Timothée Chalamet says his ‘greatest hope’ for ‘A Complete Unknown’ is that younger generations discover Bob Dylan

Timothée Chalamet has been open about the fact that he didn’t know much about Bob Dylan when he was cast as the legendary singer in the biopic A Complete Unknown, but he’s now a proud member of “the Church of Bob.”

He told Yahoo Entertainment that his “greatest hope” for the film, which opens in theaters Dec. 25, is that it becomes the “gateway” for a new generation to get to know Dylan.

“I got introduced to this music five, six years ago, and it’s been the gift that keeps on giving to this day,” he said. “It’s remarkable music and art. It’s really vitalizing, if that’s a word.”

Chalamet added that it’s sometimes difficult “in a time period like today” to dig deeper into the media we consume.

“There’s so much to not find meaning in and be hopeless about,” he said. “Then all of a sudden, there’s this gold mountaintop.”

Chalamet performs as Dylan in the film, both singing and playing instruments. He has revealed other skills during the press tour, such as his prowess as a football analyst and his grasp of pop culture. He said he “probably” won’t be revealing any more talents, though.

Elle Fanning, who has worked with Chalamet in the past, told Yahoo Entertainment that there was a “safety and comfortability” of sharing the screen with him again.

“At the point in our lives when we met, Call Me By Your Name hadn’t even come out yet,” Fanning said, referencing Chalamet’s breakout role that earned him an Oscar nomination in 2018. “It’s nice to know each other already, for sure.”

She plays Sylvie Russo, a character based on Dylan’s former girlfriend Suze Rotolo, whom he was close with when he first became famous. She’s with him on the cover of his 1963 album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan.

A Complete Unknown director James Mangold, who co-wrote the film with Jay Cocks, worked with Dylan on the script. One of the singer’s notes was that he wanted Rotolo’s name changed.

“It wasn’t explained to me necessarily why. I put my own interpretation on it,” Fanning said. “Reading things about Suze and Bob — they were incredibly close. Suze was someone Bob knew in his youth before he catapulted into fame, and I think those people you know before are very precious to you.”

She said she imagined their relationship was “sacred.” Rotolo died in 2011, and as it’s noted in the film, she never wanted to be famous.

“That was definitely, I’m not gonna lie, subconsciously on my mind,” Fanning said. “But I think [changing her name] was a lovely sentiment.”

A Complete Unknown is in theaters Dec. 25.