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Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan

Actor, composer and writer · Born May 24, 1941 (85) · Duluth, Minnesota, USA

Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman; May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter, poet, and painter. He has been a major figure in music for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler, and an apparently reluctant figurehead, of social unrest. Though he is well-known for revolutionizing perceptions of the limits of popular music in 1965 with the six-minute single "Like a Rolling Stone," a number of his earlier songs such as "Blowin' in the Wind" and "The Times They Are a-Changin'" became anthems for the US civil rights and anti-war movements. His early lyrics incorporated a variety of political, social and philosophical, as well as literary influences. They defied existing pop music conventions and appealed hugely to the then burgeoning counterculture. Initially inspired by the songs of Woody Guthrie, Robert Johnson, Hank Williams, and the performance styles of Buddy Holly and Little Richard, Dylan has both amplified and personalized musical genres, exploring numerous distinct traditions in American song—from folk, blues and country to gospel, rock and roll, and rockabilly, to English, Scottish, and Irish folk music, embracing even jazz and swing. Dylan performs with guitar, keyboards, and harmonica. Backed by a changing line-up of musicians, he has toured steadily since the late 1980s on what has been dubbed the Never Ending Tour. His accomplishments as a recording artist and performer have been central to his career, but his greatest contribution is generally considered to be his songwriting. Since 1994, Dylan has published three books of drawings and paintings, and his work has been exhibited in major art galleries. As a songwriter and musician, Dylan has received numerous awards over the years including Grammy, Golden Globe, and Academy Awards; he has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2008, a road called the Bob Dylan Pathway was opened in the singer's honor in his birthplace of Duluth, Minnesota. The Pulitzer Prize jury in 2008 awarded him a special citation for "his profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power."

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
May 24, 1941 (85)
From
Duluth, Minnesota, USA
Works as
Actor, composer and writer
Titles
13 on MovieCove · 41 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Official site (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 157 days to Oct 28Down 5% in 30 days

What are Bob Dylan's films like?

Across their 27 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Society and Self.

Themes

share of theme weight
Society
38%
Self
23%
Ideas
21%
Bonds
8%
Morality
6%
Survival
5%
Community10 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity8 titles, browse their movies with this themeArt10 titles, browse their movies with this themeLegacy9 titles, browse their movies with this themeFame5 titles, browse their movies with this themeHope5 titles, browse their movies with this themePurpose3 titles, browse their movies with this themeFaith2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 27 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 21 · Serious 4 · Dark 2

Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 23 · Stylized 3 · Heightened 1

Gentle: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their gentle movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 18 · Charged 8 · Intense 1

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 26 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 0

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 21 · Some laughs 6 · Funny 0

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 25 · Even-paced 1 · Relentless 1

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 17 · Engaged 10 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 21 · Open-ended 4 · Ambiguous 2

Roles they play

4 analyzed roles
Trickster
1 of 4
Mentor
1 of 4
Hero
1 of 4
Ally
1 of 4

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Contemplative
19
Warm
14
Joyful
8
Hopeful
10
Melancholic
6
Other
11

How their films linger

Hopeful13 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteRousing12 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet9 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking8 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy8
  • Bittersweet11
  • Tragic1
  • Ambiguous5
  • Cyclical2

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Bob Dylan's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 9 of their 13 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Bob Dylan's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

41 credits, 13 with a MovieCove page; 136 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • I understand (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)

    Composer

  • A Complete Unknown(2024)

    Songs

    Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films

  • Stepping Into the Unknown: Films from the Bob Dylan Center (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)

    Actor

  • Girl From the North Country (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)

    Songs

  • Passion & Poetry: Peckinpah's Last Western (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)

    Composer

  • Song to Woody: Greenwich Village, the Folk Revival, and Bob Dylan (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)

    Composer · as Self (archive footage)

  • The Partners (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)

    Composer

  • Girl from the North Country (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)

    Songs

  • Andy Warhol's America (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)

    Actor

  • Andy Warhol's America (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)

    Show 1 episode · Actor

  • Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese(2019)

    Lyricist · as Self

    Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films

  • Barbara Rubin and the Exploding NY Underground(2018)

    Actor

    Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • Andy Warhol, Fluorescent (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)

    as (archive footage)

