Timothée Chalamet & Denis Villeneuve Talk 'Dune' & David Lynch's Legacy

On a beautiful late afternoon in Los Angeles, Timothée Chalamet burst into the Bar Marmont and bounded straight over to Denis Villeneuve, the Academy Award–nominated director of Dune and Dune: Part Two. Immediately, they embraced and then quickly walked off to a corner of the room, where they huddled and began speaking in French about the evening ahead: Villeneuve would be directing Chalamet in a project for W, photographed by Greig Fraser, the Oscar-winning cinematographer of both Dune films. “Timmy and I have our little French bubble,” explained Villeneuve, who has the calm but decisive manner of a person who has created a cohesive and fascinating cinematic world out of an unwieldy, beloved novel. Hailing from Quebec, Villeneuve is a native French speaker, and Chalamet, who moves fast and has a charismatic mix of puppylike enthusiasm, extreme talent, and an innate wish to be great, has been speaking French since he was a child. “In our bubble, we can be on set with 400 people, and still we can speak privately about the character or life or whatever is happening in that moment,” said Villeneuve. “We have special access through language.”

Villeneuve’s scenario for the shoot involved an element of surprise: A waiter at this bar, played by Chalamet, would serve a customer who turns out to be his spiritual twin. “I love the idea of a young bartender who gives a drink to his double,” said Villeneuve.

The choice of the “double” had emotional significance: Initially, Villeneuve had suggested that the mysterious customer be David Lynch, who had directed an earlier version of Dune. Lynch had repeatedly said that his experience with the film was the most disappointing of his remarkable career: He didn’t have final cut, and the finished film did not match his vision for the material. Sadly, Lynch died on January 15, before Villeneuve had a chance to meet him. “He was one of the great masters,” said Villeneuve, as he and Chalamet settled into a booth. “I hope that this shoot can be, in part, a love letter to his legacy.” In order to pay tribute to Lynch and their shared interaction with Dune, Villeneuve decided to cast Kyle MacLachlan, Lynch’s favorite leading man, as the doppelganger. Both Chalamet and MacLachlan portrayed Paul Atreides, the future ruler of an unruly planet, in their respective versions of the film. “At its core,” said Villeneuve, “Dune is an intimate story about a boy’s need to impress his father while also knowing that he’s a descendant of darkness. He’s forging his own identity, falling in love for the first time. He’s dealing with power, time, family, and love. Which side will win? Dark, or light?”

Back in 2018, while he was doing press for his Oscar-nominated performance in Call Me by Your Name, Chalamet had heard that Villeneuve was going to direct Dune. “We met at an afterparty at the BAFTAs [the British film awards],” said Chalamet. “I put myself in front of Denis. Every young actor in Hollywood knew about Dune.” Villeneuve looked surprised. “I only had you in mind for the part,” he said. “We eventually met for four hours at the Cannes Film Festival and spoke about the character at length. It was clear that you were like a shooting star—you had all the qualities that could make Paul Atreides come to life. And that same brightness is also why you are so captivating as Bob Dylan.”

A few days before the W shoot, Chalamet was nominated for the Oscar for best actor, for his portrayal of a young Dylan in A Complete Unknown. Even while working on Dune: Part Two, Chalamet was starting to channel Dylan: examining his music, his voice, his movements, his clothing. “I was studying guitar on Arrakis,” said Chalamet, referring to the fictional Dune planet. “Originally, I thought I had no time to prepare, but there were delays due to the Covid lockdown and then the actors’ and writers’ strikes. I began to think the film was cursed, but the five years it took to get the cast and movie finally together ended up being a good thing. Being American, playing an American icon like Bob Dylan is definitely pressured. People have high expectations. I wanted to get it right.”

Chalamet sees certain similarities between Paul Atreides and Bob Dylan. “Frank Herbert, who wrote Dune, and Dylan are both children of the ’60s,” continued Chalamet. “They both came of age in the folk world. Herbert knew frustration too—his book was turned down by 23 publishers.” Chalamet paused. “The biggest difference is that Paul was put on a path unwillingly, but Dylan was very determined. And there are no giant sandworms in Dylan’s story.” Chalamet smiled and leaped up to hug Villeneuve. “It’s rare for Denis and I to meet somewhere other than the desert,” he said. “We’ve been on Arrakis for three or four years!”

Fraser interrupted the reunion to announce that they were ready for the first scene. Chalamet went off to change from his loose jeans and T-shirt into a white Bode work jacket, Celine trousers, and a long, thin silk scarf, which he draped around his neck. He went behind the bar, populated with extras in evening clothes—slinky sequined gowns and tuxedos. Fraser had added a lot of smoke to the setting; between the mirror behind Chalamet and the shiny silver cocktail shakers in front of him, the bar seemed to glow. Villeneuve called “Action!” and Chalamet began making drinks and fake-pouring liquor straight into his mouth. Fraser was capturing every minute. Some shots were big, taking in the entire scene; others were intimate portraits.

