Timothée Chalamet Spent Five Years Training with a Harmonica Coach to Play Bob Dylan

Robbie Robertson's wife also asked Chalamet if he'd play the Band musician in a respective biopic

BY Calum SlingerlandPublished Nov 12, 2024

Sure, we've heard Timothée Chalamet do a solid job singing classic tunes from Bob Dylan in previous teases of new biopic A Complete Unknown, but how about his harmonica skills?

Chalamet has shed light on just how committed he was to portraying the music icon in a new 50-minute interview about "Becoming Bob Dylan" with Apple Music's Zane Lowe, revealing that he had to learn how to play 13 Dylan tracks for the film.

Notably, Chalamet says he worked with a harmonica coach for five years in preparing to star in the James Mangold-directed biopic, as well as a movement coach who helped him mimic Dylan's physical mannerisms.

The actor's journey to join "the church of Bob" didn't stop there. He recalled, "For my own spirit-gathering, for lack of a better metaphor, I retraced Bob's steps through Chicago and Madison, Wisconsin. And I started in Hibbing, in Duluth. And I spent about a week where he is from in Minnesota."

Chalamet also revealed that he had spoken to former Dylan accomplice and Band guitarist-vocalist Robbie Robertson about "the vibe" of past eras of performance, sharing, "When I met Robbie, his wife said, 'What do you think about playing Robbie in a biopic?' I said, 'Well, I'm supposed to play [Dylan] in a biopic.' And he went, 'Goddamn it, Bob's been beating me to the punch for 35 years!'"

You can watch Chalamet's complete interview below.

A Complete Unknown arrives in theatres on December 25.

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