If you are going to be an enigma, you have to commit to the bit. Bob Dylan gets it. Despite being in the glitziest spotlight possible on Sunday night (March 2) at the 2025 Academy Awards ceremony where the biopic about his early life, A Complete Unknown, was nominated for (and lost) eight Oscars, Dylan was nowhere to be seen.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, however, the “Like a Rolling Stone” singer was invited to present and perform on the broadcast, but seemingly chose to let another rock legend do the honors.
Dylan’s name came up several times, however, including in host Conan O’Brien’s opening monologue, where he noted that Timothée Chalamet was nominated for his spot-on portrayal of Dylan in the box office smash. “Bob Dylan wanted to be here tonight… but not that badly,” O’Brien quipped about the legendarily hard-to-pin-down singer/songwriter who famously skipped out on his 2016 Nobel Prize ceremony.
In a surprise appearance, Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger wowed the bejeweled crowd at the Dolby Theatre on Sunday instead, where he also joked about Dylan not making the scene. “Much as I love doing it, I wasn’t the first choice. The producers really wanted Bob Dylan to do this. But Bob Dylan won’t do it because he said the best songs in a movie this year were in A Complete Unknown,” Jagger joked before doing his best Dylan impression. “Bob said, ‘You should find somebody younger.’” Jagger, 81, joked about his 83-year-old elder. “Hey, I’m younger than Bob Dylan!”
Without citing a source, THR reported that Dylan was invited to present the Oscar for best original song — won by “El Mal” from Emilia Pérez — as well as perform on the show, but seemingly turned down the opportunity. The no-show from Dylan came just a few days after the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer confounded his fans once again by posting, without comment, a 2016 video of rapper Machine Gun Kelly performing at Park Ave. CDs in Orlando, FL in 2016.
