Javier Bardem is gushing over Austin Butler’s work as Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen in “Dune: Part Two.” “Seeing him bald or seeing him with hair, he’s an amazing creature to look at,” Bardem told me at the world premiere of “The Little Mermaid” in Los Angeles. “You can look at him for hours and go, ‘Oh, my God — how beautiful you are.’”
Bardem continued, “On top of that, he’s so nice. He’s so generous, so funny and so committed. He has done an amazing job. I’ve only had a couple of moments with him, but I would see him and it was like, ‘Wow, [he] is the character.’”
Feyd-Rautha is the evil nephew of Baron Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård) and the brother of the sadistic Glossu Rabban, played by Dave Bautista. The two brothers are in competition to become the Harkonnen family’s successor on the planet Arrakis.
A teaser trailer for the movie released May 2 showed a front-facing bald Butler after a first-look photo only featured him from behind.
Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya reprise their roles as Paul Atreides and Chani in the follow-up film.
“Dune: Part Two” will be released Nov. 3.
Bardem plays King Triton in “Mermaid.” He joked about taking on Jason Momoa’s Aquaman in a cinematic crossover. “I love you, Jason, but come on — King Triton is the son of Poseidon!” Bardem said, laughing. “But in real life I would lose the fight in a second. I would run away from Jason.”
“The Little Mermaid” is in theaters May 26.
