Stellan Skarsgard's Dune Appearance Scared David Dastmalchian In A Real Way
Denis Villeneuve's "Dune" movies are truly the definition of "star-studded." Bleak though "Dune: Part Two" may be, the sequel in particular is packed with big-name actors, from stars Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya to Florence Pugh, Austin Butler, and Javier Bardem. Villeneuve even managed to coax Christopher Walken out of a four-year acting hiatus for his follow-up to 2021's "Dune." All of which amounted to a set that must have been intimidating for even seasoned actors.
Take Dave Bautista, for example. When shooting "Dune: Part Two," the wrestler-turned-actor was particularly intimidated by "Elvis" star Austin Butler, before being surprised at how warm and supportive he was. Even Butler himself admitted to being unnerved by the scale of the production, revealing in a behind-the-scenes clip that he was nervous about the shoot and that arriving on set felt like "the first day of school."
Then, there's David Dastmalchian, who played Piter De Vries, the Mentat of the villainous House Harkonnen. De Vries was responsible for masterminding the plan to destroy House Atreides and served Stellan Skarsgård's Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, leader of House Harkonnen. For Dastmalchian, who is basically living the nerd's dream with his various horror and comic book movie roles, acting opposite Skarsgård was a big deal, and not just because he's a big fan of the Swedish star.
Dastmalchian's first meeting with Skarsgård was terrifying
David Dastmalchian revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that he'd been fascinated by Stellan Skarsgård for some time prior to his "Dune" role. The "Late Night with the Devil" star explained how, during his theater training, he'd "latched on" to the Scandinavian actor after seeing the 1996 romantic thriller "Breaking the Waves," in which Skarsgård played Danish oil rig worker Jan Nyman. "Since then I've tracked every single thing he's done," said Dastmalchian.
So, you can imagine that working alongside the Swedish actor was a vertiginous prospect for Dastmalchian. Unfortunately, the very first scene he and Skarsgård had together didn't exactly quell his anxiety. As the actor explained:
"The first scene we did together was in the steam room. It's me, Stellan, Dave (Bautista), and these incredible background artists who played slaves of the Baron. Here's Stellan Skarsgård, an actor I've been fascinated with. We met. He was in his Baron manifestation, which is grotesque. It's horrifying. It's so overwhelmingly intimidating and yet through all of that incredible prosthetic and design, his eyes and his voice are the most powerful part of his performance. He just scared the crap of me."
Thankfully, it seems that Dastmalchian's fondness for Skarsgård allowed him to see the positive in the whole thing, with the actor adding, "It was awesome." Still, it sounds like a truly unsettling introduction, with Dastmalchian explaining how he could really only interact with Skarsgård's voice through the steam, and how his co-star's prosthetics and costume didn't allow him to sit and chit-chat between takes. As Dastmalchian recalled it, "All of a sudden he's rising out of this steam and I get my first look at him and it was terrifying."
Baron Harkonnen is a truly terrifying villain
There's no doubt Stellan Skarsgård's character is a genuinely intimidating and grotesque figure on-screen, so I can't imagine what witnessing his performance first-hand would be like. The leader of House Harkonnen is already a hideous creation in Frank Herbert's 1965 "Dune" novel, but Denis Villeneuve, his makeup team, and Skarsgård himself, managed to turn the character into a truly wretched antagonist.
The bulbous figure of Baron Harkonen is seen throughout Villeneuve's two films, hovering in mid-air and menacing his various minions. The makeup effects and the way in which this version of the Baron seems to enjoy languishing in steam baths and mud pits somewhat recall the hideous Pearl from 1998's "Blade." This obese vampire was, much like Baron Harkonnen, bald, pale, and unable to move due to his enormous size. Pearl was ultimately accosted by Wesley Snipes' hero and burned to a crisp with a UV light — a fate the Baron manages to avoid in the "Dune" movies. But the effect of both these figures is the same — they're truly repulsive.
Add to that the fact that the entire Skarsgård family is truly adept at giving us all nightmares, and you've got one hell of a villain in Baron Vladimir Harkonnen. Of course, it helps that the makeup effects in "Dune" and "Part Two" are truly excellent and should have won an Oscar back in 2022. This is particularly obvious when it comes to Skarsgård, who's buried beneath a mass of prosthetics and is almost unrecognizable. With all that in mind, I can see why David Dastmalchian felt the way he did, and honestly, I'm just glad Skarsgård's demands for more nude scenes weren't entertained.