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Menu Follow Followed Like More Action Sign in now Screen Awards Christmas Advent Calendar Exclusives Best on Streaming SR Database Network TV Schedule Close Follow Followed Like Link copied to clipboard By Colin McCormick Updated Mar 9, 2024 Colin McCormick is a Senior Writer with Screen Rant and has been a proud member of the team since 2019. In addition to his work as Screen Rant, Colin is also a writer of News, Feature and Review pieces at Game Rant. Colin has had a long passion and obsession with movies going back to the first time he saw The Lion King in theaters. Along with movies, Colin stays up-to-date on the latest must-see TV shows. While he loves to find interesting projects in any kind of genre, he has a special movie of crime stories that are infused with a little dark humor much like the work of his favorite author, Elmore Leonard.

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Sign in to your ScreenRant account Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap

Summary

• Dune showcases a diverse cast with a wide range of ages, accurately reflecting characters from Frank Herbert's novels.
• Paul Atreides' youth sets him apart in a world of older politicians and warriors, establishing him as a powerful figure.
• The age of characters in Dune, like Lady Jessica in her mid/late 30s and Baron Harkonnen in his 70s, adds depth to the story.

Considering what the young hero is able to achieve, it is interesting to consider how old Paul is in Dune and the ages of the other characters are in comparison. David Vileneuve's 2021 adaptation of Frank Herbert’s eponymous sci-fi epic novel follows Paul Atreides’ (Timothee Chalamet) family to the desert planet of Arrakis, where the young man finds himself surrounded by both politics and prophecy. Despite his relative young age in a world ruled by older politicians and warriors, Paul establishes himself as a powerful figure.

The Dune cast of characters is filled with allies to House Atreides as well as plenty of enemies, bringing the characters of Frank Herbert's novels to life. The vast age ranges of the characters are accurate to Herbert’s novel, which includes characters both young and old, and some, such as Baron Harkonnen, whose ages are ambiguous. Dune shows the horrors of conflict in the far future from the perspectives of the jaded and worldweary and the young and naive. Paul's relatively young age in Dune also sets the stage for his future journey.

Dune is available to stream on Hulu and Max.

Character	Actor	Character Age	Actor Age (circa. 2021)
Paul Atreides	Timothee Chalamet	Early 20s	26
Lady Jessica	Rebecca Ferguson	Mid/Late 30s	38
Duke Leto Atreides	Oscar Isaac	40s	42
Thufir Hawat	Stephen McKinley Henderson	70s	72
Gurney Halleck	Josh Brolin	50s	54
Duncan Idaho	Jason Momoa	30s	42
Baron Harkonnen	Stellan Skarsgård	70s	70
Glossu Rabban	Dave Bautista	40s/50s	52
Stilgar	Javier Bardem	50s	52
Dr. Liet Kynes	Sharon Ducan-Brewster	40s	45
Chani	Zendaya	20s	25

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Timothee Chalamet As Paul Atreides

Character Age: Late Teens/Early 20s

The powerful and gifted Paul Atreides falls on the younger side of the age spectrum, although the movie never reveals his exact age. The youngest Atreides is a mere fifteen years old in Herbert’s book and is just beginning to understand the complications of the universe and his father’s position. While Dune also portrays this aspect of Paul’s growing knowledge, Chalamet does not quite appear young enough to be fifteen, as he was 26 years old.

Since the movie doesn’t pinpoint his age, Paul could be younger

The Dune star still looks very youthful but likely played the role with a mindset closer to his late teen or early 20s. Since the movie doesn’t pinpoint his age, Paul could be younger, but a slight age increase when adapting Dune from the page to the big screen doesn’t have a significant impact on the story.

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Rebecca Ferguson As Lady Jessica

Character Age: Mid/Late 30s

Neither the book nor the movie adaptation of Dune reveals the true age of Paul’s Bene Gesserit mother, Lady Jessica. The book describes her as a beautiful and regal bronze-haired woman, not yet indicating any signs of old age. Considering that Paul is supposed to be fifteen in the book, it could be guessed that she is in her mid to late 30s.

It seems Villeneuve wanted to cast someone who was of similar maturity to the way Herbert described Lady Jessica

Rebecca Ferguson was an excellent casting choice for the role and, as the actress was 38 years old, it seems Villeneuve wanted to cast someone who was of similar maturity to the way Herbert described Lady Jessica in the Dune novel, while still being overlooked by the older and more experienced power players in the universe.

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Oscar Isaac As Duke Leto Atreides

Character Age: 40s

Herbert seemed to have been reluctant to pinpoint the ages of his characters, instead giving more importance to descriptions of the demeanors and physical attributes. The patriarch of House Atreides as portrayed by 42-year-old Oscar Isaac in Dune is graying on the edges but carries himself with strength and determination. There is a sense that he is viewed as one of the more capable leaders in the universe and the ages of his enemies prove why they fear him.

While Isaac's Leto does seem to be older than Ferguson's Lady Jessica, the age discrepancy does not appear to be that great.

The Dune books suggest Leto is an older man than Lady Jessica, perhaps in his 50s or 60s. While Isaac's Leto does seem to be older than Ferguson's Lady Jessica, the age discrepancy does not appear to be that great. Leto is likely meant to be in his 40s in the 2021 movie.

