Monica Barbaro Breaks Down How She and Timothée Chalamet Tackled Teamwork in 'A Complete Unknown'
The highly anticipated Timothée Chalamet and Monica Barbaro biographical musical drama film, A Complete Unknown, has finally hit theaters. For the movie, Chalamet spent years getting ready to sing and play like Bob Dylan, which is not surprising, given Lil' Timmy Tim's long-standing passion for music. But for Barbaro, she had never even picked up a guitar before working on this musical drama. Recently, the actress opened up about how she worked through the music for the 2024 release, after A Complete Unknown hit theaters on December 25.
Monica Barbaro sat down for a chat about what it was like to take on such a legendary role during such a crucial time in music history.
Monica Barbaro opens up about working with Timothée Chalamet
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Monica Barbaro recently chatted with Discussing Film and revealed how she tackled the challenge of collaborating with Timothée Chalamet. Turns out, they both started by working solo before they came together. “We waited to meet until we were musically proficient and about to shoot,” said the 34-year-old. Barbaro pointed out that this approach actually mirrored how their characters, Bob and Joan, met in real life.
“We preserved the space for our own research” Barbaro said. And not knowing too much about each other beforehand actually worked to their advantage as they were able to fully step into the roles of Bob and Joan instead of just being Chalamet and Barbaro. Their preparation to nail the musical side of things also helped Barbaro feel more at home on set, even with a big name like the Dune star nearby.
In an interview ahead of the movie's release, Barbaro shared how she dealt with her intimidation by Chalamet, having long admired his work.
Monica Barbaro on how music helped her feel at ease on set
In a Rolling Stone interview, Monica Barbaro revealed that she met Timothée Chalamet a week before filming — and by then, he was already pretty much in character, even though during the promotions he seemed a little out of character. "The first time we met was at a music rehearsal," she told Brit + Co. "So we just really launched right into it,” Barbaro added. This made her feel less intimidated by Chalamet, as she could just “funnel into music prep, which was great."
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Not being a professional singer, Barbaro did her own research for the role but also worked with vocal coach Eric Vetro, who has helped stars like Ariana Grande, Sabrina Carpenter, and even Shawn Mendes. Nonetheless, in the end, she got to experience the pure joy of hearing her and Chalamet’s voices come together in perfect harmony, just like their characters.
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What do you think about Monica Barbaro's interview? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
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Edited By: Itti Mahajan
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