After about 10 minutes of bartending, Chalamet flipped the scarf over his shoulder, looking less like a waiter and more like a leading man. It was an excellent segue to the next scene, when he would encounter MacLachlan. They had met before in real life: At the Oscars in 2022, MacLachlan greeted Chalamet warmly. “As I recall,” said Villeneuve, “he introduced himself to Timmy and was very generous about his performance in Dune. That was also my experience—when I called Kyle about this shoot, I felt that he was happy to celebrate both Timmy and David Lynch.”

Dressed in a Tom Ford tuxedo, MacLachlan looked eerily like Lynch: He had brushed his hair straight up from his forehead to create a smaller version of Lynch’s signature swoop. While they were setting up the shot, I asked Villeneuve if he had ever felt intimidated by the idea of adapting Dune to the screen. After all, Lynch had not succeeded—it was a daunting task. “I knew I was able to do it,” he said evenly. “The fact that a master like David Lynch had trouble wasn’t in my mind. Dune was a huge part of me—I was 13 when I first read the book. And I retained the arrogance of a teenager.” Villeneuve, who is anything but egotistical, laughed. “I wanted to devour the world at that age, and the book is linked to that type of energy. Not to sound too grand, but the book spoke to me so loudly that it erased my fear.”

Over in the small mirrored room off the main bar, Chalamet seemed to absorb Villeneuve’s enthusiasm. He greeted MacLachlan, and the two stood next to each other and the camera, essentially taking a selfie in the mirror. Chalamet hovered slightly behind like a ghost over MacLachlan’s shoulder, and then moved slowly to his right until their heads almost touched.

When they said their farewells and MacLachlan said how happy he was to have been part of the shoot, Chalamet hugged him. As he left the small room and headed to the next setup, Chalamet’s entire countenance seemed to shift. With MacLachlan, he had been firmly in Dune world; now, suddenly, he was Dylan—a transformation that might have been helped by the classic Dylan songs playing at the Bar Marmont. Chalamet changed from his bartender whites into a black Celine tuxedo, headed to a hallway flooded with red light, and leaned against the wall.

Fraser, who was studying the angle of the shot, had told me earlier that Chalamet’s deep dive into Dylan’s life had included even him. “I shot a couple of music videos for Bob,” recalled Fraser. “One was for a song called ‘Must Be Santa,’ and Timmy rang me, saying, ‘There’s this thing I want to do!’ He did his version of the song and my video for Christmas. Actors rarely get an opportunity to put a flag in the sand with as huge a cultural figure as Dylan. Timmy makes it look easy.”

Chalamet started to slowly dance in the red hall. He turned and slouched and then turned again, seemingly oblivious to the cameras. After about 15 minutes, he briefly consulted the video monitor to see how the overall scene looked. “Let’s change,” he said, referring to his clothes. “Timmy is so comfortable with fashion,” remarked Villeneuve. “I am not a fashion guy, but I like playing the game on Timmy’s turf. He is very opinionated about clothes. This bartender is really transforming.”

Chalamet slipped into a gray Prada boiler suit and leather jacket. The next scene was set in a bathroom that Villeneuve and Fraser had somehow made to look like a train station. Extras floated in and out. Again, there was a ghostly quality to the shot, almost as if Chalamet’s character were living in his dreams.

“I feel like I’m back in the desert,” joked Chalamet. “You can hear your own heartbeat in the desert,” said Villeneuve. “In Dune, my goal was to capture the power of that place. The desert is secretive—there’s life there, but it’s invisible. It’s very spiritual.” Villeneuve paused. “And, in many ways, I watched Timmy grow up in the desert.”

Back in the bathroom/train station, Chalamet seemed to be peering into another car. Villeneuve asked Fraser to narrow his focus, and he quietly said something to Chalamet in French. Chalamet then looked straight at the camera and—suddenly, effortlessly—turned into a movie star. “That’s it,” said Villeneuve. “That’s what I was hoping for.”

Fashion Market and Menswear Director: Jenna Wojciechowski. Timothée Chalamet’s grooming by Jamie Taylor for Dyson at A-Frame Agency; Kyle MacLachlan’s grooming by Livio Angileri for Skin Dialogue at Honey Artists. Set design by Spencer Vrooman at SVS. Special thanks to Bar Marmont, Los Angeles

Extras provided by Idell James, Burbank Casting, Extra Extra Casting. Produced by AP Studio, Inc.; Executive Producer: Alexis Piqueras; Producer: Anneliese Kristedja; Production Manager: Zach Berry; Production Coordinator: Meher Jalal; Lighting Technician: Kendall Pack; Photography assistants: Colin Smith, Timothy Shin, Gracie Newman; Digital Technician: Miguel De Leon; Retouching: Dtouch Creative; Fashion assistants: Breaunna Trask, Prentis Burrell, Sage M. McKee, Frankie Benkovic, Tatiana Isshac; Production assistants: Anatalia Zavaleta, Jackson Griffin, Lance Williams, Gigi Rosenfield, Drew Southern; Set design assistants: Christian Duff, Ricky Cano; Tailor: David Viato.