Timothée Chalamet put on 20 pounds to portray Bob Dylan, admitting, «I was thinner than the guy.»
Timothée Chalamet shared that his dedication to portraying Bob Dylan in *A Complete Unknown* went far beyond just altering his appearance.
In an interview on NPR’s *All Things Considered* on January 20, Chalamet, 29, described how he “turned over every stone” in preparation for the role, from growing out his nails to gaining weight, ensuring every detail was covered to embody the folk icon.
The production delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic ultimately gave Chalamet more time to immerse himself in the character.
What initially was intended to be four months of preparation expanded into a five-year journey of transformation. “I feel like I’ve turned over every stone available to me now,” he reflected.
Host Ailsa Chang highlighted the depth of Chalamet’s work, explaining the extensive range of skills he had to master, including singing, speaking, and playing guitar and harmonica like Dylan.
Chalamet confirmed, “I did all the work, like you just described… But something we haven’t really talked about is I also gained 20 pounds because, believe it or not, I was thinner than the guy.”
Director James Mangold affirmed that Chalamet was indeed «thinner than Bob,» with Chang jokingly noting, “You had to fatten up to become Bob Dylan. That’s hilarious.”
When asked about the hardest part of the transformation, Chalamet described the process as a kind of “osmosis” where he absorbed everything at once, particularly through Dylan’s music.
“I love this man’s music,” he said, noting that his connection to the songs was central to his performance.
Chalamet recently performed Dylan’s music on *Saturday Night Live* (January 25), singing a medley of “Outlaw Blues” and “Three Angels” on electric guitar, followed by “Tomorrow Is a Long Time” on acoustic.
His portrayal of Dylan earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor, making him the youngest two-time nominee in that category since James Dean.
*A Complete Unknown* is now in theaters.
