Timothée Chalamet has opened up about his experience working on Dune: Part Three, set to premiere in theaters this December, revealing new insights into his approach as Paul Atreides in Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi trilogy. Speaking at a town hall event hosted by Variety and CNN at the University of Texas at Austin alongside Matthew McConaughey, Chalamet shared how his inspirations and creative freedom shaped his performance in the climactic installment of the Timothée Chalamet Dune trilogy.
Chalamet Reflects on Influences Across the Trilogy
During the event, Chalamet compared his role to iconic performances, initially citing figures like Matthew McConaughey himself in Interstellar, Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight, and Marlon Brando in Apocalypse Now. He quickly retracted this comparison, admitting,
“Actually, wait, let me rephrase all of that! Hold up. I cannot put myself in that same boat,”
he said, laughing. Nevertheless, Chalamet acknowledged the challenge and thrill of working on significant films where there’s room to
“sneak in something. A curveball.”
Oscar Isaac’s Impact on Chalamet’s Performance
Oscar Isaac, who portrays Paul’s father Leto Atreides in the first Dune movie, greatly influenced Chalamet’s portrayal.
“He treated it in a Shakespearean way — to play it heightened and not really care about it being heightened,”
Chalamet explained. Isaac’s approach encouraged Chalamet to embrace greater creative liberty than ever before.
Chalamet also described his initial struggle with the scale and tone of the first film.
“I felt kind of thrown by the futurism,”
he remarked, reflecting on the shift from his previous roles in more naturalistic films like Beautiful Boy and Call Me by Your Name. He emphasized the increased freedom in the third movie, sharing that much of the best on-screen action is born from
“freedom of movement and freedom of choice.”
Chalamet highlighted the strong collaborative rhythm with director Villeneuve, calling the final chapter
“the eeriest one”
and
“a big swing.”
Exploring Sci-Fi Technology with Greater Detail
While remaining tight-lipped about the plot, Chalamet discussed his deeper engagement with the film’s sci-fi elements, especially the ornithopter vehicle sequence. He noted,
“On the first ‘Dune,’ we had an ornithopter sequence that I got a chance to do again in the third, but this time I was way more geared up.”
Unlike the earlier film, he studied the complex control panel filled with alien hieroglyphics, inventing his own interactions with the controls to enhance realism and character authenticity.
Heightened Intensity in Final Performance
Following a period marked by Oscar-nominated performances in Marty Supreme and A Complete Unknown, Chalamet felt a burning intensity as he returned to the Dune saga. He described resisting complacency throughout filming, stating,
“I didn’t want to be complacent about a single moment. Everything was sacred, and it was my last time doing a ‘Dune’ film, so I really wanted to treat it as sacred. Because people can get complacent, but I was more intense on the third one. It felt like that was the natural momentum, so I wanted to push against that as hard as I could.”
Upcoming Town Hall Broadcast and Anticipation
The discussion between Chalamet and McConaughey, recorded at the Variety and CNN Town Hall event, is scheduled to air on Saturday, February 21 at 7 p.m. on CNN and will be available on the CNN app. Fans anticipating the final chapter of the Timothée Chalamet Dune trilogy can expect an eerie, intense conclusion to the series, marked by an actor’s dedication to pushing his craft amid a complex, expansive sci-fi world.
