Timothée Chalamet Spent ‘Over 6 Figures’ to Perform Bob Dylan Songs on SNL

Timothée Chalamet acts his heart out in his onscreen roles — and commits to honoring them in real life.

The Marty Supreme actor addressed his tendency towards bold public appearances that pay homage to his current projects — which many have perceived to be ambitious movie promotion — during a Q&A at London’s Prince Charles Cinema on Sunday, Feb. 1. To Chalamet, those instances are about further embracing the art form.

“I really don’t look at it as promotion or marketing. I see myself as an artist expanding,” Chalamet, 30, said, according to Variety, adding, “I feel like I’m expressing myself … I feel like I’ve got the keys, I’ve got the right attitude, I’ve got the juice.”

Such was the case with Chalamet’s Saturday Night Live double-duty hosting and musical guest gig in January 2025. For his musical segment, Chalamet channeled Bob Dylan — who the actor portrayed in  A Complete Unknown — and sang a selection of the iconic musician’s songs, including “Outlaw Blues, Three Angels,” and “Tomorrow Is a Long Time.”

Chalamet’s performance of his “personal favorites” of Dylan’s songs almost didn’t happen, the actor revealed. According to the Oscar nominee, he had to push hard with SNL’s creator to secure his musical guest slot.

“I spent over six figures out of my pocket to do the SNL performance,” Chalamet said. “Lorne Michaels said, ‘Hey, do you want to host SNL?’ I said, ‘Yeah, can I do the music?’ He’s like, ‘No.’ I said, ‘Alright, I’m not doing it.’ He said, ‘okay, do the music.’ But I refused to take no for an answer.”

Chalamet’s performance as Dylan in A Complete Unknown led to the actor’s first Grammy nomination, for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media.

The biopic of the singer, which debuted in December 2024, follows the young Minnesotan musician as he traverses New York City in the early 1960s, a time in which his career was just getting started.

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Chalamet said his approach to his roles is about embracing “method energy,” which to him just means “being in the tone of the film” instead of a more meticulous approach.