[Dune] – Dune Part 1 characters explained, actors and actresses – House Harkonnen, House Corrino

House Harkonnen

House Harkonnen is a major house of the Landsraad that resides on Giedi Prime. House Harkonnen was rather a minor house however, under Vladimir Harkonnen, House Harkonnen rapidly gains power and rivals House Atreides.

The symbol of House Harkonnen is a blue griffin but some what the ram which is a male goat is also a prominent symbol of House Harkonnen.

 

 

The term Harkonnen is believed to derive from the Finnish term, Härkönen or härkä that means ox. House Harkonnen origins from the Butler Family member during the Butlerian Jihad.

House Harkonnen held a 10,000-year grudge against House Atredies by a conflictive accusation of treason that was more of a difference in perspective in terms of ethics.

Abulurd Harkonnen was exiled from the military and faces a mysterious death which the Harkonnens accused Vorian Atreides who acuused Abulurd Harkonnen of treason. This started the 10,000-year feud between House Harkonnen and House Atreides.

 

 

Vladimir Harkonen - Stellan John Skarsgård 

Vladimir Harkonnen, unlike his half-brother Abulurd Harkonnen (Abulurd Harkonnen is the father of Glossu Rabban and Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen. He later takes the name Abulurd Rabban) showed potential as the heir to House Harkonnen.

Vladimir Harkonnen was trained, and he proved that his training was worthy as he becomes the leader of House Harkonnen.

Vladimir Harkonnen appoints Ptier De Vries who was called the twisted Mentat as his chief of staff and Vladimir Harkonnen trains his nephews Feyd-Rautha and Glossu.

 

 

 

House Harkonnen rapidly develops and becomes one of the major houses in the Landsgaard due to his brutal and cruel but efficient leadership. Vladimir Harkonnen didn’t have a direct lineage, so he chose Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen as his heir who satisfied Vladimir with his own cruel, strong and efficient leadership.

Vladimir didn’t trust Glossu Rabban much as Glossu Rabban was merely brutal but not cunning enough to take such leadership. Vladimir Harkonnen plays an important role throughout the whole Dune Universe.

 

 

Stellan John Skarsgård is a Swedish actor who is also the father of great actors such as Bill Skarsgård, Alexander, Gustaf and Valter Skarsgård. Stellan John Skarsgård has starred in many Swedish and American tv series as well as cinema.

He premiered in many films familiar to the public including Pirates of the Caribbean as Bootstrap Bill, Mamma Mia Bill, Dr. Erik Selvig in the Marvel Cinematic Series Thor, Luthen Rael in the Andor Starwars series.

 

 

Piter de Vries - David Dastmalchian

Piter De Vries was called the ‘Twisted Mentant’ as hhe was ambitious, cunning, brutal but deadly efficient in processing information.

Piter De Vries was the main architect of the Destruction of House Harkonnen including the blackmail of Dr. Yueh by taking his wife, planning strategies to destroy Atreides forces on Arrakis, and negotiating terms with emperor Shaddam Corrino in terms of mobilization of the Sardaukar and political strategies.

 

 

Along with the Atreides mentat Tuphir Hawat, Piter De Vries has a distinctive mark around his mout due to the constant consumption of sapho juice that help enhanced the cognitive abilities to process information.

Dr. Yueh manages to take his revenge on Piter De Vries by Duke Leto Atreides’s hidden poison tooth.

 

 

 

David Dastmalchian is an American actor that have worked with Denis Villeneuve’s movie Prisoners as Bob Taylor. Despite a short appearance,

David Dastmalchian also shows impressive work in Batman Darknight as Joker’s subordinate. David Dastmalchian also plays Veb who was a friend of Antman in the Marvel Antman series and David Dastmalchian premieres in the DC universe as the Polka dot man, Abner Krill in The Suicide Squad.

 

 

Glossu Rabban – Dave Bautista

Like Dave Bautista’s nickname when he used to wrestle, Glossu Rabban was nicknamed ‘Beast’ and he was infamous of his brutality and inhumane cruelty. Vladimir Harkonnen himself did develop Glossu Rabban and trained him but despite his brutality, Glossu Rabban wasn’t capable of taking leadership or management.

Vladimir Harkonnen ordered Glossu Rabban for the initial viceroyship of Arrakis so Glossu Rabban could clear up the any resurgence of the Fremen, revolts or any other attempts to challenge House Harkonnen just so Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen could take leadership of Arrakis in a much more comfortable and stable environment.

 

 

Dave Bautista, a former RAW and SMACKDOWN wrestler premiered in movies such as Army of the Dead the protagonist Scott Ward, JJ in My Spy. However, Dave Bautista’s most memorable character to the public shall be Drax in the Marvel Cinematic Series Guardians of the Galaxy.

