Monica Barbaro on Portraying Joan Baez in ‘A Complete Unknown,’ Having a Mixed Identity in Hollywood and Being Mentored by Tom Cruise
variety.comClayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Monica Barbaro is ready for her big spotlight. From flying high as a pilot in “Top Gun: Maverick” to embodying the iconic Joan Baez, Monica Barbaro is making her mark in Hollywood.
With her latest role in the James Mangold-directed Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown,” Barbaro demonstrates her acting range and untethered ability to channel the essence of one of music’s most revered activists.
Barbaro’s casting as Joan Baez was a long journey, beginning with her audition in March 2020 — just as the COVID pandemic disrupted Hollywood. “My first audition was right before the world stopped,” she recalls during the Variety Awards Circuit Podcast. “I obsessed over Joan Baez, but I didn’t let myself prepare too much — it wasn’t my job yet, and I had to protect myself emotionally.” That changed in 2023 when James Mangold emailed her the subject line: “Joan is yours.” “I froze, fell to the ground, and cried,” she remembers. “It was life-changing.
I still have a screenshot of that email.” Barbaro wasn’t a Baez superfan when she started, but that changed while prepping for the role. “When I heard “The Water Is Wide,” it was like time froze.
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