Timothee Chalamet is set to host Saturday Night Live for his third time later this month. But when he returns, he’ll be pulling double duty as both host and musical guest.
Chalamet, who is earning raves for his recent portrayal of Bob Dylan in the musical biopic A Complete Unknown, returns to Studio H8 on Jan. 25.
NBC has also announced that comedian Dave Chappelle will host the sketch comedy program on Jan. 18, with musical guest GloRilla.
It’s unknown what songs Chalamet will be performing, but in order to embody Dylan in A Complete Unknown., the Golden Globe nominee learned to play the guitar and harmonica. He also sings in the film.
“It was getting back into my high school bag in some way,” Chalamet told Postmedia of his role in Wonka. “I was just trying to be free.”
For his part, Dylan has had nothing but good things to say about Chalamet’s portrayal of him.
The endorsement “floored” Chalamet.
Co-written and directed by James Mangold, A Complete Unknown is based on the 2015 book Dylan Goes Electric! by Elijah Wald, and charts Dylan’s rise as a folk singer up to his controversial appearance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival in which he used an electric guitar for the first time.
“It’s a fantastic retelling of events from the early ‘60s that led up to the fiasco at Newport. After you’ve seen the movie read the book,” Dylan, who has performed once on SNL back in 1979, wrote.
“This movie is a great tribute to his life and music. I think if you love Bob’s music you should see this great movie. I loved it.”
In interview prior to the film’s release, Chalamet revealed which Dylan songs he was drawn to, namechecking several of the singer-songwriter’s lesser-known tracks as some of his favourites.
“I like the more intimate songs like Girl From the North Country or Boots of Spanish Leather or One Too Many Mornings or Tomorrow Is a Long Time,” he told the Associated Press late last year. “But then I also liked North Country Blues and Rocksand Gravel or Ballad of Hollis Brown — things where you hear the iron ore in Bob’s voice, the North Country in Minnesota, the Hibbing.”