Rebecca Ferguson opened up a bit about her work in Dune in an exclusive interview with Entertainment Weekly. The actress talked about other things, her claustrophobic tendencies when filming in enclosed spaces, her reaction to judging the size of sandworms and how the action in Dune differed from her other prominent action role.
Ferguson expressed her disdain for closed spaces and always prefers to know that she has a way out. She talked about a particulary worrysome moment when filming in the ornithopter set of Dune as her claustrophibic tendency kicked in.
I can’t be locked in. On every set I always have to make sure that if they lock me into something, there needs to be an out. In the ornithopter, there was a moment when I panicked and I literally took my foot and just kicked the door out .I needed to know I could get out.
Ferguson also described her confusion at properly ascertaining the size of a CGI sandworm. Not particularly used to filming in green screens or with excessive visual effects, Ferguson described a hilarious moment when director Denis Villeneuve guided her on just how high to look when running away from the giant creatures.
We were running away from the sandworm in Abu Dhabi. I hadn’t really seen how big it was compared to us. I stop and turn around, and I look at this huge thing approaching. And Denis is like, ‘What are you looking at?’ I went to point to the sandworm and he goes, ‘Well, it’s bigger than that! Look up!’ I was like, ‘There?’ He was like, ‘Higher!’ I was like, ‘There?’ ‘Higher!’ Then I was like, ‘Oh, now I get it!’
Speaking of green screen action, Ferguson was almost afraid of something actresses would be more than willing for: being typecast as the strong woman. She recalled her work on her other major franchise, Mission: Impossible with Tom Cruise, and contrasted the action sequences in those that are far more real, assertive and done with practical effects and real stuntwork, comparing it with her work in Dune, that was more reactionary and born out of necessity.
I love the fighting we do in Mission. It’s hard, it’s beautiful, it’s amazing to do, but it’s really choreographed. The fighting in Dune is for necessity. It’s not an elongated fighting sequence; it’s a quick disarm to prove your point or prove your power. So everything is at such different levels than what I’m used to.
Dune has premiered at the Venice Film Festival and is set for release in theaters and on HBO Max on October 22, 2021. Don’t forget to check out the complete interview in the source link below.
