Edward Norton, Monica Barbaro talk playing music icons in 'A Complete Unknown'
Edward Norton and Monica Barbaro are sharing how they got into character to play music icons Pete Seeger and Joan Baez in the new film "A Complete Unknown."
Though it's a biopic centering on Bob Dylan (Timothée Chalamet) in the early '60s, Norton told "Good Morning America" on Dec. 12 that the film is "a very intensive look at that window [of time] and the collisions between [Dylan] and Pete Seeger and Joan Baez and a number of others who were at the heart of that folk music scene" in New York City.
Barbaro said she spent five months plus additional time during the 2023 Hollywood strikes studying Baez to "get really into the music and learn how she fingerpicked and used her voice."
Norton, who said he had "a background in classical banjo from clown school times," said he had to shift his knowledge of the instrument to bluegrass and learn Seeger's "very specific style," explaining, "The left hand's easy, the right hand's really hard."
Luckily, the two were able to speak to 83-year-old Baez herself to glean more about who their characters really were back in the day, as Seeger died in 2014 at the age of 94.
"I had met her through musician friends, and so I felt comfortable enough to call her," Norton said of Baez. "It's funny, there are people who were around at that time who maybe are a little tired of talking about Dylan, but nobody's tired of talking about Pete Seeger. They really revered and loved Pete, and Joan gave me some wonderful insights into him."
Norton said she told him Seeger wasn't a hugger, which he called "behavioral gold" for an actor.
Barbaro said she spoke to Baez as well, saying she was "lucky that she was willing to give me some of her time."
"When I got on the phone with her, she said she was saying to a friend she was hoping I would reach out, so I felt very validated in my decision, because you never know," Barbaro said, adding, "It can be a really daunting task to take on a role like this when you admire someone so much."
"She's still on a pedestal for me," she continued, "and so I wanted to make sure we had a really nice conversation ... I felt so lucky that she was willing to speak to me."
Aside from his and Barbaro's roles, Norton praised Chalamet for being in an "amazingly consumed and profoundly committed state" during his performance, adding that he was "existing within the skin of the character."
"I feel it radiated downward to everybody. The whole company, I think, benefited from the bubble of concentration that he created," Norton said. "Timothée's transformation in it is really a monumental performance. It's just truly a phenomenal performance."
"A Complete Unknown," directed by James Mangold, recently received three 2025 Golden Globe nominations, including acting nods for Norton and Chalamet as well as a nod for best motion picture (drama).
The film hits theaters Dec. 25.
