Timothée Chalamet had a dream run at the box office, with his last two films Wonka and Dune: Part Two earning huge numbers globally. The actor has become one of the biggest stars in Hollywood right now and has a slate of high-profile projects in the pipeline. His next project is the James Mangold-directed Bob Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown.
Chalamet has reportedly decided to use his own singing voice in the biopic instead of lip-syncing to Dylan’s songs. The actor had also flexed his vocal cords in last year’s musical comedy Wonka. A statement from director Paul King about Chalamet’s singing talents might be the reason why Mangold was sure of the Call Me By Your Name star playing Bob Dylan.
Timothée Chalamet Was Offered Wonka Without An Audition
Timothée Chalamet has become one of the most sought-after A-listers in the business after delivering two consecutive hits with Wonka and Dune: Part Two. The actor headlined both blockbusters, which were released a few months apart. Wonka was a prequel to Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Dune: Part Two was Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi novel.
While Chalamet flexed his ‘voice’ as the messiah Paul Muad’Dib in Dune: Part Two, he had the chance to sing in Paul King’s Wonka. The film was musical fantasy and Chalamet chose to sing on his own. Paul King reportedly mentioned to Rolling Stone magazine that he had no qualms about Chalamet singing as he was convinced by his old YouTube videos.
King referred to Chalamet’s early YouTube videos which saw him rap and sing. The filmmaker particularly referred to his ‘Statistics’ music video as the reason why he offered the role of Willy Wonka to him without an audition. King said to Rolling Stone,
“It was a straight offer because he’s great and he was the only person in my mind who could do it. But because he’s Timothée Chalamet and his life is so absurd, his high school musical performances are on YouTube and have hundreds of thousands of views. So I knew from stanning for Timmy Chalamet that he could sing and dance really well.”
Paul King also mentioned that while he knew that Timothée Chalamet could sing, he did not how good he was. He also mentioned that Chalamet wanted to show off his tap-dancing skills which he learned in high school.
Timothée Chalamet Proves His Musical Prowess To James Mangold As He Sings Like Bob Dylan
It looks like Wonka might not be the last time Timothée Chalamet shows off his singing talents. The actor was cast in James Mangold’s Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown, with Chalamet playing the Nobel Prize-winner himself. The Interstellar star was cast in 2020, with the film set to follow the journey of a young Bob Dylan (via Deadline).
Recently, Chalamet proved why he was the perfect man for the job with a video of him performing a song with co-star Monica Barbaro making the rounds on social media. IndieWire posted a behind-the-scenes clip of the star performing with Dylan’s signature guitar and harmonica.
The actor reportedly chose to sing the songs himself rather than rely on lip-syncing to the legendary singer’s music. The video was reportedly filmed in New Jersey, where the crew was filming a scene set in the 1963 Monterey Folk Festival which saw Bob Dylan performing with Joan Baez. The upcoming film also reportedly stars Elle Fanning, Edward Norton, Dan Fogler, and Nick Offerman.
