Timothée Chalamet Sang Three Bob Dylan Songs on SNL, Just as the Icon Himself Did
Watch the A Complete Unknown Star perform deep cuts from the musician's catalog on his January 25 double-duty episode.
Two-time Academy Award nominee Timothée Chalamet pulled double duty as Saturday Night Live Host *and* Musical Guest on January 25, in an event that was almost a first (more on that below) in the show's 50-year history. "You might not know the Bob Dylan songs I'm performing, but they're my personal favorites," Chalamet revealed during his monologue.
The actor, who just picked up a second Academy Award nomination for portraying Dylan in the biopic A Complete Unknown, went on to play not two but three Dylan songs, just like the real singer-songwriter himself played three of his own tunes as Musical Guest way back in 1979.
RELATED: Bob Dylan's Iconic SNL Performance in 1979 Was Basically a Mini Concert
Timothée Chalamet's "Outlaw Blues/Three Angels" performance was introduced by Adam Sandler and backed by James Blake
In a clear callback to a moment from the 2025 Golden Globes — in which Host Nikki Glaser goaded Adam Sandler into saying "Chalamet" Sandler-style — the former SNL cast member introduced Chalamet's first performance as Musical Guest.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Sandler began. "I love him too: Timothée Chalamet!"
Sandler's introduction was his second Season 50 appearance, after popping up in a sketch during Chris Rock's December 14 episode.
The first half of Chalamet's performance was a cover of Dylan's "Outlaw Blues" from his 1965 album, Bringing It All Back Home. Then, the actor put down the guitar he'd been strumming and sat down for "Three Angels" off of 1970's New Morning.
RELATED: Watch Timothée Chalamet's SNL Monologue & Sketches from January 25, 2025
Nailing the spoken word portion of "Three Angels," it's clear that Chalamet is no casual Dylan fan.
Joining him on organ and backing vocals was Grammy-winning English singer-songwriter and producer James Blake, who has also worked with SZA, Beyoncé, Chance the Rapper, Kendrick Lamar, and Bon Iver.
Watch Chalamet perform "Outlaw Blues" and "Three Angels" below.
Watch Timothée Chalamet perform Bob Dylan's "Tomorrow Is a Long Time" live
Chalamet seemed to be fully channeling Dylan in his second performance, introduced by Kenan Thompson. Playing acoustic guitar on a stool as Blake and a band backed him up, Chalamet sang a heartfelt cover of Dylan's ballad "Tomorrow Is a Long Time."
Chalamet took the time to gratefully fist-bump Blake and the rest of the band at the song's end.
Why did Timothée Chalamet shout out Gary Busey during his SNL monologue?
Because Gary Busey is the only other actor who hosted SNL and sang as Musical Guest fresh off of starring in a biopic about a famous musician — but the parallel is only partly accurate.
Busey hosted SNL once on March 10, 1979 (coincidentally the same year Bob Dylan was an SNL Musical Guest). The year prior, he'd played the lead role in The Buddy Holly Story, a performance that earned Busey an Academy Award nomination just as Chalamet's Dylan portrayal did.
And yes, Busey can be counted as a member of the double-duty club because he did grab a guitar to perform a song that night: "Stay All Night" with Rick Danko and Paul Butterfield. But crucially, the other actual Musical Guests for the episode were Gregory Hines and Eubie Blake, who performed three songs themselves.
