Hollywood vocal coach Eric Vetro has revealed how he trained Timothée Chalamet for his role as Bob Dylan in upcoming biopic A Complete Unknown.
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In an interview with Rolling Stone published yesterday (December 7), Vetro – who previously worked with Austin Butler for Elvis, and is currently working with Jeremy Allen White for his upcoming role as Bruce Springsteen – spoke at length about Chalamet, with whom he also worked on Wonka.
Vetro revealed that, in preparation for his job, the vocal coach listened to Dylan to analyse the “nasality of his voice” and “the way he pronounces his words”.
“I find it so interesting that he sounds young and simultaneously old at the same time,” he said of Dylan. “Even when he was young, he has that energy of an old soul.”
On beginning work with Chalamet for the Dylan movie, he said: “We would do normal exercises that I would give to anyone just to strengthen their voice, widen their range. That’s how we would start,” with a focus on Dylan’s nasal.
“Then we would start bringing him into probably a little bit more what you would call front-nasal exercises,” he continued, adding that he would imagine how the singer-songwriter would participate in a voice lesson like that. “How would he feel about it? Would he want to do it? Would he be into it?” Vetro also worked with Monica Barbaro to portray Joan Baez in the film.
“I was always about finding the right balance of getting enough of that sound to sound like Bob Dylan, but not let it get into the realm of being a caricature of him,” he added.
On Chalamet’s transformation into Dylan, he revealed that the actor “would just start talking like Bob” and that it “would just happen very naturally”.
“I remember the first day he walked in with a guitar and he had the harmonica holder around his neck. And I was struck by how natural it all looked. It looked like he had been doing this forever. Like it would with Bob Dylan.”
He also shared a story about how a handyman he knew approached Chalamet near the film’s set as he had arrived early.
“[He] went over and said, “What are you working on?” And Timmy told him he was working on the Bob Dylan movie, and he asked him his favorite Bob Dylan song. And Timmy just started singing and playing it, standing on the driveway.” Chalamet previously revealed that he learned how to play 30 songs by Dylan in preparation for the role.
“When Josh told me that story, at first I was so touched that Timmy was so kind and generous and that he would be so friendly,” Vetro added. “But I also was like, “There you go. He’s really becoming Bob Dylan,” because you could see where Bob Dylan would do the same thing.”
Vetro praised Chalamet as an actor who “does his homework” and “knows what he’s doing.”
A Complete Unknown is set for release in US cinemas on Christmas Day (December 25), with a UK release to follow on January 17.
On Friday, the first two singles from the film’s soundtrack were released and see Chalamet taking on Dylan’s ‘Like A Rolling Stone’ and ‘Girl From The North Country’, which also features Barbaro’s Baez.
Earlier this week, Dylan – who oversaw the film project as executive producer – has shared a post on X/Twitter about Chalamet’s big screen portrayal of him.
“There’s a movie about me opening soon called A Complete Unknown (what a title!),” the musician 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.”
Dylan continued: “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.”
Chalamet later responded to the praise while quote-tweeting Dylan’s post. “Floored,” he wrote. “I am so grateful. Thank you Bob.” You can see the interaction above.
Last month saw critics share their first reviews of the forthcoming movie. One wrote that “Chalamet delivers the performance of the year”, adding: “[His] performance is not just about the voice and look but rather all of the little nuances and mannerisms that he perfectly brings to his life in his portrayal of Bob Dylan.”
Another called the award-winning actor’s portrayal of Dylan “excellent”.
