After sparring in Dune: Part Three, Jason Momoa clarifies that he's a better fighter than Timothée Chalamet

Momoa now plays Hayt, a “ghola” (think a type of clone, only Dune-ier) of his previous character, Duncan Idaho, swordmaster of House Atreides and Paul’s deceased good buddy from the first movie. (“It was very challenging,” Momoa said. “I’m not the most subtle actor, or human, so it was probably my most subtle performance. I haven’t seen it yet. I don’t know which takes [director Denis Villeneuve] used.”) As for Paul Atreides himself, Dune: Part Three finds the character twenty years after he ascended the imperial throne, having defeated Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen (Austin Butler) and shooed the previous emperor (Christopher Walken) off his seat. After a generation of intergalactic holy war, the Paul of Dune: Part Three is a far cry from the sprightly yet reluctant fellow we saw in 2021’s Dune—he’s now a grim, formidable messiah who won’t be tossed around by those larger than he.   

Yet, after sparring in Dune: Part Three, Momoa is making it clear he’s a better fighter than Chalamet, just in case audiences get the wrong idea about the guy known for tough-guy roles. “And another thing too, working with Tim, I have to fight him,” he told The Times. “Paul is at a whole other level, and better than me as a fighter. And you know, realistically, how do we put that together?” After Chalamet jokingly chimed in—”That was a very polite way of saying that,” he said—Momoa was quick to point out that the Marty Supreme star was the superior actor between the two, but, y’know, Lobo’s the better scrapper. “I’m better at fighting. But he’s really fast. I was super impressed: Just because you’re a great actor, it doesn’t mean that you’re able to dance. Ultimately, it’s a dance.”

You can watch Momoa and Chalamet boogie IMAX-style on December 18.