Timothée Chalamet looks unrecognisable in first trailer for A Complete Unknown
Timothée Chalamet looks unrecognisable in his new role as Bob Dylan. (Getty)
The first trailer for the upcoming film A Complete Unknown is finally here, and Timothée Chalamet looks unrecognisable as he underwent a Bob Dylan-style transformation for the role.
The film sees the Wonka actor in the starring role and even provides his vocals to truly channel the legendary singer-songwriter. It comes after the star lent his voice to his Willy Wonka role and sounded like a young Bing Crosby, according to the Wonka director.
Searchlight Pictures shared the official teaser trailer on Wednesday (July 24), showing the actor embodying the singer with Dylan’s iconic suede jacket, sunglasses, and voluminous curls.
In the trailer, a Chalamet-recorded version of the 1960s track “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” plays. After watching the trailer, fans couldn’t believe how much Chalamet looks like Dylan.
“He looks exactly like bob dylan wow,” wrote one social media user on X, while another added: “It’s like watching a young Dylan come back to life.”
A third echoed: “Crazy this shot doesn’t even look like Chalamet!” Another onlooker commented: “Jaw dropped. Wow.”
The trailer also showed fans a glimpse of Monica Barbaro as singer-songwriter Joan Baez, Elle Fanning as Sylvie Russio, Edward Norton as singer Pete Seeger, and Boyd Holbrook as Johnny Cash.
The film’s official synopsis reads: “Set in the influential New York music scene of the early ’60s, A Complete Unknown 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 ‘n’ roll performance at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965.”
Director James Mangold said that Chalamet’s version of Dylan is achieved “in a very poetic way”. He told Rolling Stone that the actor has a particular knack for “growing the character up” from his teenager-with-a-dream origins to the superstar that fans know and love.
Mangold said: “One of the things I think that will be startling is, most Dylan fans don’t focus on the boy in the newsboy cap who’s arriving in town. And Timmy really carries this character from a 19-year-old boy telling tales of working on the carnival into this person that we recognize as an icon. Timmy finds the path to carry us there.
“It’s going to be impossible for people in trailers or teasers or photos to see, but the way he grows this character is a real act of acting brilliance in my opinion.”
A Complete Unknown is yet to announce a release date but is expected to be in cinemas this December.
