For a man that didn’t know how to strum an E chord a couple of years ago, Timothée Chalamet sure has done a killer job performing the songs of the legendary Bob Dylan. The actor, who played Dylan to great acclaim in the 2024 biopic A Complete Unknown, again won the hearts of Dylan fans with an achingly beautiful performance of the deep cut “Tomorrow Is a Long Time” in January 2025.
Many TV performances are lip-synched, but Chalamet was never one to take the easy way out and gave a touching rendition of the acoustic ballad while singing and playing 100% live. Chalamet’s respect for Dylan’s music really came through, giving the performance a deeply personal feeling that really made it a compelling watch. Dylan is so hard to cover because of his unique voice, but The Music Man has to say that Chalamet channeled the essence of The Bard here, while also putting his own identity into the song.
Saturday Night Live uploaded the “Tomorrow Is a Long Time” cover on January 26, 2025, and it has since been viewed more than one million times. Fans had plenty of praise for Chalamet’s take on the song, and added comments such as “This intimate performance was spectacular and shows his talent in a most unique way. I haven’t seen anything this good on SNL in many years” and “This is another deep cut. Chalamet is doing Dylan justice and choosing stuff that casual fans don’t know. He knows his Dylan. I respect that.”
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Chalamet made the most of his SNL appearance in January, as he also performed a medley of Dylan’s “Outlaw Blues” and “Three Angels,” with English singer-songwriter James Blake contributing piano and backing vocals. The combo of the three songs really showcased Chalamet’s versatility, as all three are completely different, yet the New York City star really shined in each one.
Chalamet famously went from near zero guitar skill to his current impressive chops in just a few years. The Music Man readers might be interested to hear that he initially learned guitar and piano for his acting role in the romantic drama Call Me by Your Name in 2017.
Despite this experience, Chalamet wasn’t quite ready to play Bob Dylan when he was first contacted about starring in A Complete Unknown. In order to play the role convincingly, Chalamet subsequently took guitar lessons from Saturday Night Live’s house guitarist Larry Saltzman, who said that the actor was a natural at guitar.
While speaking to Rolling Stone, Saltzman praised Chalamet’s dedication to upping his musical chops for the role, saying “Timothée never wanted to take the easy way out. If there was a shortcut, he didn’t want to know about it.”