The cast of A Complete Unknown received a major win at the 2025 SAG Awards just one week before the 2025 Oscars.
The cast of the Bob Dylan biopic came together at the Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall in Los Angeles on Sunday, February 23, to celebrate the film’s success. All eyes were on Timothée Chalamet as he was hoping to win big in the Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role category thanks to his transformation into Dylan, 83.
At the live awards ceremony, Chalamet, 29, went up against The Brutalist’s Adrien Brody, Queer’s Daniel Craig, Sing Sing’s Colman Domingo and Conclave’s Ralph Fiennes. In a surprise turn of events, he received the award from his peers and nobody was more excited than his costars.
“The truth is, I’m really in pursuit of greatness,” Chalamet shared during his acceptance speech. “I know people don’t usually talk like that. I want to be one of the greats. I’m inspired by the greats. I’m inspired by the greats here too tonight.”
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The cast also celebrated Edward Norton’s nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role thanks to his portrayal of singer Pete Seeger. In addition, actress Monica Barbaro received recognition in the Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role category for her take on singer Joan Baez.
Unfortunately, Norton lost to A Real Pain‘s Kieran Culkin while Barbaro lost to Emilia Pérez‘s Zoe Saldaña.
Perhaps the greatest honor of the night was A Complete Unknown receiving a nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, where they were up against Anora, Conclave, Emilia Pérez and Wicked. While Conclave ended up being the big winner, director James Mangold remains proud of the film he made.
“We worked together on this movie for almost six years,”Mangold told Variety in an interview published February 14. “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.”
Before awards season officially kicked off in January, Dylan weighed in on A Complete Unknown. In a social media post, the legendary musician expressed support for the project.
“There’s a movie about me opening soon called A Complete Unknown (what a title!). Timothee Chalamet is starring in the lead role,” Dylan wrote via X in December 2024 “Timmy’s a brilliant actor so I’m sure he’s going to be completely believable as me. Or a younger me. Or some other me.”
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While it’s unclear if Dylan has seen the film, his acknowledgement meant the world to Chalamet, who replied to the post by writing, “Floored. I am so grateful. Thank you Bob.”
With excitement already building for the 2025 Oscars — where A Complete Unknown could walk away with several more trophies including Best Picture and Best Director— Mangold, 61, said he is filled with gratitude as he looks forward to what is ahead.
“I adore making movies,” he said. “And I’m just looking forward to the next one.”
