Australian Actor Josh Heuston On The Intoxicating World Of Dune: Prophecy

With Dune: Prophecy coming to screens in New Zealand on November 18, ahead of its Sydney premiere series star Josh Heuston talks to Emma Gleason about hitting a career high and how he brought Constantine Corrino to life.

Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Austin Butler, Kyle MacLachlan, Sting. A constellation of Hollywood talent has stepped into the late Frank Herbert’s Duniverse over the years at (arguably) the height of their respective careers. Joining them, in HBO’s new adaptation of the revered source material, is rising star Josh Heuston.

He takes on the role of Constantine Corrino in HBO’s new series Dune: Prophecy – on screens November 18, airing on Neon in New Zealand.

It’s a dream role. “I’ve always loved everything fantasy and sci-fi,” he says from Sydney, talking to Viva ahead of the Australian premiere. “Lord of the Rings is the top of my list I guess, for fantasy, but I love all that sort of stuff – whether it be Star Wars or Terminator.”

Dune is a franchise of epic proportions, spanning 23 books, three feature films and three television series. With so much history and lore surrounding Herbert’s work, the weight of the role isn’t lost on him. “It’s so revered by so many people.”

While there was a level of apprehension, it quickly dissipated, something he credits to the support and talent of the crew and cast, which includes Emily Mortimer, Olivia Williams and Travis Fimmel.

Josh grew up in Sydney – one of his most high-profile credits to date is his role in the modern revival of groundbreaking Australian teen drama Heartbreak High – and had to ditch his Aussie accent and perfect a British accent for Constantine.

Working on his character, he also looked to Prince Hal from Shakespeare’s Henry V, royal families from history and the Indian caste system.

Constantine is complex, an illegitimate son from House Corrino with the “pedigree of a prince”, who is drawn to the underworld while also playing the political game of chess that underpins the series.

“You’re not quite sure what direction he’s going to go,” Josh explains. “Does he have potential or is he just going to be this guy that lives in the underbelly of the imperium?”

Sarah-Sofie Boussnina plays Princess Ynez, Constantine’s sister, and the two were collaborative when it came to building out their roles.

“We spoke really, really in-depth about our characters’ back story and their relationship and then tried to build something that felt real and intangible, so when you see those two characters on the screen it feels real and like a real relationship.”

It’s clear he thrives on working with others.

“I like to surround myself with people that are much better than me at certain things, whether it be like an accent or an acting coach or a stunt training, co-ordinator or movement trainer.”

He made the most of the stunt trainers’ availability. “Even if you weren’t training for anything specific you could still go and get lessons in parkour or sword fighting or martial arts, so I’d spend a lot of time there on my off days just learning.”

READ: Joining Forces, The Dune Cast Demonstrate A Strategic Approach To Style

Josh worked with the costume designers on Constantine’s look and how the character expressed himself even while conforming to what his father wants. “He’s still adding a little bit of his own character and flair to it. Even his boots are different to every other character’s boots.”

He enjoys fashion – a “correct assumption” he tells me when I pose the question – and had a Dior suit lined up for the Sydney screening, an ensemble that was “a little bit more loose” than the structured Versace he wore to the New York premiere.

Dune: Prophecy is a prequel spinoff to director Denis Villeneuve’s 2021 and 2024 films, based on the 2012 novel Sisterhood of Dune by Brian Herbert (Frank Herbert’s son) and Kevin J. Anderson, and the new series is set 10,000 years before the events of those movies.

It unveils the origins of the Bene Gesserit sect – Emily Mortimer and Olivia Williams are driving the sisterhood and consolidating its influence and objectives – and details the war with the “thinking machines” alongside the political manoeuvring and power struggles of the Great Houses.

Of the plot, Josh can’t give away too much, though he does say a scene from episode five, set in the training dojo, was his favourite to film. “I had a lot of fun in it, and it felt very, very real.”

He finds the spice trade of the Dune world – a resource mined on planet Arrakis, colloquially called Dune by the colonial powers, that’s the driving force behind the franchise’s narratives – fascinating. “It’s a longevity psychedelic that’s also technically their currency, so I find that really interesting.”

The terraforming of planets – engineering that makes them habitable – is also prescient, he says, mentioning ongoing ideation in the real world of trying to do the same thing to Mars. “I find that really, really intriguing,” he says. “The more I think you dive into [Dune] and the more you research it, the more you realise it, it just builds and builds and builds.”

Australian actor Travis Fimmel – who you may recognise from Vikings, the excellent Queensland-set drama Black Snow or his famous Calvin Klein ads in the early 2000 – plays mysterious soldier Desmond Hart, who recently returned from Arrakis.

Josh says it was helpful having some of his compatriots in the cast. “Having them definitely gives you that sense of kinship,” he says. “It just makes you feel more at home.”

His family still lives in the same part of Sydney Josh grew up in, and he heads back there whenever he needs to chill.

Time off is spent with them, and his friends, and the actor tries to keep things low-key.

“I’m pretty boring actually,” he admits. “I think you travel a lot and you go out and you do that whole thing, and then you come home and you kind of want to be a bit more insular.”

Emma Gleason is the Herald’s deputy editor of lifestyle and entertainment (audience), and has worked on Viva for more than four years, contributing stories on culture, fashion and what’s going on in Auckland.

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