Timothée Chalamet, star of A Complete Unknown, embraced the challenge of learning to play guitar for the film with dedication and humility. Upon beginning his lessons, Chalamet arrived at guitar teacher Larry Saltzman’s home ready to dive into the music.
“When he first came over, we used my guitar. I told him, ‘Show up without a guitar. I have a couple of guitars for us,’” Saltzman shared in a recent interview.
Not long after, Chalamet went to Guitar Center on West 14th Street and returned to his next lesson with a $200 Yamaha acoustic guitar. Saltzman, who has toured with Simon & Garfunkel, was impressed by the guitar’s quality.
“And you know what? It was very playable and sounded good,” Saltzman said, praising the actor’s choice. “I loved that he showed up with a $200 guitar. He didn’t show up with a $2,000 guitar, and he could have. I just loved that he did that. It’s humble.”
While Saltzman originally thought the lessons would last just four months, delays turned the course into an intensive four-and-a-half-year journey. According to Saltzman, the extended time frame made all the difference in Chalamet’s progress.
“[It’s] a whole lot different ball game between playing for four months or four and a half years,” the guitarist remarked in a conversation with MusicRadar. “I don’t know what would have happened after just four months.”
Despite the prolonged timeline, Saltzman praised Chalamet’s commitment, describing him as a “fantastic student.” “He did well from the very beginning, but just the volume of songs, chipping away at it for the four and a half years, turned out to be a blessing and made, I think, what you see in the film doable,” Saltzman added.
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