“Dune” Stars Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Austin Butler Were ‘Nervous’ Meeting ‘Legend’ Christopher Walken (Exclusive)
Timothée Chalamet tells PEOPLE that Christopher Walken is “the rare person to make Javier Bardem and Josh Brolin nervous”
Dune: Part Two features an all-star cast, but there was one industry legend in particular who inspired awe in Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, and Austin Butler.
Christopher Walken, Chalamet tells PEOPLE, is an “absolute legend.”
“I didn't speak, I was too nervous,” says Zendaya, 27, of meeting the actor. Recalling the moment, she begins stuttering: “I mean, what? I didn't even — I was like, ‘Hi.’ I didn't even speak to him.”
With a laugh, she adds, “How did it go for you guys?”
Butler, 32, remembers meeting Walken, 80, “in the hair and makeup” trailer on the set of Dune: Part Two.
“I mean, he’s a legend,” he says simply of the Oscar-winning Deer Hunter star.
Related: Christopher Walken's Life and Career in Photos
Warner Bros.
Christopher Walken in "Dune: Part Two"In writer-director Denis Villeneuve’s sequel to 2021’s hit Dune, in theaters now, Walken plays the Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV, who schemes to quash the royal house of Chalamet’s Paul Atreides.
Along with Butler as the ruthless warrior Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, Part Two includes Florence Pugh and Léa Seydoux, plus returning cast members Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Dave Bautista, Stellan Skarsgård, Charlotte Rampling and Javier Bardem.
Chalamet, 28, who also met Walken during the hair and makeup process, admits, “I hadn't seen King of New York, so I watched King of New York when I was on set and I just was blown away.”
He tells PEOPLE that Pugh, who shared many of her scenes with Walken, called him the “rare legend” who “is still cooking, still delivering the goods.”
And, adds Chalamet, “the rare person to make Javier Bardem and Josh Brolin nervous. Sort of sheepish!”
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Christopher Walken at the "Dune: Part Two" premiere Feb. 25Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
At the New York premiere of Dune: Part Two on Sunday, Bautista — who plays Glossu Rabban Harkonnen in the film — told PEOPLE he was similarly starstruck by the movie’s ensemble cast.
“It's intimidating,” the 55-year-old star admitted. “It is. It's really intimidating, looking over and seeing Stellan Skarsgård and looking down and seeing Christopher Walken, and seeing Timmy and Zendaya and Austin and Florence and Josh Brolin.” (Bautista also quipped he has “a huge man crush on Josh Brolin.”)
When asked at the premiere whether he stepped into the role of a mentor among the Dune: Part Two cast, Walken himself told PEOPLE he only got to know “some of them.”
“Everybody was nice,” he said, adding, “I was only there for a few weeks. It was very nice.”
Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images
(Left-right:) Austin Butler, Zendaya and Timothée Chalamet on Feb. 21Related: Christopher Walken Reveals How He Plans to Celebrate His 81st Birthday: 'Stay Home' (Exclusive)
As for advice for his younger castmates, the actor responded, “The only advice I would give anybody is you always make sure you wear your seatbelt.”
Dune: Part Two, which was originally scheduled for a November 2023 release and was delayed amid Hollywood’s strikes last year, is in theaters now.
Read more about Chalamet, Zendaya and Butler in this week's issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands now.
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