Austin Butler has spoken out about the "pressure" he felt playing the villainous Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen in Denis Villeneuve's Dune: Part Two – which coincides with the sci-fi sequel's original release date before it was hit with delays.
"I’m always nervous. I always feel an incredible pressure. I felt that when I was 12 years old. Even if the material doesn’t really require it, I feel I need to do the best that I possibly can. That sets a bar, and then I’m always afraid that I’m going to miss something," Butler told his co-star Josh Brolin during a conversation for Interview magazine.
"With Dune it was interesting, because I met with Denis [Villeneuve], and we got along very well, and started talking about the character. At that point, we didn't even have a script, but as we started talking about Feyd, my imagination started running, and I started to feel the terror of the challenge. That's what I'm guided by now: What really scares me?"
Dune: Part Two was originally meant to be released on October 20, before being pushed back to November and then even further back to next March due to the ongoing SAG-AFTRA actors' strike.
Butler's character is the nephew and heir of Baron Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård), and the film's trailers have given us a glimpse of his terrifying (and bald) take on Feyd-Rautha.
The Elvis actor continued: "The exciting thing about Dune was that it was completely different from anything I’ve done. And it was also incredibly different from Elvis. Denis is one of the greatest filmmakers alive, so the idea of getting to work with him, and then you [Brolin], and all of the cast was so exciting for me. The thing with Denis is, you’ll give an idea, and then his mind will start to percolate, and then he’ll come back with 10 more, and then you’re feeding off of each other’s imaginations."
Dune: Part Two is now set to hit the big screen on March 15, 2024. While we wait, check out our guide to the other most exciting upcoming movies on the horizon.
