The early word on James Mangold’s Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown” has rightly centered around a tremendous Timothée Chalamet performance, and an exciting discovery in Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez.
But there’s a dark horse hiding in this story of Dylan’s overnight success and controversial decision to use electric guitars in the mid-‘60s: an unrecognizable Boyd Holbrook playing Johnny Cash as you’ve never seen him.
The star of “Narcos,” “Logan” and “The Bikeriders” portrays a young Cash arriving in Dylan’s life as a fan and, perhaps, an older brother figure — a salty dog who isn’t afraid to express his adoration for Dylan’s resonant poetry and unusual sound. They interact mostly during the film’s centerpiece scene, a recreation of the Newport Folk Festival where Dylan captured hearts and, later, angered a devout swathe of music fans faithful to acoustic sounds.
Holbrook is a scene stealer, playing up Cash as a rebellious heartthrob looking for a stiff drink and a good time. Rocking a prosthetic nose and matinee idol hair, Holbrook gets all the laughs and provides some necessary oxygen in a story about internal artistic struggle. Variety caught up with the actor to discuss his transformation, his experience opposite Chalamet and pulling off the best drunk acting we’ve seen in years.
This is your third time working with James Mangold after “Logan” and the latest “Indiana Jones.” Does he just ring you up and tell you to come to set at this point?
When Jim asked me to play the Johnny Cash part, I was daunted. I’d been eyeing other parts in the script. The working title was “Going Electric.” I called him up and said, “Hey, if this other actor steps out, I’d love to step in.” That version of the film was pushed and, lo and behold, he asked me to play the Cash part, which wasn’t in the original script.
Was there pressure knowing Mangold made the definitive Johnny Cash film with “Walk the Line”?
When Jim made “Walk the Line,” with Joaquin’s great performance, he didn’t know the relationship between Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan. John had lost those letters between them. Cash reached out to Bob as a fan, a 30-something-year-old-man writing to a 20-year-old kid. Only in working on this new script did he realize Bob Dylan had those letters.
You look almost unrecognizable in this film. Is this your first time doing a prosthetic?
Oscar Isaac just said the same thing to me. But yes, it was a [prosthetic] nose. I came into shooting 10 lbs. underweight, because this time in John’s life would have been his amphetamine [era]. Jim took one look at me and told me to gain at least 8 lbs., but we decided we needed something to round out my face. But a little nose goes a long way. That’s what I want to do, play make believe at the highest level. And the artists Jim puts together are so incredible.
There’s also that very specific Johnny Cash voice.
I took two interviews that he did on Pete Seeger’s show, these very short clips of him going on tangents, and memorized them verbatim to get the cadence. I also did some crazy breathing techniques to hollow out my body. I didn’t come in playing guitar. I could play some chords, but I could not count music or give you a rhythm stroke. Last year’s strikes gave me some extra time, about four months to prepare.
When you point that guitar at the crowd like a gun, everyone loses it – in the film, and at the screening I attended.
He loved doing that shit. It’s a signature move. I trained hard to get the timing right. The week we shot the Newport Folk Festival, I sent production a recording of where I was at musically. They told me they wanted it exactly how Johnny did it on that day. I had to step it up from 100% to 160%, sped up the entire thing. That’s what I love about acting. You sign the contract, and you’ve got to show up on the day and win or get eaten alive. I felt the same watching Timmy pull off this feat, singing all these songs live. And Monica Barbaro.
She’s incredible in this.
She’s so stoic, my god, and like a blossoming flower. But Timmy, man, his singing live is such a “Fuck you!” to everybody who was rooting for this to fail. He doubled down and made it undeniable. That’s a set of balls, man. And it’s what the script is about. How do you keep your voice in a commercial machine? Bob was just an artist making these songs about what was going on in the world, and then It becomes a business. You can take the path of least resistance or you can tear some shit up.
You also have an incredible scene playing drunk as Johnny Cash. I think it was the director of “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” who told his extras that the best way to play drunk was to desperately try to seem sober.
Thanks, man. That was a lot of fun. There’s a line I say in that scene, “I took a drive and saw the ocean.” I really understood the tone of his fucked-up-ness in that line. He’s trying to put much more depth out there. A lot of that was improvised. I drop a Coke bottle, crash into some cars.
You whip out a vintage box of Bugles. What was inside the box?
Bugles. That’s what I’m talking about, with the kind of people Jim hires.
Did everything you shot as Johnny make it into the film?
No, there was an introduction scene. I’m stumbling out of a bar with a bunch of people after a show, and Bob’s music is coming out of a car. Johnny gets into that car and turns it up. After his friends pull him out, the people inside say, “Was that Johnny Cash”?
What was the most surprising part about working with Timmy?
We met at the table read and were really excited to work together, but we didn’t talk other than doing our scenes. To be honest, that’s how I like it. I want to talk and hang out, but he even said to me at some point, “When this is over, it’s over.” We focused on our work and wanted to exist in it. It made us more precise and dialed in.
Does James do a lot of takes?
He only likes shooting a few scenes a day. Maybe one or two, so you have a lot of time to figure things out and have an adventure, like [my] drunk scene. He doesn’t miss a thing. But it’s not like Fincher. You’re doing 10 setups a day, and 10 takes per setup.
Who is the Bob Dylan or Johnny Cash of today, for you?
Tyler Childers. I might be biased, because he’s from my region. He’s great. Colter Wall is a poet and a cowboy. Thank God they still make them like that. I love Sturgill Simpson. He’s doing a lot of acting now.
What’s next for you?
I’m doing season four of “The Morning Show.”
Oh, fantastic. What’s your part?
I’m part of the merger, where I’m the number one podcaster on this streamer. The character is an amalgamation of Joe Rogan and Russell Brand. I have zero editorial oversight and say whatever I want about the Second Amendment, First Amendment. I’m pushing supplements.
Who are you primarily in scenes with?
Jennifer Aniston. And what can I say? She’s perfect.
