James Mangold has spent decades making some of Hollywood’s most emotionally rich and visually striking films. From the musical biopic “Walk the Line” to the superhero drama “Logan” to the action-packed “Ford v Ferrari,” his body of work has shown his versatility as a filmmaker. But with “A Complete Unknown,” his Bob Dylan biopic starring Timothée Chalamet, Mangold has reached a new career milestone: His first Academy Award nomination for best director.
Sitting down for the Variety Awards Circuit Podcast, Mangold reflects on his creative process, the deep collaboration with Chalamet and co-star Monica Barbaro, his early struggles within his Hollywood career, and why he had no interest in commissioning an original Bob Dylan song for the film. Listen below!
Director James Mangold and Timothée Chalamet on the set of A COMPLETE UNKNOWN.
Macall Polay
Mangold is the first to admit he wasn’t an obsessive Bob Dylan fan before taking on the film.
“I liked his music a lot,” Mangold says. “But I think the worst reason in the world to make a movie like this is because you’re a superfan. That puts you in a biased position on how to manage the narrative, tell a story, and find flaws in your character.”
Instead of making a film that catered only to Dylan devotees, Mangold approached the story from a broader perspective, exploring the nature of genius itself.
“For me, the most interesting aspect of the movie was trying to investigate something my old teacher, Milos Forman, did in ‘Amadeus’: this idea of genius. What is it? Does it exist? And when someone has it, how do we feel about it?”
Rather than focusing solely on Dylan, Mangold constructed the film’s narrative around the people who interacted with him — admirers, skeptics, and those caught in his orbit, including folk legend Joan Baez, played exquisitely by Monica Barbaro.
“It was kind of over the moment she read,” he recalls. “She’s just very grounded. She has tremendous gravity to her. There’s a kind of no-bullshit thing about her. She’s incredibly gifted as an actress but doesn’t lean entirely on femininity alone to drive things.”
For Mangold, Baez’s character needed to be more than just a romantic interest. She had to be Dylan’s equal, someone who could challenge him intellectually and musically. “I wanted Baez to be a force to be reckoned with,” he explains. “She had to throw Timmy on his heels a little, even as an actor. She wasn’t just there to adore him. She could play his game and hit the ball back to him.”
That ability to push back was key to their on-screen chemistry.
When it came to Chalamet, already an Oscar-nominated actor, he delivered what many call his best performance yet. Mangold attributes much of that to Chalamet’s deep understanding of the camera.
“He completely understands his relationship to the camera, the rectangle, the light that’s hitting him, where it’s hitting him,” Mangold says. “As a filmmaker, it’s astounding to see an actor who understands that rectangle and what piece this is in the scene. We don’t just shoot ‘coverage.’ Each shot has a purpose. Each shot is going to serve something in the scene.”
But beyond his technical skills, Chalamet spent years preparing for the role, immersing himself in Dylan’s music and persona.
“We worked together on this movie for almost six years,” Mangold says. “We got ready to shoot it three times — knocked down by COVID and industry strikes. And yet, that time between meeting and finishing it proved to be such a blessing.”
Timothée Chalamet and Monica Barbaro in A COMPLETE UNKNOWN.
Courtesy Searchight Pictures
Chalamet’s approach to playing Dylan wasn’t about imitation but about capturing the essence of someone whose mind was always elsewhere.
“There’s a perception about Bob Dylan that he’s arrogant, aloof, or enigmatic,” Mangold explains. “But how do you play that? You can’t just ‘play’ mysterious. So we asked ourselves: If he’s not present in a conversation, where is he? What’s occupying his mind?”
Their answer: Dylan was always solving something.
“If the movie is about genius, then he’s channeled in, wired in. He’s got some lightning rod where he’s receiving messages,” Mangold says. “Even Bob, in that famous ’60 Minutes’ interview, says, ‘I don’t know where the songs came from, exactly.’ So maybe when he seems distant, he’s trying to solve some puzzle in his head, working out a lyric, a melody. He’s not being an ‘asshole’ — he’s just riding two bikes at the same time.”
Given Dylan’s legendary status as a songwriter, many would assume that Mangold would have jumped at the chance to commission an original song for the film. But he never even considered it.
“I don’t even want to be drawn into that subject,” he says. “I find the whole idea that people are tailoring their movies with songs crafted to get an Oscar to be slightly weird or self-conscious.”
For Mangold, using an existing Dylan song was always the plan.
“I mean, I guess that always feels like—is it a creative decision, or is it in pursuit of something outside the movie?” he asks. “I just wanted to play an existing song. I never wanted to be in the position where I’d have to use something just because it was given to me.”
It’s a decision rooted in Mangold’s broader philosophy as a filmmaker: staying true to the story rather than chasing accolades.
Mangold has had a long and varied career, but some of his most memorable experiences come from his earlier films, particularly “Cop Land,” which he directed in 1997.
“That was a kind of painful movie when it came out,” he admits. “I had a full-on difficult Weinstein experience, and beyond that, it didn’t gross what they had hoped.”
At the time, he felt like he had failed. But in the years since, “Cop Land” has found a lasting audience.
“The incredible cast in that movie had created expectations that, at that young age, I didn’t know how to fulfill or ignore. There’s a great level of relief when you feel like the movie still exists that people come up to you — even Bob Dylan, by the way — and say, ‘I love that movie.’”
That long-term impact means more than box office numbers or awards to Mangold.
“Some of these movies didn’t open that well, but 10, 20 years later, they’re still being talked about,” he says. “Nothing to me is more frightening than the idea of working so hard on something for so many years, and then it just blows away, gets forgotten.”
With “A Complete Unknown,” that’s certainly not a concern. The film has eight Oscar nominations, one of which marks Mangold’s first for best director. For him, the real reward is simpler.
“I adore making movies,” he says. “And I’m just looking forward to the next one.”
Also, on this week’s episode, “I’m Still Here” star Fernanda Torres discusses her historic nomination, her love for her mother and what type of movie she wants to do next. In addition, writer, director and producer Coralie Fargeat talks about her body-horror film “The Substance” and how she stayed true to her vision. Finally, the roundtable discusses the results of the PGA, DGA and frontrunner status of Sean Baker’s “Anora” and what that could mean for the upcoming BAFTA and SAG Awards ceremonies.
Listen to previous podcast episodes
Variety Awards Circuit Podcast
Variety’s “Awards Circuit” podcast, hosted by Clayton Davis, Jazz Tangcay, Emily Longeretta, Jenelle Riley and Michael Schneider, who also produces, is your one-stop source for lively conversations about the best in film and television. Each episode, “Awards Circuit” features interviews with top film and TV talent and creatives, discussions and debates about awards races and industry headlines, and much more. Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or anywhere you download podcasts.
