Timothée Chalamet does his own singing and guitar playing in the upcoming Bob Dylan movie A Complete Unknown, and apparently he had to learn a lot of the Dylan catalog to be ready for the film.
In a new featurette shared by Entertainment Weekly, producer Fred Berger shares just how extensive Chalamet’s preparation was for the role.
“There are 40 songs in the movie that he performs,” Berger says. “On guitar, on harmonica, and singing live take after take after take.”
The clip features behind-the-scenes footage of Chalamet performing as Dylan, set to his take on the Dylan classic “Like A Rolling Stone.”
“It was important for me to sing and play live,” Chalamet says. “Because if I can actually do it, why should there be an element of artifice here? And I’m proud that we took that leap.”
His co-star Elle Fanning said she had “goose bumps,” watching Chalamet at work, noting, “You can see how much love, and how hard he’s worked and how much he cares about getting this right.”
The clip also features footage of Boyd Holbrook performing as Johnny Cash, Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez and Ed Norton and Pete Seeger.
“It’s a movie about music that is unadorned and authentic,” the film’s director, James Mangold, adds. “You could feel the thing working for everyone.”
A Complete Unknown hits theaters Dec. 25.
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