Dune Star Stellan Skarsgård Kept Demanding More Nude Scenes
The "Dune" news keeps on rolling in — and like a ravenous sand worm that consumes everything put before it, we just can't stop writing, reading, and thinking about this movie. Everything we've learned about Denis Villeneuve's sci-fi epic makes us appreciate the pure passion and talent that made the film possible even more than we did before. From Zendaya only being on set for seven days to the "Star Wars" inspiration, there was clearly a lot happening on behind the scenes of the "Dune" set, but no news has delighted us more than Stellan Skarsgård's devotion to his craft and his character.
Skarsgård — who plays one of the big baddies in "Dune," the abominable Baron Vladimir Harkonnen — apparently had a lot to say on set about his terrifying take on the character. According to makeup artist Donald Mowat, who was interviewed by The Wrap, Skarsgård was practically begging for more nude scenes, which is only surprising because he was nude in most of the scenes that made it into the final cut of the film anyway. Skarsgård is nude (although, with some very serious makeup on) all over this movie and I'm thrilled at the idea that he couldn't get enough.
As Mowat explains in the interview, "Stellan just loved being naked as the Baron ... We all used to kill ourselves laughing when Stellan would ask for more nude scenes. He felt, quite correctly, that the Baron appeared more frightening and dangerous unclothed than cloaked in robes or armor. So he was always asking for more nudity."
Nude in Dune
Skarsgård's take on the Baron is pretty different from the Harkonnen introduced in Frank Herbert's novels. In the books, Harkonnen is essentially a scheming oligarch with a penchant for child abuse, but in the films he comes off more monster than man.
By stripping him down, literally and figuratively, to a foreboding character whose motivations beyond pure greed and violence are unclear, Skarsgård makes the Baron seem even more frightening. The Baron is obviously so comfortable with his choices, so filled with hate, that he's confident being completely nude on one of the most demanding and vicious places in the "Dune" universe, his home planet Geidi Prime.
Considering how much time went into transforming Skarsgård into the Baron, it's incredible that he wanted more. According to Mowat:
"It took five people about four hours to apply Stellan's makeup ... And that was when the Baron was wearing a costume. Naked, it took six-and-a-half or seven hours. That's a huge difference in the day, but it was worth it."
If anything, this proves that Skarsgård is a true professional who is willing to do whatever it takes.
"Dune" is in theaters and on HBO Max now.