In “A Complete Unknown,” the great Bob Dylan is rendered as a singular force who takes the Greenwich Village folk scene by storm before becoming an international rock star. But his singularity itself isn’t enough to propel him to such heights. As James Mangold’s movie shows, his ascent was aided by some pretty important friends and supporters. From Edward Norton’s Pete Seeger (originally set to be played by Benedict Cumberbatch), who champions Timothée Chalamet’s Dylan from the moment he arrives in New York, to Elle Fanning’s Sylvie Russo (a renamed version of Dylan’s then-girlfriend Suze Rutolo), the film is full of supporters who help the burgeoning talent realize his full potential.
Though the movie is ostensibly a Bob Dylan biopic of sorts (it only covers about five years in the musician’s life), if you listen to any interviews with the cast or Mangold himself, you’ll hear about how they considered the project an “ensemble” movie. Indeed, the film is concerned not just with what it’s like to be a formidable talent such as Dylan, but with how that formidable talent affects those around him. In that sense, Norton, Fanning, and the rest of the cast are arguably just as important as Chalamet himself.
Arguably one of the most important figures in Dylan’s early career was Joan Baez, an already-established artist who covered many of Bob’s songs and thereby helped him reach a wider audience. Played in “A Complete Unknown” by Monica Barbaro (“Fubar”), Baez is yet more evidence that, as singular a talent as Dylan was and is, his rise to fame was far from an individual effort. Interestingly enough, it seems that Barbaro’s presence in the film itself is proof that Hollywood is no different from the early ’60s folk scene in one very specific way: it’s all about who you know.
Monica Barbaro had support from a Hollywood legend
“A Complete Unknown” does its best not to “explain” Bob Dylan — a wise move on the part of James Mangold who seemingly understands the importance of mystique to Dylan’s career. It’s also not afraid to depict the musician as, to use Sylvie Russo’s phrase from the movie, “an a-hole.” That’s something Monica Barbaro’s Joan Baez isn’t afraid to point out, either, with her version of the beloved folk star turfing Dylan out of her hotel room midway through the film after enduring a little too much of his self-indulgence.
Barbaro plays Baez as the proud, self-assured folk icon she was, and in /Film’s “A Complete Unknown” review, Chris Evangelista described the actress as “absolutely luminous” in the role. This is a good thing, too, since none other than Tom Cruise himself vouched for the actor during the casting process.
Yes, it seems Barbaro’s own Pete Seeger was the “Mission: Impossible” star, who put in a good word for the actor after they’d appeared together in 2022’s return to the Danger Zone, “Top Gun: Maverick.” Speaking to CinemaBlend, Barbaro explained how she wanted the role of Joan Baez after hearing about “A Complete Unknown,” and while she worked hard to earn her spot amid the impressive ensemble, it’s always going to count for something when Tom Cruise has your back. The actress said:
“He’s also very generous, and he mentored [the ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ cast] and is still available to us. […] I know he had worked with James Mangold, and I know he let James know that I would be a good person to work with, and that means the world to me.”
Just how much Hollywood casting is Tom Cruise responsible for?
Expanding on her experience of having Tom Cruise’s support during the “A Complete Unknown” casting, Monica Barbaro claimed that the veteran star had actually worked behind the scenes for several of the “Top Gun: Maverick” cast, saying:
“It’s how any industry works […] For Tom Cruise to reach out is beyond, and I know he’s done that for a lot of us. And he’s just an excellent resource. I feel like I can ask him anything, and he responds, which is crazy. He’s also incredibly busy. I don’t know why or how he could possibly have the time to respond to me.”
All of which raises the question of just how many castings Cruise is responsible for. At least in this case, it worked out, with Barbaro inhabiting Joan Baez in a way that rivals Timothée Chalamet’s subtle but effectively recognizable impersonation of Bob Dylan himself. She also committed to the role in a way that justified her Cruise-assisted casting, explaining in a featurette that she didn’t even play the guitar prior to being cast and that the extent of her experience with music was that she’d “sing in the shower.” In the movie, however, she matched Chalamet’s live performance chops, playing and singing all the songs herself.
