Oscar Isaac originally wasn't going to have a beard in Dune. Denis Villeneuve's epic adaptation of Frank Herbert's seminal science-fiction novel has already been lavished with praise from critics for its ambitious scope and visual thrills. Dune has also already surpassed the $100 million mark at the international box office ahead of its release in the United States this Friday, October 22, in theaters and on HBO Max.
In Villeneuve's Dune, Isaac plays Duke Leto Atreides, the father of Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) and husband to Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson). In Herbert's novel, the Duke is described as being "tall, olive-skinned" with a thin face and gray eyes, though facial hair is never mentioned. Previous adaptations such as David Lynch's 1984 film saw actor Jürgen Prochnow sporting a sparse beard as the Duke, while William Hurt portrayed the role memorably in the three-part miniseries from 2000, though he was clean-shaven and blonde to boot.
In an interview with GQ, Dune's head of hair and makeup, Donald Mowat, shared the inspiration behind Oscar Isaac's immaculate beard (which took an estimated 14 weeks to grow), as well as the interesting fact that he originally wasn't going to have one at all. Mowat initially imagined the Duke as clean-shaven, though Isaac and Villeneuve insisted he had facial hair, so he began researching various bearded noblemen to help create his look, such as Czar Nicholas II and Prince Michael of Kent. Read what Mowat had to say below:
I personally didn't see Oscar Isaac with the beard initially. When I was working on my Photoshops and concept characters—I kind of diligently pull reference materials—I didn't. When I heard that this could happen and Oscar and Denis had talked about it, I was a little bit surprised. I looked at it kind of with European reference, but particularly Greco-Roman. If you look at Prince Michael of Kent, who's the Queen's cousin, he’s the spitting image of Czar Nicholas of Russia.
Once they finished stylizing the Duke's look, it played into influencing his son Paul's as well. Mowat goes on to explain Chalamet's "wavy, lion-like mane,” which Villeneuve joked was his biggest challenge directing the film. To help accentuate the age gap between Isaac and Chalamet and make their characters' father-son dynamic more believable, Mowat added some grey coloring to Issac's beard along with some fake crow's feet, which only took about 35 minutes in the makeup chair everyday to prepare him to shoot.
With a star-studded cast and expansive storyline, some are already pegging Villeneuve's Dune as the next Star Wars or Lord of the Rings. Though they are often overlooked, hair, makeup, and prosthetic designers play a crucial role in creating the immersive experience these sci-fi/fantasy blockbusters are known for. It's nice to see Mowat getting some recognition now, and perhaps later on with a Best Makeup and Hairstyling Oscar nod for Dune.
Source: GQ
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