Chalamet isolated himself from the outside world to fully immerse in his role as Bob Dylan.

Timothée Chalamet went to extreme lengths to master his portrayal of Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown, revealing that he ditched his phone for months to remain completely immersed in the role.

Speaking on This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von, the 29-year-old actor explained that he had never switched off his phone for an entire film before—but this time was different.

“I had three months to play this guy, and then the rest of my life, I never get to play him again. So I was locked in,” Chalamet said.

His commitment stemmed from a deep love for Dylan and a desire to stand out in a crowded field of music biopics.

“You never want to say you’re competitive, but there’s been a lot of music biopics, and I wanted to do a great f****** job,” he admitted. “None of this is for granted.”

Chalamet, who had spent five years preparing for the role, told Rolling Stone in December 2024 that he feared any distraction could rob him of a moment of artistic discovery.

“It was something I would go to sleep panicked about—losing a moment as the character because I was on my phone,” he confessed.

The Complete Unknown, which premiered at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on December 10, 2024, chronicles Dylan’s rise to fame and the cultural shift he inspired. The role demanded intense preparation, including Chalamet learning Dylan’s distinctive voice and mannerisms.

For Chalamet, those three months of filming were about complete immersion—no distractions, no outside world, just Bob Dylan.