What Does Bob Dylan Think of A Complete Unknown?

A Complete Unknown
Credit: Searchlight Pictures | Fair use for promotional purposes

A Complete Unknown
Credit: Searchlight Pictures | Fair use for promotional purposes

The new Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown centers on the earlier years of the iconic music artist's career as he faces his meteoric rise.

Timothee Chalamet stars as Dylan and is currently receiving strong awards buzz as he is now considered to be one of the frontrunners to win Best Actor at the Oscars.

You might be wondering whether Dylan has weighed in on the biopic and Chalamet's performance. Let's explore below.

Bob Dylan's Reaction to A Complete Unknown

To the surprise of many fans, Dylan acknowledged the release of A Complete Unknown in a recent post on X.

While he didn't reveal whether he has seen the film, he praised Chalamet as a "brilliant" actor and felt confident that he was "going to be completely believable" in his portrayal.

"There’s a movie about me opening soon called A Complete Unknown (what a title!). Timothee Chalamet is starring in the lead role. Timmy’s a brilliant actor so I’m sure he’s going to be completely believable as me. Or a younger me. Or some other me," he wrote in his post.

"The film’s taken from Elijah Wald’s Dylan Goes Electric – a book that came out in 2015. It’s a fantastic retelling of events from the early ‘60s that led up to the fiasco at Newport. After you’ve seen the movie read the book."

While Dylan did not say that he had seen the film, his endorsement of Chalamet's performance might be good enough to encourage fans who have been skeptical about the film.

Long-time Dylan fans also know that he rarely speaks about the movies, books, and documentaries that were made about him so it is pretty surprising to see him give an endorsement to A Complete Unknown.

Is Bob Dylan Planning to See A Complete Unknown?

So far, no evidence suggests Dylan has seen or is planning to see A Complete Unknown anytime soon.

Director James Mangold revealed in an interview that he had heard that Dylan had not seen the film and that it was unlikely that he would see it as he had never watched any of the documentaries about him.

"He hasn’t seen the film. He’s welcome to. All he’d have to do is call. But [Dylan’s manager] Jeff Rosen says he doesn’t think he’s ever watched any of the documentaries about him," he said.

"That’s a clue too, isn’t it? Into a kind of self-protection, a protection of one’s own psyche that I think he’s zealously practiced for years."

Nevertheless, Mangold is happy that Dylan gave a public endorsement to his film on social media.

He said, "No one said, 'Dylan tweet incoming!' It was thrilling and funny and warm and charming, as Bob is. Even his way of dipping his toe in the world of tweeting is highly amusing and makes you chuckle."

What do you think of Dylan's endorsement of the film? Let us know in the comments!

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