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Stephen McKinley Henderson as Thufir Hawat

Character Age: 70s

Thufir Hawat is the resident Mentat of House Atreides and the oldest of Duke Leto’s loyal men, having served several generations of Atreides. Again, the character is not assigned an exact age in either book or film version of Dune, but in the book, he seems to be worrying about his usually keen eye slipping, which indicates an older age. Henderson was 72 in the first Dune, and it is reasonable to assume that his character of Hawat is also meant to be in his 70s.

Henderson's scenes as Thufir Hawat were cut from Dune: Part Two.

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Josh Brolin As Gurney Halleck

Character Age: 50s

Gurney Halleck is another one of Duke Atreides most loyal followers. A gifted musician, Halleck is still in good enough shape to help with Paul’s battle training at the beginning of Dune and to fight in a major battle later in the movie. Though Paul refers to him as "old man," it is only in a teasing way and Halleck is certainly not one of the oldest characters in Dune.

However, while the books suggest he is of a similar age to Duke Leto, the movie seems to suggest Gurney is a little older and serves somewhat as a wise advisor, suggesting the character is likely in his 50s. This matches the actors, as Josh Brolin was older than Oscar Isaac, being 53 when Dune was filmed.

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Jason Momoa As Duncan Idaho

Character Age: 30s

Swordmaster and another of Leto’s close companions, Idaho is younger than both Thufir and Halleck. Already a popular character from the book, Jason Momoa’s performance in Dune turned the role into an audience favorite and portrays Idaho as an older brother figure to Paul. Taking on the physical challenge of surviving in the desert as an ambassador to the Fremen, Idaho is a youthful man and determined warrior. Idaho appears to be in his 30s in Villenueve’s Dune. This is one of the larger age gaps between character and actor in Dune, with Momoa being 42 at the time.

Duncan Idaho was cut from David Lynch's 1984 version of Dune.

Stellan Skarsgård As Baron Harkonnen

Character Age: 70s

Given Baron Harkonnen's massive weight in Dune and near-inhuman appearance and abilities, it is hard to determine his age, as he seems almost alien compared to other characters in the story. However, it is known from the Dune novels that he became the head of House Harkonnen before Duke Leto ascended to the ruler of House Atreides. This implies that the Baron is a bit older than the Duke, probably by 10-20 years, making him around 70 years old, with Stellan Skarsgård also being 70 years old at the time.

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Dave Baustista As Glossu Rabban

Character Age: 40s/50s

The Baron’s merciless nephew, Rabban was the ruler of Arrakis before the Atreides’ arrival. Dave Bautista’s version of the character was painted with a gray pallor, which makes it more difficult to discern his exact age. The Dune novels also give no physical descriptions of Rabban that hint how old the character might be. However, given that Bautista portrayed the character in Dune at the age of 52, it seems safe to believe that Rabban may be somewhere between 40-50 years old.

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Javier Bardem As Stilgar

Character Age: 50s

Though he has a bigger role as a returning character in Dune: Part Two, Stilgar's brief role is notable in the first part of Villenueve’s Dune adaptation, bringing Paul and his mother into the Fremen life at the end of the film. The character is shown to be a respected and elder member of the Fremen community. However, he is more of a leader and warrior than the older Fremen advisors. Bardem was 52 at the time of filming, and Stilgar is likely also in his 50s, feeling like a contemporary to characters like Leto and Gurney.

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Sharon Ducan-Brewster As Dr. Liet Kynes

Character Age: 40s

Dr. Kynes is the Imperial planetologist of Arrakis and knows everything there is to know about the planet’s ecosystem. Played in the film by Sharon Ducan-Brewster, Dune makes a change from the novel, since in Herbert's books, Kynes is a man and Chani’s father. Dune's new version of Kynes still fits the same characteristics as the conflicted but noble character. She is also an age that makes it possible she could be Chani's mother, even though that storyline doesn't come up. Kynes appears to be in her 40s, similar to Ducan-Brewster's real age of 45 during the filming of Dune.

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Zendaya As Chani

Character Age: Early 20s

Though she eventually becomes a very important part of the story, Chani is mostly seen in Paul's dreams in Dune. However, she is around enough to make it clear that she is around the same age as Paul, cementing the possibility of their romance which blossoms in Dune 2. The character in the book is described as young in appearance, seeming to be close to Paul in age. Like Paul in the movie, Chani is seemingly aged up to her early 20s to match Zendaya's real age when she was dfilming Dune of 25 years old.

Dune

PG-13 Adventure Sci-Fi Fantasy 5/10 61 8.2/10 Release Date September 15, 2021 Cast Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Jason Momoa, Stellan Skarsgård, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Chang Chen, Dave Bautista, David Dastmalchian, Zendaya, Charlotte Rampling, Babs Olusanmokun, Benjamin Clémentine, Souad Faress, Golda Rosheuvel, Roger Yuan, Seun Shote, Neil Bell, Oliver Ryan, Stephen Collins, Charlie Rawes, Richard Carter Runtime 155 minutes Director Denis Villeneuve Writers Denis Villeneuve, Eric Roth, Jon Spaihts, Frank Herbert Studio(s) Legendary Pictures Genres Adventure, Sci-Fi, Fantasy Powered by

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