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Everyone is anxious about how things will go.
Chalamet and Henderson hugging it out is a tiny bit of assurance.
Even better: the sight of Henderson walking through the sand carrying a little white parasol.
Henderson isnt the sort of actor youd expect to find in a big-budget sci-fi tentpole.
Talking to Henderson, youll hear a lot of charming self-effacement.
Did Denis Villeneuve seek you out specifically for this role?Yes, he did.
Its like visiting someone in a dream.
Ive had it happen a couple of times, but this with Denis was just wonderful.
And the film was so well-received [at the Venice Film Festival].
I wasnt able to be there because of the aftermath of Hurricane Ida.
My wife and I were on the runway at JFK, and the rains came.
Oh no, what a bummer.It was, but so many people had lost homes and loved ones.
I was disappointed, but it was joyous to hear from Josh Brolin.
He said, Oh man, we missed you and were having a good time.
Josh is a wonderful guy.
And being part of the House Atreides was really a kick.
It was going to be like a Baptist convention, going to see this movie.
Youre best known for your theater work.
I really never imagined myself being in a film of this stature.
But you run away to join the circus, and you go where the circus leads you.
Did you have any connection to Frank Herberts novels before accepting the role?No.
In each chapter, theres a verse or an adage some bit of wisdom.
My buddy knew I had an interest in theology and philosophy.
So that was my connection to it.
I had started it once, I must admit, and did not finish.
I was thoroughly engrossed with it, and its become one of my favorite books.
I do understand why so many people were motivated by the book.
In Augusts plays, there are really close connections.
They use language to express that.
And the linchpin for this wonderful film of Denis is that Pauls future is important.
Its quite Shakespearean, actually.
My single favorite image inDuneis you walking with the cute little parasol.
Was that detail in the script?
Im so glad you mentioned that.
It is a character thats quite apart from me.
The first thing I said was, Im playing aMentat.
I consider myself a passionate, feeling person, and this person is a very calculated individual.
But heres what happened.
We were there in Budapest.
They came back with this incredible spiritual journey theyd been on, and they were sharing it.
It was a really hot day when we were shooting.
I was sitting off to the side, out in the sun.
Theres nothing around, so theres no shade.
And Denis loved it.
He came over and said, Ah, you like this?
I said, Yeah, I love it.
And he said, Well, I think Thufir can have this.
I said, I would love to do that; thats fabulous.
It just says so much about where he is at the time and that hes taking care of himself.
He was a young man once.
It was one of those wonderful spontaneous things.
Its a very civilized thing to have.
Was that a CGI effect?When shooting, I did roll my eyes back.
It helped me to do that.
But Denis, in his brilliance, said, That is good.
We may enhance it.
Also, for me, it was personal.
I had a friend who had whatever it is that makes your eyes a bit different.
He was a wonderful person.
I didnt realize that thats probably where I was getting that from.
What a spiritual thing.
Thats very beautiful.Theres so much about this project and the making of it, for everyone.
You do feel like you were brought to this work.
In fact, while on set, he called Greta and we spoke to her.
But we had met in New York.
He just came up to me one day and said hed seen me in these plays.
Itskind of a meme, at least among movie lovers.Yeah, I found that out later.
Again, look at the gathering of people in that film.
Lois Smith is one of my favorite people.
We took a class together with Lloyd Richards.
He was the director of seven August Wilson plays.
Lloyd was teaching at a place called The Actors Center in New York.
We were in class together, and Lloyd suggested we do something.
It was a scene from Shakespeare.
It was just a joy to look into her eyes and have her really get something through to me.
And the other thing is that I always loveEast of Eden, James Deans film.
She is so delightful in it.
I just fall in love with her in that film.
She is so funny inLady Bird, too, when shes telling them six inches for Jesus.
And theres Tracy Letts and Laurie Metcalf and Saoirse.
It was great to be a part of that.
Your screen career has really picked up in the last decade or so.
Was that something you actively pursued?No, my friend, not at all.
What happened, really, was that Tony Kushner is a fan of Augusts work.
He saw my work in a lot of Augusts plays.
When he and Spielberg were collaborating onLincoln, Tony wanted me to play a role.
All of the West Coast producers and directors came to see it.
There were auditions in rooms I couldnt even get into before that.
Denzel is so generous.
I just faded for a moment thinking about him and his career.
I was thinking about him and Diana Sands doingOwl and the Pussycatyears ago.
Getting to be part of that was because of people coming to seeFencesin 2010.
The only time anybody asked me the question you just asked me was Patti LuPone.
We were sitting there between scenes and reminiscing about how far we go back.
We had never worked together professionally, but we had worked together at Juilliard when we were in training.
I said, Absolutely not.
That began to open my eyes that, hey, something has changed here in my journey.
Patti is an American treasure herself.
What can I tell you aboutDisappointment Blvd.
Those are the two people I worked with: Patti and Joaquin.
My scenes were all with the two of them, and that was precious.
George C. Wolfe was directing, and they didnt tell anyone who else was going.
You walked into the room, and they had little cards telling you where to sit.
I found my name and I looked to my left to see what name was there.
It was Helen Mirren!
And then I looked next to her and it said Tommy Lee Jones.
So I said, Oh, I see why he kept it a secret.
They want to keep it a secret until the day they wanteverybodyto come see it.
So I understand it.
You dont want to betray it because theres the fear that if Im the leak Ill never work again.
Theyll take it and say, Cant trust that guy.
