With the release of Dune: Part Two, director Denis Villeneuve has been able to bring to life his interpretation on many more characters from Frank Herbert’s novel. Among these include the character of Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, played in the film by Austin Butler. 

Recently, Butler, who was nominated last year for Best Actor for his leading role in Elvis, spoke about where he drew inspiration from while crafting his character. 

Butler’s character, Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, is the dastardly nephew of Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, appointed by his uncle to reclaim control of Arrakis after the Atreides family takes residency over it. 

The two talents that Butler modeled his performance after most were Gary Oldman and Heath Ledger. 

When talking to NME, Butler listed several titles from Oldman’s filmography, in particular, The Fifth Element, Léon: The Professional, and True Romance. 

“And you know, we’ve talked about Heath Ledger a lot, the sense of play that he had. And like I say, it’s not the specific things, but it’s more general inspiration,” Butler had said, in regards to Heath Ledger. 

As Hollywood Reporter noted, Ledger’s most iconic role was that of the Joker in The Dark Knight, a role that won him a posthumous Oscar for Best Actor at the Academy Awards. 

Austin Butler recently starred in Masters Of The Air, the TV mini-series following fighter pilots during World War II. He also appeared in The Bikeriders alongside Tom Hardy, set to hit theater screens in June of 2024. 

Dune: Part Two is now playing in theaters.