A Complete Unknown

James Allen Mangold (born December 16, 1963) is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Noted for his versatility in tackling a range of genres, Mangold made his debut as a film director with Heavy (1995), and gained recognition for the films Cop Land (1997), Girl, Interrupted (1999), Identity (2003), Walk the Line (2005), 3:10 to Yuma (2007), Knight and Day (2010), and two films in the X-Men franchise with The Wolverine (2013) and Logan (2017), the latter of which earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

He then directed the sports drama film Ford v Ferrari (2019), which earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Picture, and directed and co-wrote Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023), the fifth and final installment in the Indiana Jones series. For the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown (2024), Mangold was once again nominated for Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay, in addition to his first nomination for Best Director.

Edward Harrison Norton (born August 18, 1969) is an American actor and filmmaker. After graduating from Yale College in 1991 with a degree in history, he worked for a few months in Japan before moving to New York City to pursue an acting career. He gained recognition and critical acclaim for his debut in Primal Fear (1996), which earned him a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor and an Academy Award nomination in the same category. His role as a redeemed neo-Nazi in American History X (1998) earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. He also starred in the film Fight Club (1999), which garnered a cult following.

Norton established the production company Class 5 Films in 2003, and was director or producer of the films Keeping the Faith (2000), Down in the Valley (2005), and The Painted Veil (2006). He continued to receive praise for his acting roles in films such as The Score (2001), 25th Hour (2002), The Italian Job (2003), The Illusionist (2006), Moonrise Kingdom (2012), and The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014). His biggest commercial successes have been Red Dragon (2002), Kingdom of Heaven (2005), The Incredible Hulk (2008), and The Bourne Legacy (2012). For his roles as a haughty actor in Birdman (2014) and Pete Seeger in A Complete Unknown (2024), Norton earned further Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor. He has also directed and acted in the crime film Motherless Brooklyn (2019) and starred in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022).