Bob Dylan Acted Out All of ‘A Complete Unknown’ (And Asked the Director to Include One Lie)

Gabrielle Moss December 30, 2024

American folk pop singer Bob Dylan at a press conference in London — Express Newspapers/Getty Images

Bob Dylan is one of the most famously eccentric rock stars out there — so it’s no surprise that when it came time to work on the film about his life, A Complete Unknown, the legendary singer-songwriter took some unusual steps. Like staging a reading of the script, and playing the part of “Bob Dylan” himself

Dylan was given full approval of the script for the film about his life, and worked closely with director/ screenwriter James Mangold on it — a process that included the pair acting out the script. According to producer Peter Jaysen, “At one point, they sat there and they read the entire script out loud, with Jim Mangold reading every part and stage direction and Bob Dylan only reading lines and dialogue for himself. Through that process, he sat there writing notes on the script. And at the end of the last session with Jim Mangold, he signed the script and said, ‘Go with God.’”

Timothee Chalamet is seen on location for 'A Complete Unknown' on June 11, 2024 in Hoboken, New Jersey

Dylan did have another request of Mangold — to include “at least one totally inaccurate moment” in the script. According to a Rolling Stone article, Edward Norton, who costars in the film as Pete Seeger, “says Mangold told him that Dylan insisted on putting at least one totally inaccurate moment — he won’t reveal what — into A Complete Unknown. When the director expressed some concern about the public’s reaction, as Norton tells it, Dylan stared at him. ‘What do you care what other people think?’ he asked.”