The one actor Denis Villeneuve said was capable of doing anything: “Really impressive”
It’s only when you read the first Dune book that you realise just how nuanced a character Lady Jessica is. For large parts of it, she represents somewhat of a main character through whom you can assess this titled political landscape, where the balance of power is slowly turning into the hands of the people.
But Lady Jessica’s role is to straddle that line between good and evil, and perhaps more importantly, between maternal love and Bene Gesserit duty. Translating that to screen required an actor who could portray that heightened sense of nuance, that eventually culminates in the final act of the second movie, where Lady Jessica finally chooses a side by drinking the water of life.
The formidable Rebecca Ferguson was tasked with that duty, bringing chilling gravitas to the scene that made Denis Villeneuve realise he was in the presence of greatness. Villeneuve recalled it being a “scene where I put all the pressure on her shoulders,” in the hope that she would be able to deliver.
He was acutely aware, however, how big a demand this was, for the moment Lady Jessica does that, it stitches together the entire storyline and helps spark the conflict that foregrounds the upcoming sequel.
As Lady Jessica sips on the liquid, which harbours supernatural powers, she then has to wrestle with her ancestors as she fights the poison. Villeneuve continued, “That requires tremendous acting muscles, confidence and a fantastic inner world,” he explained. “After this scene, I thought to myself that she is absolutely capable of doing anything.”
He continued, adding that Ferguson had “the fantastic ability to delve into uncharted psychological territory with what seems like very little effort. Her acting skills are really impressive. She made us believe in the world of Dune.”
While Ferguson’s performance definitely confirms Villeneuve’s point, for the finished product is delivered with a sense of ease, the reality was much different. For Ferguson, the overarching religious narratives that lace the plot of the movie felt inherently difficult to access for someone of her background.
She explained, “I think one of the difficulties I had tapping into, which was challenging, was that I’m not religious at all. And I would say that Jessica is somewhat, or becomes, a fundamentalist, right? In her belief. And it is so completely the opposite of who I am as a human being. So tapping into it and embracing it and understanding it was a really interesting journey for me, internally.”
It makes the intensity of her performance in that second Dune film all the more astonishing. While many films with a socio-religious tint require emotional intensity to convey the point, this particular scene in Dune differed for its physical demands.
As Villeneuve correctly explains, there is so much of the story Ferguson has to tell upon drinking that water, that can’t be said with any words and instead, body language and more noticeably eye contact. It was a pivotal scene in Ferguson’s performance and one that glued together the various dramatic moments of the film series.
