Olivia Rodrigo Envisions Monica Barbaro for Her Biopic

The singer admitted that when she sees a photo of the actress, she sometimes thinks, “Oh, that’s a picture of me.”

Monica Barbaro has already embodied Joan Baez onscreen, so why not Olivia Rodrigo as well? During a conversation with filmmaker Cameron Crowe at the Grammy Museum, Rodrigo revealed that she hopes the A Complete Unknown actress could someday play her in a movie.

“Sometimes I see a picture of Monica Barbaro and I’m like, ‘Oh, that’s a picture of me. Oh no, that’s Monica,’” Rodrigo replied after being asked who would play her in a film. “So maybe her. And she’s a fantastic actress.”

“Good choice,” Crowe responded. “But then there’s also you.” “Yeah,” Rodrigo agreed. “I could do it. I mean, you’re directing it. You have to cast it.” She added, “We’ll sidebar.”

Barbaro proved her musical prowess in the 2024 film A Complete Unknown, playing Baez opposite Timothée Chalamet’s Bob Dylan. Baez later praised the performance. “I loved what she did in the film,” Baez told her hometown paper, the Marin Independent 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.”

Barbaro, who initially had five months to prep for her role, told the paper she did extensive research during that time and also worked with a vocal coach and guitar teacher — she said she wasn’t a singer nor did she play guitar beforehand. “Joan’s fingerpicking style is so intricate, so specific, and I had no experience at that,” she said.

Rodrigo spoke with Crowe and performed several songs during her event at the Grammy Museum. She told the director that she wrote “Stupid Song” after walking around New York City early in the morning and being asked out by a stranger. “I was like, ‘No, but this is the best day ever. Oh my God,’” she recalled.

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