In “A Complete Unknown,” Timothée Chalamet does his own singing and playing on guitar and harmonica — after five years of studying to master the music of Bob Dylan.

James Mangold is entering the awards race at the perfect time with A Complete Unknown. The biopic, which follows the early stages of Bob Dylan's career, has

Timothée Chalamet and Edward Norton explain why they still don't know Bob Dylan after making the biopic "A Complete Unknown," in theaters Wednesday, and why that's a good thing.

Timothée Chalamet’s lauded transformation into rock icon Bob Dylan in “A Complete Unknown” was so complete, it went all the way down to his cuticles. The “Dune 2” actor, 28, ended rampant speculation about whether the surprisingly long fingernails he has in the new biopic (out Dec. 25) are actually his own during an interview with Fandango.

Chalamet has been building his Bob Dylan for so long that he’s been seen playing Dylan songs while in costume as Willy Wonka and on the set of “Dune.” His “Dune” co-star, Oscar Isaac (who famously played a fictional Dylan-adjacent folk musician in “Inside Llewyn Davis”), said, ”My first thought, it sounded like a really bad idea.”

My dad is pretty obsessed with Bob Dylan (as is true for so many millennials and Gen Xers), so when word came out that there was going to be a Bob Dylan biopic—titled A Complete Unknown—I knew immediately that I wanted to see it.

He respects the reclusive legacy of Bob Dylan while also delivering on one heck of a show that will perhaps inspire a newfound interest in the folk genre and how Dylan came in “like a rolling stone” to shake the whole scene up by going electric.

Timothée Chalamet is stunning as Bob Dylan in James Mangold's film 'A Complete Unknown.' Edward Norton, Elle Fanning, Monica Barbaro are also great.

The 28-year-old actor brushed up on his Bob Dylan trivia ahead of portraying the icon in the biopic, 'A Complete Unknown.'

After a seemingly endless, though occasionally hilarious, pre-release media campaign, “A Complete Unknown,” the Bob Dylan biopic starring Timothée Chalamet, is now in theaters. As with any biopic, there are questions about its historical accuracy — both from sincerely curious fans and from nitpicking diehards.

NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with actor Timothee Chalamet and director James Mangold about their new movie "A Complete Unknown."