Timothée Chalamet has revealed he is working alongside the team who assisted Austin Butler for Elvis in preparation to play Bob Dylan.
The actor is set to play the musician in upcoming biopic, A Complete Unknown, from director James Mangold (Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny, Walk The Line).
- READ MORE: It Ain’t Me, Babe: Every on screen portrayal of Bob Dylan rated
In a profile interview with GQ, Chalamet detailed how he’s been working with the same dialect and vocal coach as Butler, who is his co-star in Dune: Part Two.
“I’ve basically been working with his entire Elvis team for my Dylan prep,” Chalamet said. “There’s a wonderful dialect coach named Tim Monich. Vocal coach named Eric Vetro. Movement coach named Polly Bennett. I just saw the way [Butler] committed to it all, and realised I needed to step it up.”
Chalamet later explained he’s been “Dylan-ing hard” to play the role, including rereading Dylan’s memoir Chronicles released in 2004.
“You need your ability to imagine, your ability to observe, and your ability to experience,” Chalamet said about preparing for the role. “And if any one of those is compromised, your ability to create is compromised in some way.”
The actor, however, has not met Dylan yet for the project. “I didn’t want to three years ago, because I just didn’t want to for superstitious reasons,” Chalamet added. “Now I would love to.”
A Complete Unknown is set to cover Dylan’s transition from folk music to rock in 1965, which alienated many of his original fans at the time.
Speaking to Collider earlier this year about the project, Mangold said: “It’s such an interesting true story about such an interesting moment in the American scene.”
Filming was expected to begin in August this year, although the ongoing Hollywood strikes has likely pushed this date back.
Chalamet will next star as a young version of Willy Wonka in upcoming film Wonka, from director Paul King. The film is scheduled to be released on December 8 in the UK.