Josh Brolin

HOUSE ATREIDES’ GURNEY HALLECK

Like Denis, you read science-fiction as a young man. Were you tapping into formative passions making Dune?

There’s an element of that. More specifically, it’s the fact that we both felt like misfit kids — we were lucky to find these worlds that opened us up to the fact that we weren’t stuck in our realities. I remember reading Ray Bradbury and going, “Are you fucking kidding me?” There’s a whole universe out there that I got opened up to. That was the connection between us when he and I talked about it.

When did you and Denis first talk about Dune?

It was [Legendary’s] Mary Parent who brought up Dune, which was interesting to me, because I still talk to Denis all the time. Mary said,

“I’d love to send you the script.” And I said, “You don’t need to. I’ll do it.” Because I knew the book, and I 1000 per cent trust in Denis’ abilities and his imagination. He could be making Sesame Street, and I’d do it.

How would you describe Gurney and Paul’s relationship?

Old-school parenting, you know? [laughs] It sounds stupid, but I parallel it with my own kids. I understand how a deep love for somebody can also manifest in wanting them to be their best self, and doing everything you can to try to guide them. Plus, I love [Timothée] personally. I have a deep love for that kid.

Gurney’s a warrior poet – that’s certainly an unusual combination.

It was really fun for me. Unlike The Avengers, which I always describe as like doing black-box theatre in 1978, half of this is practical. You’re in Jordan, you’re in the dunes. There was a lot of stuff that we did with poetry, with singing. Some of it made it in, some of it’s being saved for if we do the second half of the book – which is already almost written.

Sadly, the baliset – Gurney’s musical instrument of choice – didn’t make the cut…

Denis felt so bad. Hans Zimmer was writing a certain thing. He gave me no time to rehearse it, which was the best thing he could have done because I wasn’t able to get nervous about it. We just fucking did it in front of the whole crew and about 30 actors. We were really happy with it. And he cut it! If it was anybody else, I would have fought it. Then I saw the movie. The movie’s truly a masterpiece to me.