Timmy on the tracks: Timothée Chalamet will do his own singing in Bob Dylan biopic, director says
Move over, Austin Butler. Timothée Chalamet plans to fully embody the freewheelin' Bob Dylan in James Mangold's upcoming biopic of the folk icon — from his tiny jackets to his signature vocals.
Chalamet will do his own singing in the project, which is set to begin shooting in August, the director confirmed to Collider at the Star Wars Celebration in London on Friday.
"It's such an amazing time in American culture," Mangold said of the film's story, describing it as the tale of "a young, 19-year-old Bob Dylan coming to New York with two dollars in his pocket and becoming a worldwide sensation within three years."
.@mang0ld tells us his @bobdylan biopic with #TimothéeChalamet starts filming in August and Chalamet will do his own singing in the film. #StarWarsCelebration pic.twitter.com/yVluBMTeJz
— Collider (@Collider) April 7, 2023
The biopic will feature Dylan "being embraced into the family of folk music in New York and then, of course, kind of outrunning them at a certain point as his star rises so beyond belief," Mangold said. "It's such an interesting true story and about such an interesting moment in the American scene. Different characters from Woody Guthrie to Bob Dylan to Pete Seeger to Joan Baez — they all have a role to play in this movie."
Early reports revealed that the film will be set in 1965 and focus on the period when Dylan sparked heavy criticism for pivoting from his folk roots toward a more rock & roll sensibility.
The biopic won't be the first time Chalamet has flaunted his vocal chops. He performed a rendition of Chet Baker's "Everything Happens to Me" in Woody Allen's controversial 2019 film, A Rainy Day in New York, and will reportedly sing and dance his way through seven musical numbers in the upcoming Wonka prequel movie. Plus, who can forget his rap about statistics?
And if Call Me by Your Name taught us anything, it's that Timmy can play both the piano and the guitar. Now all that's left to do is pick up a tambourine, mister.
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