 

 

Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen – Austin Butler

Although not a character in Dune Part 1, Feyd-Rautha Rabban is the first arch enemy that Paul Atredies has to face. Vladimir Harkonnen trusted Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen as his heir as he was cunning, smart while vicious and deadly as his brother Glossu.

The Bene Gesserit also acknowledged his potential that their original plan was to breed Feyd-Rautha Harkonen with Lady Jessica and Leto Atredies’s daughter for the Kwisatz Haderach project. Vladimir Harkonnen however had his own plans to marry Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen and Shaddam Corrino Ⅳ’s daughter Irulan Corrino in seek of more power.

 

 

Austin Butler has premiered in many television series in his youth. He has become one of Hollywood’s notable stars for his great acting in the 2020’s. He starred in Elvis as Elvis Pressley.

He is currently starring in the Masters of the Airs as major Gale ‘Buck’ Cleven and in my prediction he shall become a rising start after Dune Part 2 premieres. 

 

 

House Corrino - Imperial House of the Corrino Empire

House Corrino was the imperial house and one of the house major of the Landsraad, Descended from the Bulter family, and playing a major role in the war against the Thinking Machines,

House Corrino was recognized by the Landsraad as the imperial family. House Corrino’s name originate from the victory of the Battle of Corrin where Faykan Butler leads humanity to victory and changes his name to Faykan Corrino in honor of this glory.

 

 

The symbol of House Corrino is the golden lion which the seat of the padishah emperor is also referred as the Golden Lion Throne. House Corrino originally resided on the planet Salusa Secundus; however they move the capital to Kaitain.

House Corrino not only held many seats in the High Council of the Landsraad, but they also maintained their guards military the Sardaukar. the Sardaukar were constantly trained and barracked on Salusa Secundus, the original home planet for House Corrino and current prison planet.

 

 

Sardaukar

Sardaukar training was brutal where half of recruits would die before candidates even reach the age 11. The harsh training program and the extreme environment of Salusa Secundus refined them as the most fearsome military force and personal guard of the Padishah Emperor of the Corrino Empire.

In Dune part 1, along with the Sardaukar chant that origined from the Mongolian Throat chant, the sardaukar display their fearsome combat capabilities.

 

 

Shaddam Corrino IV – Christopher Walken

Shaddam Corrino IV was the son of Emperor Elrood IX and became the eighty-first Padishah Emperor of the Corrino Empire,

He marries Anirul who was a hidden member of the Bene Gesserit and has five daughters with her. Duke Leto Atreides was actually an adopted relative of Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV.

Shaddam Corrino IV admired Leto Atreides’s leadership and especially his discipline in terms of honor.

 

 

 

 

 

However, Leto Atreides’s military power under Gurney Halleck and Duncan Idaho(In the novel, Thufir Hawat was also a great military threat himself) started to grow enough to rival Shaddam Corrino IV’s sardaukar force.

Also, politically, House Atreidies started to converge power of other houses in the High Council of the Landsraad. Shaddam Corrino IV admired Leto Atreides to an extent that if he was younger he would have had Irulan Corrino marry Leto Atreides.

 

 

However, House Atreides imposes a great threat to the Golden Lion Throne and Shaddam Corrino IV plots to destroy House Atreides by dispatching Sardaukar units. In the novel, Hasimir Fenring is one of emperror Shaddam Corrino IV 's closet advisor.

He takes over Arrakis after House Atreides was set to viceroy Arrakis.However,  persumablly only Margot Fenring, Hasimir Fenring's wife is expected to premiere on Dune Part 2.

Christopher Walken played numerous roles. He stars as Morty in the movie Click, Paul Rayburn in Man on Fire, Max Shreck in Batmans Returns, and Nick in the film The Deer Hunter. He has appeared in many other films as well.

 

 

 

Irulan Corrino – Florence Pugh

If Dune Part 2 takes the novel as it is, Princess Irulan Corrino was the eldest daughter of the 81st Padishah Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV.

Although she was a Bene Gesserit member, she didn't identify as one nor did she take action for the Bene Gesserit. Irulan Corrino was a historian that was about to witness a major event of the Dune Universe.

 

 

 

Florence Pugh plays Irulan Corrino in Dune Part 2. She starred in Midsommar as Dani, Amy March in Little Women, Jean Tatlock in Oppenheimer, and Yelena in the Black Widow Marvel series.

 

 

Why did the emperor plot with House Harkonnen to irradicate House Atreides?

It was probably the best political decision that Shadam Corrino IV could have ever made. The emperor secretly dispatches sardaukar units so officially, he could not be accused by the High Council of the Landsraad.

Both House Harkonnen and House Atreides grew in a rapid speed so House Corrino would have had to detain both houses.

 

 

By plotting with House Harkonnen, House Atreides was almost annihilated while House Harkonnen had to exhaust their finances and resources that would take immensive time to recover. (House Harkonnen had to mobilize 2,000 spaceships, 10 corps that would consist of 100 brigades).