Bob Dylan reacts to Timothee Chalamet's lead role in biopic

Bob Dylan is rooting for Timothee Chalamet ahead of an upcoming biopic of the singer.

The folk-rock legend, 83, gave Chalamet, 28, a shoutout in a post on X on Wednesday, exactly three weeks before the James Mangold-directed movie opens in theaters.

"There’s a movie about me opening soon called A Complete Unknown (what a title!)," Dylan began.

"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."

The musician went on, "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."

A Complete Unknown chronicles Dylan's early life and career as he rose to prominence in the 1960s. Cowritten by Mangold and Jay Cocks, the movie stars Chalamet, Elle Fanning, Monica Barbaro, Edward Norton, Boyd Holbrook, Dan Fogler, Norbert Leo Butz, Eriko Hatsune, Big Bill Morgenfield, Scoot McNairy, and Will Harrison.

Chalamet also bagged praises from his castmate Fanning, 26, who called his performance "extraordinary" on Tuesday during The Wrap's 2024 WrapWomen Power Women Summit.

"I remember tearing up" the actress said of the first time she heard Chalamet sing as Dylan. 

"And so seeing him accomplish this and this character in such a beautiful way [was moving]," added Fanning, who plays Sylvie Russo, a character based on the real-life Suze Rotolo, Dylan's girlfriend and muse during the early '60s.

On December 2, Chalamet was awarded The Gotham Film & Media Institute’s Visionary Tribute honour at this year’s Gotham Awards for his work in A Complete Unknown, alongside Mangold.

"I'm grateful to everyone who poured themselves into this project," the Oscar nominee said in his acceptance speech. "Getting to study and immerse myself in the world of Bob Dylan has been the greatest education a young artist could receive."

A Complete Unknown is in theaters on December 25.