On a recent ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ episode, Florence Pugh shared insights from her experience working with Christopher Walken on the set of ‘Dune: Part Two.’ Alongside her on the talk show were co-stars Zendaya, Timothée Chalamet, and Austin Butler, each sharing their own stories from filming the awaited sequel.
First, a preview of the movie showed Walken’s Shaddam IV talking to his daughter, Pugh’s Princess Irulan, in a scene brimming with tension. Revealing whether she knew the ‘Batman Returns’ star was going to play her father, the actress said:
“Oh, yeah, no. It was like, ‘By the way, your dad is Christopher Walken.’ I was like, ‘Well, thank God.’ [Laughs]”
What Kind Of A Person Is He?
This led to a discussion about the cast’s interactions with Christopher Walken off-camera. Pugh explained her close working relationship with him, noting:
“I did [get to know him better] ’cause all of my stuff was with him. I spent most of my days with him and Charlotte Rampling and Léa Seydoux, but mostly him. And all of our stuff was so intense. So, I kind of was just with him in a room for hours.”
Upon that, Kimmel questioned:
“Is he intense for hours as a human?”
The ‘Black Widow’ actress shared:
“No, he’s surprisingly silly. In between takes, he would be talking to me about his favorite kind of donuts. There’d be this huge kind of standoff between everyone, and he’d turn to me and be like, ‘What’s your favorite kind of donut?’ ‘Jam-filled, obviously.’ And then we’d go into another take of a really serious scene.”
The Actor Made His Co-Stars Nervous
Despite Walken’s ‘silliness,’ some younger cast members felt intimidated by the actor. Zendaya and Chalamet, for instance, admitted to feeling nervous around him, with Chalamet describing himself as ‘pretty terrified to talk to him.’
Austin Butler shared a different perspective, revealing how the 80-year-old actor had even given him advice about a career opportunity. Butler was thinking about whether to accept an offer to host ‘Saturday Night Live’ and sought advice from his co-stars:
“When we were filming a scene with him, the offer had just come in to do ‘Saturday Night Live,’ and I was so nervous, I wanted to say no.”
He eventually asked Walken about his opinion:
“I was just so terrified. At one point, I thought, ‘Well, he’s done it so many times, and he’s one of the best hosts.’ So I said, ‘Chris, what do you think of ‘Saturday Night Live?’ Should I do it?’ He goes, ‘You gotta do it. Just read the cue cards.’”
You can watch the cast’s interview in the video below.
