Actor Timothée Chalamet had Dinkytown buzzing Thursday when he attended a special screening of his current project, the Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown,” at the Main Cinema.
“I love it here and I love Minnesota,” the 28-year-old said at a pre-show press conference when asked about the time he spent touring Dylan’s old haunts in Minneapolis, Duluth and Hibbing while preparing for the role. “I find the people to be really generous and nice and generous of spirit.”
On Thursday afternoon, Chalamet posted a photo of the Varsity Theater marquee to his Instagram story with a caption that read: “TONITE.” He then proceeded to walk around campus, pose for photos with fans and attempt to get a taste of collegiate life. More than 100 people spent hours standing outside the Main hoping for a glimpse of the movie star.
“I never got to have the classic American college experience,” Chalamet said. “So I’m trying to (take it all in) in three days. Obviously, he came from here and Dinkytown was very informative to his folk music obsession.”
Chalamet co-produced “A Complete Unknown,” which opens Christmas Day and also stars Edward Norton as Pete Seeger, Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez and Scoot McNairy as Woody Guthrie. Dylan himself took to Twitter on Wednesday to praise Chalamet: “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.”
Actor Timothee Chalamet (“Dune,” “Wonka”) answers question from local media before an advance screening of the new Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown” on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024 at the Main Cinema in Minneapolis. The 28-year-old stars as the Minnesota native and also co-produced the film, which opens in theaters on Christmas Day. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
“Man, the tweet was, I don’t know, I really couldn’t put it into words,” Chalamet said. “It’s a total dream come true. If my interaction with the legendary Bob Dylan is limited to that moment, it will have been more than I could … uh, it was sort of mind-boggling. And very affirming.”
Dylan is notoriously private — in a post-screening Q&A, Chalamet joked that he’s done more interviews over the past few days than Dylan has in his entire career — and Chalamet said he wasn’t trying to demystify the eccentric songwriter.
“In some ways, playing an enigma, or someone who is enigmatic, is almost easier in a sense because there aren’t the hard lines of a character to follow,” he said. “His is a story of someone who was quite successful quite quickly. … It’s kind of fraught to make parallels in my career because I never want to put myself in the same boat as the legendary Bob Dylan, but it’s something I can relate to. My career did take off when I was 20.”
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