The next evolution in Timothée Chalamet‘s acting career? Singing onscreen, which he’ll do first in Paul King‘s “Wonka” and again in James Mangold‘s upcoming Bob Dylan bioopic “A Complete Unknown.” But is Chalamet prepared to take on the role of the iconic singer-songwriter? You bet he is, thanks to his “Dune: Part Two‘ co-star Austin Butler.
In a new GQ profile on Chalamet, the actor detailed how Butler’s voice work in Denis Villeneuve‘s upcoming sequel as Feyd-Rautha Harknonnen, heir apparent to Stellan Skarsgård‘s Baron Harknonnen, inspired him to seek out the actor’s vocal coach team for his Dylan voice. Moviegoers already know about Butler’s incredible vocal transformation for his role as The King Of Rock ‘n Roll in “Elvis.” But when Chalamet heard his fellow actor nail another voice perfectly, he knew he had to work with Butler’s team for “A Complete Unknown.”
“It started on Zoom,” Chalamet told GQ, “when we did a cast reading.” Was it because Butler still sounded like Elvis during the reading? “No, here’s the thing, he was already talking like Stellan Skarsgård,” the actor explained. “And you could see everyone was, like…[laughs nervously]. I can’t overstate how inspiring it was to me personally.” Butler’s dedication to his part paid off in production, as it made Chalamet take his role even more intensely. “[Butler] akes the work incredibly seriously,” Chalamet said of his co-star. “And I feel like I hadn’t seen that among someone my age, whether it was in drama school or on set, that did take the work that seriously but then after ‘cut’ wasn’t, you know, in some show of how seriously they took it—and instead is this tremendously affable, wonderful man.”
Those familiar with Frank Herbert‘s novel “Dune” know that the end of the book ends with a climactic duel between Chalamet’s Paul Atreides and Butler’s Harkonnen. And crew members on the production of Villeneuve’s film recognized how each actor’s prep elevated the others while shooting that standoff. “You’re talking about two of the most talented young actors of our generation facing off,” said “Dune: Part Two” producer Cale Boyter. “I would say Timmy’s level of preparation going into the scene—well, knowing he was fighting Austin enhanced it.”
And after the sequel wrapped shooting, Chalamet lets Butler’s inspiration of him continue, as he sought out Butler’s dialect and vocal coaches to perfect his Bob Dylan voice. “You asked me what I’ve been doing in LA this year?” Chalamet asked GQ. “I’ve basically been working with his entire “Elvis” team for my Dylan prep. There’s a wonderful dialect coach named Tim Monich. Vocal coach named Eric Vetro. Movement coach named Polly Bennett. I just saw the way he committed to it all—and realized I needed to step it up.”
And if Chalamet’s Dylan voice is anything like Butler’s Elvis–who knows?–maybe Chalamet will be talking to a Dylan-esque lilt for a year after Mangold’s movie stops shooting. But production on the film has to happen first, as the ongoing SAG-AFTRA guild strike delays it. Still, if Butler’s Elvis voice (and his Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen one) inspired Chalamet to step up his game, the actor’s performance as Dylan may be a must-watch. Let’s wait and see on that.
