4 Essential Acting Lessons From ‘A Complete Unknown’

In a film landscape that seems to be obsessed with the musician biopic, James Mangold’s “A Complete Unknown” transcends the well-worn formula rather than simply contributes to it. Based on Elijah Wald’s 2015 book “Dylan Goes Electric,” the film follows a young Bob Dylan (Timothée Chalamet) through the start of his career all the way up to his decision to abandon his old-school roots and—wait for it—“go electric” at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival.

If its $11.6 million opening weekend is any indication, there’s no doubt the film has widespread appeal, from fans who remember Dylan’s heyday to Gen Zers just hoping to catch the latest Chalamet flick. But you don’t have to be a fan of Dylan or the cast to get something out of the viewing experience; the film also offers valuable lessons for actors on veracity, dedication, and emotional depth.

The subtle art of playing recognizable figures

At first glance, portraying a real person might seem easier than creating a character from scratch: There’s very little guesswork as their entire backstory has already been built for you, and, if the person was alive within the last century or so, it’s very likely that you have a treasure trove of footage to reference (or even access to the person themselves!). All of this is true, but taking on the role of a real-life figure isn’t without its traps—sure, you’re familiar with them, but so is the entire audience. 

“A Complete Unknown” is packed with actors playing real people—in addition to Chalamet as Dylan, the film features Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez, Edward Norton as Pete Seeger, Boyd Holbrook as Johnny Cash, and Scoot McNairy as Woody Guthrie. Each part comes with its own unique challenges when it comes to bringing these icons to the screen.

There’s a delicate line that all actors playing real people will eventually stumble upon, since you want your character to be instantly identifiable to the audience without veering into impersonation or caricature. Talking about her approach to that balance in her portrayal of folk singer Baez, Barbaro told Variety, “It was important to all of us to not have a bunch of carbon copies of these musicians, or any sort of sign of mimicry in the film; and yet they have to be recognizable versions of these musicians…. Just having those sort of touchpoints of the person so that there is that recognizability there. But then once you get into it, you hope you’re in it so deeply that you can just sort of have a version of the person.” It’s a simple enough tactic, and if the success of Barbaro’s performance is any indication, it’s solid advice. If you find yourself preparing for a biopic, the best approach may be to learn all that you can and then let it go.

The importance of being understood

One of the most immediate takeaways when watching the film is just how convincing Chalamet is as Dylan. It’s uncanny, and it’s definitely not easy work. Dylan is a famous mumbler (he only makes it about two minutes into this 1965 interview before being asked to repeat himself)—but one of an actor’s most important jobs, and possibly the most important job, is to be understood by the audience. Despite giving a performance that seems like a perfect send-up of Dylan, Chalamet is never difficult to understand, instead channeling some of that laid-back energy into other facets of his performance such as posture, general attitude, body language, and so on. Never allowing accuracy to get in the way of comprehension is a valuable lesson for all actors, whether it’s in the context of evoking a real person’s distinct way of speaking or in the world of thick accent work.

The ultimate payoff of committing to the bit

Sixty or so years ago, it was so common for actors not to do their own singing in movies that so-called ghost singers like Marni Nixon made entire careers out of dubbing non-singing actors. This has been much less common in recent years, and the movie world is all the better for it. In the case of “A Complete Unknown,” all singing and instrument playing was performed by the onscreen actors, and was even live in most cases. The film undoubtedly benefits from its actors’ commitment to doing their own singing and instrumental work—a learning process which reportedly took Chalamet years. “It was important for me to sing and play live, because if I can actually do it, why should there be an element of artifice here?” he noted in a featurette. “I’m proud that we took that leap.”

Actors can not only take away the lesson that it’s worth keeping those special skills in tiptop shape if they have them, but also that it’s worth putting in the effort to learn new ones if the role requires it.

The power of the long reaction shot

As Dylan’s on-again, off-again girlfriend Sylvie (a fictional character based on Dylan’s real-life girlfriend Suze Rotolo), actor Elle Fanning has her fair share of screen time with well-crafted dialogue. But it’s the several long shot reaction scenes (including a particularly heartbreaking series of shots of her watching Dylan sing with Baez during the 1965 Newport Folk Festival) that provide the beating heart for Fanning’s character. These could have been wasted on a lesser performer, and actors should take note of the way that Fanning commands the screen and conveys several intense emotions—heartbreak, betrayal, despair—all without uttering a word or moving her body, armed with nothing but facial expressions. It’s impressive, and it’s worth studying. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then 20 seconds of silence must be worth a million.

“A Complete Unknown” contains many acting lessons that are not only interesting but also highly relevant. While there was a time when actors would likely go their whole careers without so much as auditioning for a biopic, to quote Dylan himself, “The times, they are a-changin’.”