bringing the singer to the screen, “I’m glad it took five or six years because I’m so deeply involved in Bob’s church now. I feel like it’s. That’s my mission for the next three months, until the movie comes out, I feel like I’m in Bob’s church, I’m a humble disciple, and I feel like I have this opportunity to be a bridge to this music or this period of time. .
Despite the intensive research, Chalamet said he was not trying to imitate the singer’s voice, explaining: “This is interpretive. It’s not definitive. It’s not fact. That’s not how it works. It’s a fable. Fact. , he said that none of his fellow actors were there to perform imitations.
“This is not only my own interpretation of Bob, but also Edward Norton’s interpretation of Pete Seeger, Monica [Barbaro] At this moment in the 1960s, interpreting Joan Baez and Boyd Holbrook interpreting Johnny Cash, American culture was a kaleidoscope, and so was Greenwich Village A kaleidoscope,” he said. “Culture still is, but not as a history teacher, that’s where it started, personalized music, something with intention, something with poetry, it all started in the movies.”
The journey was, as expected, arduous, given Dylan’s unique singing style and quixotic public persona. Although Chalamet stated that he did not play guitar on the pre-recording of the song, he was concerned that the guitar on the song was too “friendly” because the instrument Dylan played “basically fell apart” by the early 1960s. Likewise, the actor said he found his voice had a baritone range, but it also sounded too “clean” to him.
“I did a vocal warm-up with Eric Vetro, a vocal coach who helped me Wonka and helped me sing “Grand” Wonka. And then, here I would listen to it again and I’d be like, ‘Man, this sounds so clean,'” he said, calling the role “the most dignified job” he’d ever done.
In a nod to Dylan’s often unpredictable nature, Chalamet recalled that the singer’s manager sneaked onto the set one day and, after watching the actor, praised Dylan for capturing the “spirit” of his client. In fact, the texts he received were so enthusiastic and positive that Chalamet said he and Norton “jumped up and down, saying, ‘Man, Bob’s manager loved it,’ and then we were like, ‘Oh no, really Bob was so Jeff would go to him and say this movie looked good, and then Bob would say well, this must be a piece of shit.
Now that he’s fully immersed in “Bob’s Church,” Chalamet said he feels like he can be a “bridge” to the voice of one generation to a whole new one. In the two trailers so far, Chalamet appears to completely transform his voice and body language, telling the story of Dylan’s rise to fame in the early 1960s and his switch to electric guitar at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival controversial moments.
Completely unknown In theaters December 25.
Watch the full interview below.
