The official voyage of Timothée Chalamet to become Bob Dylan has commenced.
The 28-year-old actor was spotted on Sunday in New York City, where he was filming A Complete Unknown, James Mangold’s upcoming biopic about the renowned musician.
Carrying a beat-up guitar case in his hand, Chalamet resembled the eighty-two-year-old Dylan as he strolled through the city’s streets wearing pants, a green jacket, an orange scarf, a paperboy cap, and a big yellow rucksack on his back.
A vintage-looking car passed by next to him, creating the backdrop for the biopic, which Deadline reports will focus on Dylan’s contentious switch to the electric guitar in the 1960s and his journey to become a folk music icon.
Though Mangold has revealed that Chalamet will be singing in character as Dylan in the movie—his most recent musical achievement after Wonka—not much more is known about the biography.
“It’s such an amazing time in American culture, and the story of Bob’s — a young, 19-year-old Bob Dylan coming to New York with two dollars in his pocket and becoming a worldwide sensation within three years,” Mangold, 60, told Collider in 2017. “First being embraced into a family of folk music in New York and of course kind of outrunning him at a certain point as his star rises so beyond belief.”
In addition, Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, and Woody Guthrie—all of whom “have a role to play in this movie,” according to Mangold—will be featured in the biopic.
“It’s such an interesting true story and about such an interesting moment in the American scene,” he said.
Edward Norton, who plays folk musician Seeger in the film, has reportedly joined the ensemble, replacing Benedict Cumberbatch, who withdrew due to schedule issues, according to Deadline. Elle Fanning is set to play Sylvie Russo, Dylan’s love interest, in the film.
As he got ready for the part, Chalamet went to Dylan’s high school in Hibbing, Minnesota, back in January. He spent some time with the theatrical department at Hibbing High School during his visit, which they reported in a Facebook post the next day.
The theater department of the school noted in the post, “HHS Drama accidentally blew up the internet: We spent about 45 minutes with Timothée Chalamet yesterday at the historic Hibbing Auditorium.” “He was a total gem. In town researching all things Bob Dylan for an upcoming biopic, he asked his tour guide if he could meet with the drama students who were working on their competition one act.”
While the children were practicing for a performance of The Girl in the White Pinafore, Chalamet posed for pictures and “sat down with them one on one, and talked acting and theater.”
“After our guest left, our students had their final dress rehearsal. And they nailed it. Something must have inspired them,” the post said.
