A walk in the sand

Forget fight choreography, there was something else that almost got the better of Timothee Chalamet and Rebecca Ferguson in Dune, writes Patrick Ryan.

Outrunning giant sandworms is nothing compared to taming Timothee Chalamet’s mutinous mane.

Making sci-fi epic Dune (now screening in cinemas), filmmaker Denis Villeneuve has joked that he had to direct both the eager young actor and his famously tousled hair.

Shooting in the deserts of Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, ‘‘we’d just get unlucky with the wind sometimes’’, Chalamet recalls with a laugh. ‘‘But I don’t think he ever held it against me.’’

Dune is Chalamet’s first time leading a big-budget studio movie, after critically acclaimed turns in Little Women, Beautiful Boy and Call Me By Your Name, the latter of which earned him a best actor Oscar nomination in 2018.

Based on Frank Herbert’s influential 1965 novel, Dune follows a sensitive space prince named Paul Atreides

(Chalamet), whose dad (Oscar Isaac) is caught in a war over the deadly planet Arrakis, which is abundant in a precious resource known as Spice.

Josh Brolin and Jason

Momoa play trusted members of his father’s court, while Rebecca Ferguson co-stars as Paul’s high priestess mother, who helps him harness his own prophetic abilities.

Villeneuve (Arrival) says that Chalamet was his first and only choice to play Paul, who comes into his own as a leader by the film’s end. Watching the burgeoning movie star at the action-adventure’s Venice Film Festival premiere in September only reaffirmed that the director made the right call, as thousands cheered for Chalamet on the red carpet.

‘‘It was like we had witnessed the birth of Beatlemania. It was crazy,’’ Villeneuve says. ‘‘Timothee has that kind of charismatic power. And I needed that for the audience to believe this young man will be able to raise and lead an army, and then lead a whole planet.’’

Chalamet, 25, read Herbert’s Dune for the first time a few years ago, after learning Villeneuve was attached to the project. He was drawn to the novel’s religious and environmental themes, but also Paul’s internal struggle, as he contemplates if and how to use his power.

‘‘It’s a relatable story of a young person having to fight for what’s right and what’s good,’’ Chalamet says. ‘‘That’s especially relevant today, with my generation and the ones coming up fighting for what they believe in so strongly. Even though I’m older than Paul in real life, the lessons I learned from the shoot and playing him will stay with me forever.’’

Chalamet trained for months to master the film’s complex fight choreography, only occasionally nicking his co-stars. (‘‘I think I might’ve gotten Brolin in the [crotch] once,’’ he admits.)

Choreographer Benjamin Millepied, husband of Natalie Portman, also taught Chalamet and Ferguson how to ‘‘sand walk’’, a gliding sort of run their characters use to help evade the monstrous, computer-generated sandworms on Arrakis.

The moves, reminiscent of cross-country skiing, were ‘‘one of the more challenging parts of the role. I hope I won’t have to use it in real life’’, Chalamet says. ‘‘I don’t know what situation would require it, but I’ve got it in my toolbox of skills.’’

‘‘That was so tiring,’’ Ferguson says. ‘‘I’ve done so many stunts with Tom Cruise

[in the Mission: Impossible franchise], but running up sand in full-body suits, try that. That’s why we stayed fit filming this.’’

Dune has been embraced by critics (88 per cent positive reviews on aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes), and is a surefire awards contender in technical categories such as production design, cinematography and score.

Chalamet has spent the past couple of months in the United Kingdom shooting Wonka ,a Charlie and the Chocolate

Factory prequel directed by

Paul King (the Paddington movies). He can also be seen this month in Wes Anderson’s starstudded dramedy The French Dispatch (scheduled to screen in cinemas from Thursday), playing a student revolutionary who falls into bed with Frances McDormand’s magazine journalist.

The genial heartthrob swallowed his pride acting in the buff, in a scene when McDormand walks in on his character in the bathtub.

‘‘I guess it’s the masochism of actors,’’ Chalamet jokes. ‘‘The crazier the scenes, sometimes the easier it is to just enjoy it.

‘‘I never thought I’d get to be in a Wes Anderson movie, let alone work with Frances McDormand, who’s one of the strongest actresses I’ve ever gotten to watch and work with. It’s a total dream come true. Having shot [Dune and Dispatch) back-to-back, and to have them be coming out at the same time, I’m so proud of them.’’

Dune (M) is now screening in cinemas. The French Dispatch is scheduled to open nationwide on Thursday.