Timothée Chalamet Will Be Just The 3rd Actor To Have This Oscars Accomplishment If He Wins Best Actor
Heading into the final month before the 2025 Oscars, Timothée Chalamet stands a better chance than ever of winning an Oscar for his performance in A Complete Unknown. If he does, he’ll be just the third actor in Oscars history to win Best Actor for giving a certain type of performance. Chalamet will follow in the footsteps of Jamie Foxx and Rami Malek, by winning for his portrayal of a real musician in a musical biopic.
For most Hollywood movie stars, acting is acting and singing is for musicians and Broadway performers. Occasionally, though, an actor without any real background in music dares to venture into the territory of a musical performer. On even rarer occasions, their musical performances garner them such acclaim that they’re nominated for the same awards as other, non-singing movie stars. Timothée Chalamet’s depiction of Bob Dylan has done just that, and if Chalamet beats frontrunner Adrien Brody to 2025’s Best Actor Oscar his singing will be the toast of the town.
Timothée Chalamet Could Win Best Actor At The 2025 Oscars For Playing Bob Dylan
Chalamet's Performance Includes Singing And Playing Musical Numbers
In recent weeks, the odds on Chalamet taking home his first golden statuette have shortened, with his portrayal of Dylan rightly highlighted as arguably the most dedicated performance of the year. In fact, a voice expert rated his Bob Dylan impersonation in the biopic as “admirably accurate,” following the actor’s extensive work with a vocal coach. Should Chalamet get his hands on a first Academy Award, it will be in large part down to his expert mimicry of the young Dylan’s singing voice and musicianship.
If he doesn’t win, though, it could be for the same reason. His dedication to portraying Dylan as accurately as possible might just overshadow other features of his performance in the eyes of Academy voters, and place him at a disadvantage compared to other nominees playing fictional characters. History isn’t generally on Chalamet’s side in this sense, as the dramatization of certain events can certainly lead to more memorable performances. Still, he wouldn’t be the first person to have won Best Actor for his performance in a musical biopic.
Timothée Chalamet Would Be The Third Person To Win Best Actor For Playing A Real Musician
He's Only The Second Person In 60 Years To Win While He's Singing
Twenty years ago, Jamie Foxx won the Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Ray Charles in the 2004 biopic Ray. Likewise, Rami Malek won the award six years ago for playing Queen’s lead singer Freddie Mercury. It’s worth noting that Malek didn’t perform the singing parts in Bohemian Rhapsody, meaning that, after Foxx, Chalamet would be just the second Best Actor winner for 60 years to sing as part of their performance.
Whether or not he wins the award, there’s no question that the actor’s unusual commitment to replicating Bob Dylan’s music has brought the world’s attention to A Complete Unknown
Whether or not he wins the award, there’s no question that the actor’s unusual commitment to replicating Bob Dylan’s music has brought the world’s attention to A Complete Unknown, as well as a legion of new fans to Dylan himself. Before this movie, Timothée Chalamet was an actor who could sing a bit. Now, he’s a music artist in his own right on Spotify, with an album in his name garnering millions of streams in the past month alone. It remains to be seen which will come first, though: the Oscar or the Gold Record.
A Complete Unknown
- Release Date
- December 25, 2024
- Runtime
- 140 minutes
- Director
- James Mangold
- Writers
- Jay Cocks, James Mangold
Cast
Bob Dylan
Pete Seeger
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