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While Timothée Chalamet may win an Oscar for his role in A Complete Unknown, Bob Dylan's real ex-girlfriend, Joan Baez, has high praise for the actor's performance in the biopic.
In an interview with The Marin Independent Journal, Baez discussed the biopic. She complimented Chalamet's stage presence when playing Dylan.
“I have to come back to that’s how it was,” Baez said. “When he walked into the room, he took up all the oxygen. And so my part was always diminished in his presence. And in that sense[,] the film is accurate.”
Baez also praised Monica Barbaro, who portrays her in the biopic. Her enjoyment of the biopic was contingent on Barbaro's performance. If she didn't nail it, Baez probably wouldn't have liked the movie.
“I loved what she did in the film,” praised Baez. “If I didn’t think she was good at it, I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed it in general. But she looked enough like me[,] and she had my gestures down. You could tell who it was. She worked so hard. Kudos to her for taking the role on.”
Barbaro has gotten praise for her performance. She was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Academy Awards. She will find out if she wins on March 2, 2025.
The Bob Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown
A Complete Unknown is the new Bob Dylan biopic starring Timothée Chalamet and co-written and directed by James Mangold, who previously made Walk the Line, a Johnny Cash biopic.
It follows Dylan's rise in the folk music scene, thanks to the help of his mentor, Pete Seeger (Edward Norton). Along the way, he started dating Sylvie Russo (Elle Fanning), based on Dylan's real-life former girlfriend, Suzie Rotolo. Bob Dylan also meets Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro), another rising name in the folk scene.
After gaining fame for his folk music, Dylan begins experimenting with electrically amplified music in the mid-60s. This upsets the folk community, leading to his infamous performance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival.
He notoriously played a full-band electric set that included “Maggie's Farm” and “Like a Rolling Stone.” Dylan returned to the festival years later.
In addition to Chalamet, Barbaro, Fanning, and Norton, Body Holbrook also starred in the biopic as Johnny Cash. Previously, Joaquin Phoenix played the “Ring of Fire” singer in Walk the Line. Like Chalamet, he was nominated for Best Actor at the Oscars.
A Complete Unknown has been a hit. So far, it has grossed $88 million worldwide. It opened in the United States on December 25, 2024.
