Stellan Skarsgard and Dave Bautista preview their performances as the bad guys of Denis Villeneuve’s new sci-fi adaptation.
But as everyone knows, the best heroes are only as good as their villains.
This evil family is led by the demonic Baron Vladimir Harkonnen and his cruel nephew, Glossu Rabban.
Dave Bautista as Glossu Rabban and Stellan Skarsgard as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen in ‘Dune’.Warner Bros. Pictures (2)
The Baron is extremely evil-with-a-capital-E in Herbert’s book sometimes cartoonishly so.
Villeneuve wanted Skarsgard to play the role with a more subtle sort of menace.
“The Baron, when you read the book, is not the strongest element.
Stellan Skarsgard as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen in ‘Dune’.Warner Bros and Legendary Pictures
Ever since then I’ve tried to see almost every movie he’s in.
He’s a phenomenal actor who can play a classic, strong, pure beast.
I had a lot of fun with him.”
In Skarsgard’s words, “a cartoon villain is never scary.”
But the Harkonnens are evil in a recognizable way.
“Evil exists,” Bautista says.
It’s about showing the worst in humanity, and portraying that in a way that is believable.
People can connect to this, and recognize these evil people.
It’s nothing to overstate."
The Baron shows his power in other ways.
That was a big difference.
You don’t need to change anything or add anything to that."
The Baron’s personality is so powerful that it seeps into his surrounding environment.
The Harkonnens have no such care for nature.
“you gotta feel the oppression,” production designer Patrice Vermette says.
Bautista is one of the fewDuneactors who have previously collaborated with Villeneuve.
The experience made him eager to reunite with Villeneuve.
“That small role inBlade Runnermade people see me differently.
I owe that to Denis completely,” Bautista says.
It was quite a process.
That made it interesting for me, made it fun, because I still have an athlete mentality.
I like being coached.
Bautista continues, “So I was starving to work with Denis again.
For years I tracked everything he was attached to or looking at.
For this film we waited forever just for auditions to open up.
Finally I just got a call from Denis and he offered me the role.
I almost broke down in tears because it meant so much to me.
It validated every decision I had made in my career.”
As mentioned above, thisDunefilm is only part one of the story.
Although part two has still not officially been confirmed, Bautista is definitely eager.
“Obviously that’s not been confirmed, but we all know it’s going to happen.
We just want the go-ahead to start talking about it.
I’m super excited about it.”
