NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 24: Timothee Chalamet is seen filming on location for the Bob Dylan … [+]
Viewers got their first look at Timothée Chalamet’s transformation into Bob Dylan for the upcoming biopic, A Complete Unknown, which will hit theaters this December. Does Chalamet sing in the film, and is that the actor’s real voice in the teaser trailer?
From Searchlight Pictures, A Complete Unknown is directed and written by James Mangold (Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny), who penned the screenplay with Jay Cocks based on the 2015 book “Dylan Goes Electric!” by Elijah Wald.
The film is set in New York in the early 1960s and follows “19-year-old Minnesota musician Bob Dylan’s meteoric rise as a folk singer to concert halls and the top of the charts — his songs and mystique becoming a worldwide sensation — culminating in his groundbreaking electric rock and roll performance at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965,” according to the official description.
The star-studded cast also features Monica Barbaro as Dylan’s collaborator and former lover Joan Baez, Elle Fanning as Sylvie Russo — another artist who dated Dylan in the early ’60s — as well as Edward Norton as Pete Seeger, Boyd Holbrook as Johnny Cash, and Scoot McNairy as Woody Guthrie.
In the first official teaser, released on July 24, the Wonka star sings a part of Dylan’s “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” from his 1963 album The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. But is that the 28-year-old actor’s real voice?
Does Timothee Chalamet Really Sing In A Complete Unknown?
PATERSON, NJ – APRIL 09: Timothee Chalamet is seen on location for the Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete … [+]
Yes, that’s Timothée Chalamet’s voice in A Complete Unknown’s teaser. He will lend his real vocals for the anticipated Bob Dylan biopic, which will be released in theaters in December.
When asked by Collider in April 2023 whether Chalamet was singing for the movie rather than having Dylan’s voice dubbed over, director James Mangold answered, “Of course!” Chalamet also took singing and guitar lessons to play the role, IndieWire reported.
This isn’t the first time Chalamet has showcased his singing talents in a film. He sang in the 2023 movie musical Wonka, which featured seven musical numbers. He contributed to the original motion picture soundtrack with songs like “You Never Had Chocolate Like This,” “A World of Your Own,” “Sorry, Noodle,” and “Pure Imagination.”
The actor, who attended Manhattan’s Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, also sang in 2019’s A Rainy Day in New York. A video even surfaced of the rising star performing “Sweet Charity” in a play at LaGuardia. Given his past projects and musical background, audiences can expect to see more musical roles from Chalamet moving forward.
Check out the teaser for A Complete Unknown to hear Chalamet’s voice in the film.
