As Dune's villains, Stellan Skarsgård and Dave Bautista want to "scare the shit out of people"
The actors discuss playing the villainous Harkonnens and share memories from the "nightmare spa"
Most actors who step into villainous roles will be happy to tell you all the reasons why they see their characters as relatable, or at least what makes them empathetic. Not so for Stellan Skarsgård and Dave Bautista, who play the ruthless Harkonnens in the latest adaptation of Frank Herbert’s formative 1965 novel Dune.
According to Skarsgård and Bautista, their main goal as the antagonists of Denis Villeneuve’s take on the sci-fi epic was to be as fearsome as possible. “There’s no room for any psychology, or sort of diving into [backstory,]” shares Skarsgård, who decided he’d use every ounce of his screen-time as the gluttonous Baron Vladimir Harkonnen to “scare the shit out of people.” Masked in pale makeup and prosthetics, the actor strikes an imposing figure as The Baron, whether he’s soaking in a vat of black goop, or hovering above his loyal servants barking orders.
Bautista’s just as frightening as Glossu “The Beast” Rabban, the Baron’s eldest nephew who’s frequently asked to lead the charge when Harkonnen’s scheming calls for a bit more blunt force. Reuniting with Villeneuve after Blade Runner 2049, the former professional wrestler says the key to villainy is to underplay it: “If you always try to play a character who’s trying to be terrifying, then he’s never terrifying.”
Despite being so good at playing bad, both actors were gregarious and charming in conversation with The A.V. Club ahead of Dune’s world premiere at the 78th annual Venice International Film Festival. Now that the long-awaited film finally is playing in theaters (and on HBO Max), you can watch our conversation with Skarsgård and Bautista in the video above, or read the full transcript below.
Stellan Skarsgård: I didn’t look for anything redeeming in [Baron Harkonnen’—I knew his function in this film. My function is to be as frightening as possible. That’s it. There’s no room for any psychology, or sort of diving into, “well, he had a bad childhood,” [laughs,] or, “he wanted to sleep with his mother, but he wasn’t allowed to,” stuff like that.
So, there’s no psychology behind it. You have very little space in the film to just scare the shit out of people—so they remember you in the seas in between, and that Dave and I will be hanging in there back of their heads, threatening throughout the movie, even if they don’t see us.