Why Austin Butler's Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen Is Bald In Dune: Part Two

A year removed from "Dune: Part Two," it's still pretty astonishing that Denis Villeneuve was able to adapt Frank Herbert's epic sci-fi novel into not just back-to-back Best Picture nominees, but two of the greatest blockbuster achievements of the 21st century. /Film's Chris Evangelista may not be quite as high on it as I am, yet he lauded the bleak tone and loaded material of "Part Two" in his review. Knowing Villeneuve is already hard at work on the tentatively titled "Dune: Part Three" (which is based on the sequel book "Dune: Messiah") makes me even more excited to see how he translates the material for the screen. He certainly had his work cut out for him in a whole number of areas adapting these stories, but perhaps the most challenging has to be the casting of these totemic figures of sci-fi literature. It's safe to say he exceeded expectations with Timothée Chalamet as the formidable Paul Atreides and Zendaya as Fremen warrior Chani, among a tremendous supporting cast. While watching "Part Two," however, the casting decision that gave me full-on goosebumps was Austin Butler as the insidious Feyd-Rautha.

The inaugural appearance of Baron Vladimir Harkonnen's villainous nephew was made that much more anticipatory on account of his book counterpart making himself known within the second chapter. In Villeneuve's current duology, Feyd-Rautha doesn't make any waves in the story until the first hour of the second film. It's easy to see why Villeneuve relegated him to "Part Two," considering the first film already has so many characters and story threads to consolidate into a concise package that doesn't feel overstuffed. It was a wise decision: Butler absolutely steals the sequel in an incredible performance that cements him as one of the great sci-fi villains.

Butler's Feyd-Rautha, in some ways, is a more interesting creation than his literary counterpart. Within his first few moments in "Part Two," the cunning na-Baron of House Harkonnen illustrates a stoic menace that's cold, frightening, and weirdly sexy. That thing he does with his battle blades says just about everything. This Feyd-Rautha is often a stronger-willed figure than his ruler uncle, who proves his determined ferocity in small ways. When it comes to the character's appearance, the most significant deviation from Herbert's novel is what lies on his dome, as Butler's Feyd-Rautha is bald.

In the book, Feyd-Rautha is described as having dark hair with sullen eyes, but when Butler first appears onscreen, there isn't a strand of hair on his shiny head. In a 2024 interview with Vanity Fair, Villeneuve talks about how this wasn't just a change for the character, but for the Harkonnen culture as a whole:

"I loved the idea that Harkonnens are a society that doesn't like hair; they remove everything. They want to be as far away from any part of their past as possible, where they are coming from. There's a will of purity."

This is best exemplified in the jaw-droppingly beautiful gladiator sequence where Feyd-Rautha is gifted three soldiers of the fallen House Atreides, of which only two of them are drugged beforehand, to slaughter as a birthday present. We already know his great uncle Vladimir (Stellan Skarsgård) is bald too, but one look over the crowded arena shows that every citizen of the monochromatic Geidi Prime is as well. It's a welcome change that not only makes Butler's interpretation of the character feel singular, it also says so much about the overtly cruel planet run by intergalactic fascists. Of course everyone would shave their head, lest they find themselves at the mercy of the Harkonnen wrath. There's no choice or free will in the appearance of their bodies, lest they sit in high places and slink in healing sludge baths.

Butler must have felt relieved that he didn't have to shave his beautiful locks in order to play the role. Achieving Feyd-Rautha's shiny chrome dome was simply a matter of some really great makeup effects (via Vanity Fair):

"There's two caps on my head; One that goes over the hair, and then there's the sculpted cap that attaches kind of where my eyelids were, right at the crease of my eyelids. That goes all the way back."

The shift to baldness must have come as a real surprise to viewers who have only ever seen David Lynch's 1984 film (which I'll valiantly defend). In that version of the story, Feyd-Rautha is played by legendary rock musician Sting, who sports a patch of spiky red hair. It makes sense considering the Geidi Prime in that movie is much more diverse when it comes to appearances, with the only common denominator being grotesque abominations trapped in a slimy and industrial nightmare world. Every Harkonnen and their underlings being completely absent of hair in Villeneuve's film says so much about the cruelty of this planet in a single image.

"Dune: Part Two" is currently streaming on HBO Max.