When Bob Dylan first donned his Fender Stratocaster and “went electric” at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965, it was to the ire and bewilderment of his fans. Music critic Greil Marcus described the mood “as if something precious and delicate was being dashed to the ground and stomped.” Later that year, Dylan was called “Judas!” by an audience member in Manchester for ditching the acoustic sound he was revered for. It was—as we know now—a typical Dylan move: unpredictable, needle-pushing, and undeniably Bob. “All I can do is be me, whoever that is,” he would famously tell In-Beat magazine.
It’s prudent, then, that Dylan’s zillennial incarnate, one Timothée Chalamet, is following in his mercurial footsteps. While promoting his latest film, A Complete Unknown, in which he plays the Minnesotan legend, the 28-year-old has swapped out a traditional press tour for more unconventional outings. Maybe he’s had enough of the endless junkets he’s had to do for every other film he’s been a part of for the last five years. Or maybe he’s honoring Dylan in the only way he knows how: by just being himself, whoever that is.
It started with an amusing cameo at his very own lookalike contest, a New York event that started a global pop culture phenomenon. The contest garnered so much attention that one Timothée hopeful ended up arrested, and the gathering was shut down by police. Chalamet’s impromptu appearance was lauded as “the funniest thing he could possibly have done,” and let’s be real: it was.
