Edward Norton was the first cast member to muster up the courage to reach out to the real Joan Baez for advice, interested in what the real Pete Seeger was like and her friendship with him. He then passed on word to Monica Barbaro that Baez was willing to speak with her.
Timothée Chalamet, Edward Norton, Monica Barbaro and Boyd Holbrook did all their own singing in the movie.
For his role as folk singer Pete Seeger, Edward Norton played Seeger's actual Martin 12-string acoustic guitar with its distinctive triangular soundhole.
Dylan and Baez did not duet on 'It Ain't Me, Babe' at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, as shown in the film, this took place at the 1964 Festival (the performance is on Baez's 'Live At Newport' album). The pair fell out during the May 1965 UK tour, and did not speak for almost 10 years, as documented in Baez's autobiography.
The character of Sylvie Russo in the movie is based on Suze Rotolo, Bob Dylan's girlfriend at the time. The New York Times reported that Dylan requested that the director, James Mangold, not use Ms. Rotolo's real name in the film. Mangold stated that "what Bob expressed to me was just that this was not a public person."