The preparation for a biopic takes place long before an actor steps foot onto a film set. To properly portray Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown, Timothée Chalamet had to train his body in more ways than one.
During an appearance on NPR’s All Things Considered, Timothée Chalamet claims to have packed on 20 pounds in order to meet the “physicality” of Bob Dylan.
When host Ailsa Chang asked about his preparation, Timothée Chalamet spilled the beans. “He’s one of the great American artists of our time,” he said. “So I’m sure some of your listeners could speak to it better than I could. That said, I’ve, like I said, I’ve turned over every stone.”
For Chalamet that stretched far beyond the music. “I did all the work, like you just described, physicality, behavior-wise,” he continued. “But something we haven’t really talked about, I also put on 20 pounds because…Believe it or not, I was thinner than the guy, you know?”
In addition to bulking up, Chalamet previously told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe that he spent years learning the harmonica. “For the movie I had to learn thirteen songs,” he said. “But in total I can probably play thirty. So, Tim Monich was the dialect coach that who I worked with for years on this. I [also] worked with a harmonica coach for five years and then worked with Polly Bennett who is a movement coach.”
A Complete Unknown is in theaters now. Find more information here.
