EVERYONE KNOWS HIM NOW

Why, for Timothée Chalamet, his Oscar-nominated headline act in A Complete Unknown wasn't just another role...

- GILL PRINGLE

He was raised in a liberal Jewish-Catholic household in New York, but now Timothée Chalamet says he’s found a new religion.

“Once I was in it, there was no coming back. I was fully in the Church of Bob,” he smiles, referring to being inspired by the life and music of Bob Dylan after portraying the music legend in new biopic A Complete Unknown.

Timothée’s conversion came after five years learning how to sing, speak, and play guitar and harmonica like the Nobel Prize-winning songwriter, also making several visits to Bob’s Minnesota birthplace.

Even his castmates were in awe of his dedication, with Elle Fanning – who plays Sylvie Russo (a fictionalised version of Bob’s girlfriend Suze Rotolo) – describing his transformation as becoming “Bobbed out”.

Charting the musician’s rise from unknown 19-year-old folk singer, via the New York folk club scene and festivals, to the top of the charts during the early 1960s, the film doesn’t seek to decode Dylan – something the actor appreciated.

“We didn’t want to draw conjecture that would have demystified the way life was for Bob in Minnesota. That’s why I love the title of the movie – A Complete Unknown,” he says.

The former child actor has spent his adult life in the spotlight, gaining huge popularity with roles in Call Me by Your Name, Wonka, Little Women and the