• Monica Barbaro plays Joan Baez in “A Complete Unknown,” which follows the early career of Bob Dylan.
• Barbaro told BI that she and Timothée Chalamet, who plays Dylan, first met at a music rehearsal.
• Barbaro undertook vocal training to sing like Baez and duet with Dylan from Chalamet.

In “A Complete Unknown,” Timothée Chalamet and Monica Barbaro play two music legends: Bob Dylan and Joan Baez. As usual, the actors met for the first time on set at a music rehearsal.

Directed by James Mangold, the film stars Chalamet as a young Dylan during the early years of his career, from his 1962 self-titled debut album to his controversial switch to electric instrumentation. It features many of Dylan’s contemporaries from that time, including Baez (Barbaro), Pete Seeger (Edward Norton) and Johnny Cash (Boyd Holbrook).

The film’s greatest strength is its music, most of which was recorded live on set. Chalamet not only performs live as Dylan, but also duets with his colleagues. This led to a perfect meeting for the actors.

“We heard each other’s voices in recording studio sessions because I sang duets with his voice,” Barbaro told Business Insider. “The first time we met was at a music rehearsal, and it was just the best experience for me.”

Like Chalamet, Barbaro also underwent vocal training to play Baez in the film. He worked to emulate the singer’s warbling vibrato while also researching Baez’s life and career. The actress told BI that she knew the music would be “the biggest hill to climb,” and she knew Chalamet – who had been preparing to play Dylan for five years – had been practicing. When they first met, she felt ready to assert herself not only as an actress but also as a musician.

“Playing alongside him and hearing the harmonies of our voices and accompaniment complement each other so well – that was a career highlight,” Barbaro said.

“I’m so glad we waited until this point to get to know each other and work together,” she continued. “It was more like a Bob and Joan version of meeting, that we had these musical skills, that we could work together and play together.”