From the Great Houses of the Duniverse to the fascinating women of the Sisterhood, Dune: Prophecy is taking us to brand new corners of Dune‘s world. At Dune: Prophecy‘s New York City premiere, Nerdist had the pleasure of talking to the cast of this epic series, including two actors who bring to life characters never before seen in the franchise. Edward Davis plays Harrow Harkonnen, a man not quite content with his lot in the world who hopes to elevate his House to its former glory. Meanwhile, Faoileann Cunningham plays Sister Jen in the show. Jen is a fierce acolyte of the Sisterhood who has a lot of bark but hides an emotional core beneath. Davis and Cunningham shared with Nerdist how they embarked on their Dune journeys and where we might see their characters go.
Nerdist: How did you first get introduced to Dune? What’s your Dune origin story?
Edward Davis: I think my first introduction to Dune was maybe the Lynch film, but I watched it as an infant and found it completely impossible to understand. I have revisited it, and I think it’s amazing, but, of course, like a lot of people, my first main introduction was the first Denis Villeneuve film. I think it’s incredible.
Faoileann Cunningham: I was just saying, I got given the book for Christmas literally the year before I got cast. The universe was talking to me. My mom actually has a very good family friend who gave me a First Folio kind of edition; it was some kind of special edition. It has images in it and it comes in a fancy box. It sits next to my bed in Ireland.
How would you define your Dune: Prophecy character in a sentence or two?
Davis: So Harrow Harkonnen’s journey is one from lowly, insecure, squashed baron with no status to someone who starts to find his place in the world, his power, the way he can manipulate people, how he can be devious. He basically discovers what it is to be a Harkonnen, I think.
Cunningham: Complicated. That’s it, one word. Complicated.
Edward, how does your character’s house and family lineage impact him in Dune: Prophecy?
Davis: Well, the Great Houses in Dune‘s universe are so important. Everyone’s vying for the status of their own house, but I think Harkonnens more than anyone because they’re so low status at this stage. They’ve been, as they see it, wrongly branded as war criminals, and they’re desperate to reinstate their name. And I think just the efforts you make to become part of society again, to be one of the movers and shakers in this world—that’s what makes you a Harkonnen. It’s that kind of fighting for your reputation, basically.
And Faoileann, how does being a part of the sisterhood really influence Sister Jen’s trajectory?
Cunningham: I think she is grappling with a lot of new information and a lot of new ways of thinking about the world, and she is just asking a lot of questions and hoping to get real answers.
Can you tell us a little bit about your favorite scene in Dune: Prophecy?
Davis: One of my favorite scenes to film in Dune: Prophecy is a scene in episode four, which is in the Harkonnen apartment. And you get really down to sort of nitty-gritty family stuff, and it becomes domestic, and it’s just so good. It’s like an opportunity to act with some incredible actors. It was funny. It’s just great stuff to do.
Cunningham: It was really cool to get to film these huge epic scenes and then equally incredible to be in a bunk bed with someone having a really intimate conversation. And I feel like, as an actor, that really helped me to grow. I had to radapt very quickly. Sometimes, you could be on the edge of a cliff filming some really intense training scene, and then suddenly, you’re in a much more personal setting, having to be really, really vulnerable. That breadth of acting was amazing to do.
Dune: Prophecy premieres on Max on November 17.
Editor’s Note: Dune: Prophecy is a Legendary Entertainment production. Nerdist is a subsidiary of Legendary Digital Networks.
