Dune 2: Did you know the actor who plays the villain in the movie?

Austin Butler, who has become one of the most in-demand young actors of the moment since his unforgettable role as Elvis in the Baz Luhrmann biopic, will star in Dune: Part Two this week. In this critically acclaimed blockbuster, he plays the main villain, the terrifying Faid-Rauta Harkonen. A composition that shows how diverse the acting palette is for the 32-year-old actor.

Austin Butler was born in 1991 in Anaheim, a small town in Orange County, California. Her artistic inclinations allowed her to break into music and modeling at the age of 13. A real angel, he made his debut in front of the cameras of Ned: How to survive studying? And in many very popular TV series (previously) among teenagers, such as Hannah Montana with Miley Cyrus, Zoe or ICarly.

Many TV roles

2009 marked his first appearance on the big screen with The Zintrus, where he had to face an alien invasion, which was comical to say the least, alongside Ashley Tisdale, then a young audience star with the High School Musical series. But it is on television that he continues to break through with numerous appearances in series (Ruby & the Rockits, Wizards of Waverly Place and Jonas or CSI: Miami and Manhattan).

The Anaheim native landed roles in the early 2010s on shows like Life Unexpected, where he played Britt Robertson’s boyfriend, the first season of Switched, in which he played rebellious teenager Wilke, and before that he played a soft-hearted character for the CW. Bad boy Sebastian, Carrie Bradshaw’s first love in The Carrie Diaries (Sex and the City prequel).

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After a few episodes of Arrow, his rise continued in 2016, starring in the television adaptation of Terry Brooks’ best-selling superhero fantasy books, The Shannara Chronicles, midway through Game of Thrones, Hunger Games and Lord of the Rings. The actor plays Will Omsford, a half-elf, half-human who is supposed to save the Four Lands Kingdom, which is threatened by demons.

Tarantino, Elvis… The Rise of Austin in Cinema

After the end of the series, Austen flourished in the cinema. In 2019, he filmed under the direction of two major filmmakers: Jim Jarmusch and Quentin Tarantino. In front of the camera for the first one, he is Selena Gomez’s hipster friend for the zombie comedy The Dead Don’t Die. For the second time, in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, he portrays Manson’s cult member Charles “Tex” Watson.

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In 2022, the thirty-year-old reprises his role alongside the King in Elvis, Baz Luhrmann’s biopic that traces the rock and roll star’s journey over three decades. His extraordinary performance won him a Golden Globe and a BAFTA Award for Best Actor. We next see him as a member of a biker gang in The Bikeriders (2023), then as a brave squadron leader in Masters of the Air (2024).

A great antagonist in Dune 2

Back in 2024, Austin Butler slips into the shoes of the fierce Fade-Rauta Harkonnen, who is none other than Baron Vladimir Harkonnen’s (Stellan Skarsgård) nephew, in Dune: Part Two. In order to be believable in the skin of this formidable antagonist, who is also a fighter, the actor trained for several months with stuntman Duffy Gever and martial arts specialist Roger Yuan:

“I knew the fight scenes would be very demanding and I wanted them to be strong in the image, so we practiced a lot. We practiced a lot of kali, Filipino stick martial arts and knife fighting. I also worked on my voice. And as soon as I saw myself in the mirror, without hair , with black teeth, I began to see a physical transformation.”Austin recalls.