Benedict Cumberbatch has signed on to the cast of the highly-anticipated Bob Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown. The film’s director James Mangold revealed the news of Cumberbatch’s casting to Deadline in a recent interview.
Mangold is helming the film for Disney’s Searchlight Pictures starring Timothée Chalamet as the iconic singer-songwriter. Elle Fanning is also in the main cast.
“Searchlight has really been providing a home for me,” Mangold said of the film.
Cumberbatch will portray Pete Seeger, an early supporter of Dylan who encouraged Columbia Records A&R to bring the singer’s first album to life. He was behind Dylan’s performance at the Newport Folk Festival, where he served as a member of the board.
Seeger was also an accomplished folk artist in his own right and a leading creator of protest music. He put out several songs in support of workers’ rights, civil causes and environmental issues and was a notable anti-war critic.
Production of A Complete Unknown is expected to begin this August.
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