‘A Complete Unknown’ star Monica Barbaro finally met Joan Baez
Unknown no more.
Actress Monica Barbaro finally met Joan Baez, the iconic folksinger, activist and ex-girlfriend of Bob Dylan, who she plays in the new movie “A Complete Unknown.”
Barbaro, 34, captured her sweet encounter with Baez, 84, in photos she shared Monday on Instagram.
“A beautiful night in so many ways,” the “Top Gun: Maverick” star captioned the post. “Absolutely surreal. Joan. You’re a legend.”
Oscar-nominated for her portrayal of Baez in the Timothée Chalamet-led film, Barbaro included two snaps with the legendary musician along with two clips of her performing Monday night in San Francisco at the Sweet Relief Musician’s 30th anniversary benefit concert, which named Baez as the evening’s honoree.
Baez’s 1975 hit “Diamonds and Rust,” which was inspired by her relationship with Dylan, was among the songs included in her setlist.
With more than 30 albums to her name, including many popular protest songs, Baez is considered to have been instrumental in Dylan’s early work. Already an established artist when she met the “Like a Rolling Stone” singer-songwriter in 1961, Baez took Dylan on as her protégé and introduced his music to her fanbase. Their relationship soon took a romantic turn, but they broke things off in 1965.
In a 2023 interview with People magazine after the release of her documentary “I Am a Noise,” Baez said she had “total forgiveness” for Dylan.
“We were in our early 20s,” she explained. “We were stupid, and you can’t blame somebody forever. I certainly tried but finally stopped.”
Though Baez and Barbaro had not met in person before Monday, the pair had communicated over the phone, with the musician helping the “FUBAR” actress prepare for “A Complete Unknown.”
“At that point I had her pretty high on a pedestal,” Barbaro confessed to the Marin Independent Journal. “If I were to interview her and not be playing her in a movie, then I would be incredibly nervous and intimidated to, like, speak to her and not say something stupid. But with the added pressure of embodying her in this film, I really wanted to do her justice, but I wasn’t sure if I was going to speak to her in part because of the intimidation factor.”
Of their phone call, Barbaro said, “I felt emotional hearing her voice on the phone because I had been studying her voice in her 20s so intensely. And I felt like I had so much respect for her.”
The conversation was easygoing, according to Barbaro, who added that Baez was open to her questions.
“[She] was like, ‘Oh, I’m just in my garden listening to the birds.’ And I was like, ‘Oh, yeah, you don’t live or die by what we say about you in this movie,’” the actress recalled. “She’s lived her life. And I can’t imagine how surreal it would be to know that someone is sort of dressing up and playing you in a movie,”
Barbaro continued, “But she really took it in stride. She wasn’t trying to dictate in any way my response to her. She was like, ‘I’m here, I’m open and available for any question you have.’ I was really appreciative that she was so generous with me.”
After seeing “A Complete Unknown,” Baez was effusive about the star’s portrayal of her.
“I loved what she did in the film,” the singer gushed to the Journal. “If I didn’t think she was good at it, I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed it in general. But she looked enough like me and she had my gestures down. You could tell who it was. She worked so hard. Kudos to her for taking the role on.”
