Denis Villeneuve’s live-action adaptations of Dune have been absolute delights to the die-hard Dune fans. If anything, fans just can’t believe how much of an immaculate casting both films from Villeneuve’s saga have. This includes Rebecca Ferguson playing the mother of Timothée Chalamet in the films, even though the actress is mostly seen in leading roles and hardly in ‘mother’ roles.
However, as perfect a performance as Ferguson may have given so far in the saga as Lady Jessica, Paul Atreides’ mother, the actress still has one complaint about her role. And this complaint is induced by none other than the Hollywood heartthrob and her onscreen son, Timothée Chalamet (or Timothée Chalamalabingbong, as Florence Pugh prefers to call him!).
Rebecca Ferguson complains about her Dune role because of Timothée Chalamet
Perhaps for the first time ever, Rebecca Ferguson was seen in a role where she had to play the mother of a grown-up.
This was brought about in the Dune saga, as she dived right into the role to embody the character of Lady Jessica, i.e. the mother of the lead character Paul Atreides, played by Hollywood’s very own favorite, Timothée Chalamet.
Yet, as much as her performance was commended, Ferguson wasn’t a huge fan of playing Chalamet’s onscreen “mum” in the world brought to life by Denis Villeneuve. Why, you ask? Because of Chalamet himself!
Or, to be more precise, because of something that even the Interstellar star doesn’t have under his control: His coolness and sexiness, as Ferguson revealed. And while Ferguson is equally cool and sexy, she wants to be on the same level as Chalamet onscreen as well.
During her recent appearance on the Reign with Josh Smith podcast, Rebecca Ferguson shared her experience of playing a mothering character like Lady Jessica in the Dune universe. Echoing these very thoughts, she said:
“What does it feel to be Timothée Chalamet’s mum? It’s like [Puts an imaginary stake into her heart and makes choking noises] You know, [Laughs] you kind of wanna be an equal to that cool, sexy thing.”
Well, at least that much we understand, because who wouldn’t want to share the screen on an equal level with someone like Timothée Chalamet?!
But even though this complaint is still valid to the core, Rebecca Ferguson did an even better job than what fans were expecting from her, even if it was as Chalamet’s onscreen mother in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune universe.
At the same time, Rebecca Ferguson calls her Dune role an “Absolute Gift”
While Rebecca Ferguson had the cheekiest complaint about her Dune role, she also admitted just how much of an “absolute gift” the role is to her. Talking about it on the same podcast with Josh Smith, she said:
“The absolute gift that is this role. You know, the arc that I get to go through. You know, I was so excited for the first one, I was this posed, calm, tend to call powerful human being, who then goes through this wonderful change where the power goes to the son, and she kind of has to step aside.”
Continuing, she further expressed that despite all the challenges attached to the role in Dune: Part Two, she still found it “incredible to play” someone like Lady Jessica in the Dune saga.
“And now, we go into a second film where she literally gets stuck between a rock and a bloody hard place where it’s like, drink or die. Your choice. [Laughs] But what came with it — It now wasn’t just a part of being the mum to him. Now, it was sitting on this knowledge, this cathedral of history and knowledge. Like, it put another level to the character, which was incredible to play.”
For what it’s worth, it’s beyond commending just how flawless of a performance Rebecca Ferguson gave as Lady Jessica in Dune, even when she wanted to be on the same level with Timothée Chalamet onscreen!
Meanwhile, Dune: Part Two is set to hit the theatres on the 1st of March, 2024, while the IMAX version is out now.
