Dune director on casting Austin Butler: 'I needed a playboy – a rockstar'

Don't worry, though, it's just a bald cap.

When it came to casting the villain, the nephew and heir to Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård), director Denis Villeneuve knew the type of person he wanted to step into the role.

In an exclusive interview with RadioTimes.com, Villeneuve explained he "needed a fearless actor" to portray Feyd-Rautha.

"Someone that will be willing to go just close to… not too far but just close to it," he explained.

"Someone that will not be judging himself; someone that will love to take risks. And someone that, of course, will have the necessary charisma - I needed an actor with a lot of sex appeal.

"I needed a playboy, I needed someone that… I needed a rockstar, and we've seen Austin has done that in his previous role."

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As plenty will be aware, Butler portrayed Elvis Presley in the 2022 biopic, which saw him nominated for the Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role.

Villeneuve added: "I needed someone that could have that magnetism, strong and magnetic, and Austin had all those qualities."

While fans will have to wait and see what Butler's character is really like, Butler previously detailed the "brutality" of Feyd-Rautha to Vanity Fair.

He explained that his character has "a feeling of being stronger and more vicious and more brutal and more intelligent than anybody else".

Dune: Part Two is in cinemas from 1st March. Check out more of our Sci-Fi coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what's on tonight.

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