PAUL ATREIDES TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET
Do you believe in fate or destiny?
Yes and no. I believe in finding your purpose and finding what your mission is in life, but also who you are to become – who you are to become to your family, to your friends, to yourself. But then obviously, the second we’re born there’s a lot at play beyond our own power that puts us where we are.
What was the most ambitious moment in Part Two for you?
It was riding the sandworm, because it was such a technological feat, but it was achieved practically. They had a worm unit, a separate film unit from the main unit, that took four months to shoot a two-minute sequence, with a shot list that was extraordinarily complex and would make any film student buckle at the knees! I also think it represents something emotional in the story. It’s not just something to look at, it’s a big coming of age for Paul.
What was it like to ride the worm for the first time?
I was flabbergasted. I was impressed by the set, how they came up with it. As opposed to trying to convey an entire sandworm, they very hyper-realistically built a very small portion of the sandworm, which I thought was sort of ingenious. I love that there were real stakes to the moment – it wasn’t doing a cool thing in a cool movie. It was probably the most important piece of Paul coming of age, this test, where if he falls on his face, if he dies, then the prophecy would have not been meant for him.
Denis Villeneuve says the most exciting thing about Part Two is the change in Paul. Is he a different character to the Muad’dib?
It’s definitely the same person. All of us should be so lucky, not like Paul who lives a hard life, but in our own lives to evolve and live many chapters but as the same person. So this is very much Paul Atreides, but not the boyish figure we saw at the beginning of the first one. This is a young man stepping into his role amongst the Fremen people and then beyond that – stepping into a leadership role that he’s not necessarily keen on but called to and steps into.
Frank Herbert was worried that the character was misunderstood…
This is a warning against religious fanaticism, and worship of leaders or charisma, like we see all too commonly in the world today. Because it’s tempting, and it’s an easy way out. This is very much a cautionary tale. Which isn’t obvious because perhaps when you think sci-fi or you think popular story, we think of the obvious figures of hero and villain; you wouldn’t necessarily think there’s a central figure that’s something of a hero, but what’s called of him is villainous.
I think this movie walks that line very, very carefully and closely, and if we’re lucky to do Messiah, a third one, I think we’ll explore it even more successfully. I think this movie would have to have a certain amount of success for that to happen. But we’d be very motivated to do one, to do Messiah. What went into the fights for Part Two? A lot of training with our fight coordinator, Roger Yuan, who gives a brilliant performance in this movie too – he’s Lanville, the character that battles with Feyd-rautha in the gladiator sequence. That actor was actually our fight coordinator and the gentleman I trained with on the first one, and on this movie.
So a lot of preparation, a lot of rehearsal with Austin [Butler]. And some incorporation of guerrilla elements in Paul’s fighting now, even the placement of his crysknife on his back, which wouldn’t be traditional for an Atreides fighting style. Little details like that are definitely in there.
There’s also a love story playing out in Part isn’t there?
Two,
It so grounded the movie for me, the performance and the story. It was such a privilege to work with Denis because at the centre of this enormous world-building and action-packed world that’s 8,000 years in the future is this very relatable relationship between these two young people. That just grounded the movie and the tone, and put it in a real place.