Timothee Chalamet absorbed the Dune universe in a bid to work with director Denis Villeneuve, whom he’d admired from afar.
The actor told Deadline of his quest, “I kept trying to put myself in front of him, but I didn’t really get a sense of the possibility of working with him.”
He was so obsessed, “as soon as Denis got involved, I set up a Google alert and that’s when I got the book,” Chalamet admitted.
“I was about halfway through the ‘Dune’ book by Frank Herbert when I got the call that Villeneuve was going to be the president of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival, and I was in London prepping ‘he King,” Chalamet continued. “He asked me if I could come out there, so I quickly busted through the second half of the book as best I could. So, like, the first half of my copy is properly annotated and full of my thoughts, and then the second half I just raced through. And then I had that meeting with him, and it was such a joy.”
PAY OFF
His obsession paid off, and the role was a dream, Chalamet said: “He would constantly say on set that he had some opposing drumbeat or something. In my diminished intellectual standing, I didn’t understand it, but it was like some vision for the movie based on how biblical the book is that tries to tackle so much that it doesn’t tackle anything. I think he felt the need to be close to a character in it, and Paul is that guy in the book. He’s a character that is still in formation, like a lump of clay, which makes him a great figure for the audience to mirror off.”
Dune, which will bow at the 78th Venice Film Festival today, is meant to be the first part of a two-part adaptation. The story follows warring families. He’s already psyched for the second film, which he said will also feature Zendaya in a more prominent role.
“Chani will play a huge role in the next film. I don’t know if there’s a script yet, but just based on the book, along with Lady Jessica Rebecca Fergusson, they have a lot to do together, let’s put it like that,” Chalamet said. “And Zendaya was incredible in this movie; the moment she pulls the mask down, it felt properly showstopping and powerful. I was hiding behind the camera, counting my lucky starts, because I was there in month two of the shoot and here was a total powerhouse just coming in for the first time.”
Dune opens in theaters and HBO Max on October 22.