Timothée Chalamet, 'Complete Unknown' land major Oscar nominations

movie actor at local premier — Timothée Chalamet answers a question during a media roundtable at the Minnesota premiere of “A Complete Unknown” on Dec. 5 at The Main Cinema in Minneapolis.

By Jay Gabler

January 23, 2025 at 9:08 AM

DULUTH — The Oscars buzz surrounding the Bob Dylan biopic "A Complete Unknown" and its star, Timothée Chalamet, turned out to be justified.

Chalamet, who visited the Northland twice to research his role as the Duluth-born music icon, was named a Best Actor candidate when the nominations were announced Thursday morning. The film was nominated for Best Picture, along with six additional nominations.

James Mangold was nominated for Best Director, with co-stars Edward Norton (Pete Seeger) and Monica Barbaro (Joan Baez) earning nominations for Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress, respectively. The movie also earned nominations for Adapted Screenplay, Costume Design and Sound.

The nominations reward a film that was years in the making, with Chalamet learning guitar and studying tracks provided by Dylan himself so as to be able to perform the role convincingly. The star made a point of including Minnesota visits in both his preparation for the role and in the celebration of the movie's December release.

Chalamet visited Minneapolis on Dec. 5 for a preview screening of the movie, taking questions from local press and partying with the University of Minnesota Twin Cities Marching Band. He said that seeing piles of ore on the Iron Range helped him understand where Dylan's distinctive sound came from.

Young woman smiles and looks at young man as the two stand onstage, backlit by a spotlight, at microphones. — Timothée Chalamet, left, and Monica Barbaro in "A Complete Unknown."

"The way Bob Dylan's music sounds like North Country blues and rocks and gravel," said Chalamet, "that sounds like Hibbing."

Now, it may sound like Oscar gold as well.

Other Best Picture nominees were "Anora," "The Brutalist," "Conclave," "Dune: Part Two" (also starring Chalamet), "Emilia Pérez," "I'm Still Here," "Nickel Boys," "The Substance" and "Wicked."

In the Best Actor category, Chalamet's fellow nominees are Adrien Brody ("The Brutalist"), Colman Domingo ("Sing Sing"), Ralph Fiennes ("Conclave") and Sebastian Stan ("The Apprentice").

"Emilia Pérez," a Netflix musical drama set in Mexico, led the pack with 13 nominations. "The Brutalist" and "Wicked" followed, with 10 nods each.

The 97th Academy Awards will be presented March 2 at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood in a ceremony broadcast live on ABC.

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By Jay Gabler

Arts and entertainment reporter Jay Gabler joined the Duluth News Tribune in 2022. His previous experience includes eight years as a digital producer at The Current (Minnesota Public Radio), four years as theater critic at Minneapolis alt-weekly City Pages, and six years as arts editor at the Twin Cities Daily Planet. He's a co-founder of pop culture and creative writing blog The Tangential; he's also a member of the National Book Critics Circle and the Minnesota Film Critics Association. You can reach him at jgabler@duluthnews.com or 218-409-7529.

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Timothée Chalamet, 'Complete Unknown' land major Oscar nominations

The Bob Dylan biopic landed eight nominations for the 97th Academy Awards, which will be presented March 2.