  • My Own Love Song(2010)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all films

  • Bob Dylan: When the Deal Goes Down (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)

    Actor

  • Prisoners of Beckett (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)

    Composer

  • Bob Dylan - TV Live & Rare 1963 - 1975 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)

    Composer · as Self (archive footage)

  • Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade(2004)

    Actor

    Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films

  • Masked and Anonymous(2003)

    Composer · Writer · as Jack Fate

    Midcredits score: 29th percentile of all films

  • Wonder Boys(2000)

    Songs

    Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films

  • Paradise Cove (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)

    as Alfred - Chauffeur

  • Storyville (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)

    Show 1 episode · Actor

  • The Life and Times of Allen Ginsberg (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)

    Thanks

  • Daniel Lanois "Rocky World" (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1993)

    Composer

  • Catchfire(1990)

    as Artist (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 19th percentile of all films

  • The Power of Speech (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1988)

    Composer

  • Imagine: John Lennon(1988)

    Actor

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

  • Hearts of Fire(1987)

    as Billy Parker

    Midcredits score: 17th percentile of all films

  • Rise and Fall of a Small Film Company (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)

    Composer

  • Hard to Handle: Bob Dylan in Concert (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)

    Composer · as Self

  • Band of the Hand(1986)

    Theme Song Performance

    Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films

  • An All-Star Celebration Honoring Martin Luther King Jr. (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)

    Actor

  • Bob Dylan: Jokerman (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)

    Actor

  • Renaldo and Clara (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1978)

    Director · Editor · Writer · as Renaldo

  • Leonard Cohen: Under Review: 1934-1977 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1977)

    Actor

  • Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid(1973)

    Composer · as Alias

    Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films

  • Eat the Document (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1972)

    Director · Editor · as Self

  • Diary Films I - V (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1971)

    Composer

  • Bob Dylan: Dont Look Back(1967)

    Composer · as Self

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

  • The Madhouse on Castle Street (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1963)

    as Bobby

  • Calico Joe (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Producer

Career shape

Star power in the 79th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 40 titles, 39 of them dated from 1963 to 2025; peak year 2003.

Biggest box office

Joan Baez I Am a Noise (2023)

$741K worldwide

Highest rated

The Last Waltz (1978)

Midcredits 99th

Most popular right now

Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973)

Film career

19632025

Peak 2003 · steadily prominent in film for years. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.

  • 1973Screen debut· Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid
  • 2003First top-billed film· Masked and Anonymous

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting18 of 40: 15 only acting, 3 with another role · typical Midcredits score56thDirecting2 of 40: 0 only directing, 2 with another roleWriting3 of 40: 1 only writing, 2 with another roleProducing1 of 40: 1 only producing, 0 with another roleMusic15 of 40: 13 only music, 2 with another roleEditing2 of 40: 0 only editing, 2 with another roleOther crew6 of 40: 6 only other crew, 0 with another role

40 titles, 4 with more than one role — acting and music overlap on 2 of them.

By decade

1960s2 · 1 acting · 1 crew1970s5 · 3 acting · 4 crew1980s8 · 4 acting · 4 crew1990s5 · 3 acting · 2 crew2000s5 · 2 acting · 4 crew2010s4 · 2 acting · 2 crew2020s10 · 3 acting · 7 crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Bob Dylan's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 82nd percentile, the median of all 13; across their 27 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 89th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

89thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 27

Approval · how many liked their films

81stpercentile
Typical film, the median of 27

Reach · how many have seen their films

43rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 27

Midcredits score across 13 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up8
  • 50th to 74th1
  • 25th to 49th2
  • Below 25th2

Shape of the crowd

5 of their 13 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved3
  • Cult Classic1
  • Crowd Pleaser5
  • Mixed4

Most divisive · actor

Hearts of Fire (1987)

79th percentile spread · 49% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor, composer

Bob Dylan: Dont Look Back (1967)

Midcredits 97th · 86% liked

Reviewers score the acting 45/100 in their films, across 12 reviewed titles; fans 62, detractors 31. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does Bob Dylan work with?

People who share at least 2 of Bob Dylan's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Bruce Springsteen shares the most, 4.

Directors

Actors

Cinematographers and editors

Producers

Mixed roles