Elle Fanning was left a changed woman when she saw Timothée Chalamet transform into Bob Dylan for their upcoming biopic, A Complete Unknown.
Speaking at The Wrap’s 2024 WrapWomen Power Women Summit in Beverly Hills on Tuesday, December 3, the 26-year-old actress shared how Chalamet’s rendition of Dylan’s iconic A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall left her “tearing up.”
“Timothée’s so extraordinary in the movie,” she said, recalling how he delivered a full concert-like performance as Dylan on her first day on set.
Giving a nod to their history working together, Fanning said of Chalamet, “Seeing him accomplish this character in such a beautiful way [was moving].”
Fanning, a lifelong Dylan fan, admitted she was initially sceptical of how her friend would approach the role. “I was a harsh critic. I was like, ‘What is Timmy gonna do?’ And he just blew me away,” she added.
Fanning plays Sylvie Russo, inspired by Suze Rotolo, Dylan’s girlfriend and muse in the early ’60s.
Directed by James Mangold, A Complete Unknown chronicles Dylan’s rise as a revolutionary folk icon. The film, starring Monica Barbaro, Edward Norton, and Boyd Holbrook, hits theatres on December 25.
Chalamet, who recently received the Gotham Visionary Tribute honor for the role, described immersing himself in Dylan’s world as “the greatest education a young artist could receive.”
