By Mike Manolo
A franchise like Duneis not one that any actor can just join freely. The prestigious credibility of everything established from Denis Villeneuve’s first two films has been met with such celebration from critics and audiences alike. It’s equally as prestigious as the reputation of revered actor Olivia Williams.
So when Dune: Prophecy’s Emma Canning was cast as the younger version of Williams’ character, Tula Harkonnen, the pressure was on to live up to numerous expectations. Luckily for us fans, Canning is such a terrific actor, she not only rose up to the challenges before her, but shattered all expectations with her phenomenal performance; particularly in this Sunday’s heartbreaking episode of the acclaimed HBO spin-off.
Geeks of Color was incredibly lucky to receive time with Canning to chat about her role as Tula. Here’s what she had to say about this Sunday’s episode, as well as what it was like to join the Dune franchise and her love of Villeneuve.
Read our exclusive interview with Emma Canning below:
Thank you for your time and for your wonderful performance. I had the good fortune of seeing the first four episodes of Dune: Prophecy, and let me tell you, the third episode is just heartbreaking. You are phenomenal in that. You and Jessica.
So really quickly, it’s no easy task trying to play a younger version of Olivia Williams, as such a distinguished actress – one of the most legendary. And I have to ask, how did you prepare for that? Did you and Olivia get together and sync up about mannerisms and intonations and vocal abilities for the character itself and her consistencies? Because you did such a stellar job.
Canning: Thank you. I mean, I think, first of all, shout out to the casting department.They really found people that looked exactly like Emily and Olivia. So that obviously helps hugely. But yeah, I had about two months to prep before heading to Budapest. And obviously, I’m Irish, so I’m not working in my own voice. But Olivia is. So luckily, you know, she’s done lots of press and interviews and all of that. So I listened a lot to just her speaking. And really, yeah, just kind of tried to find what her tempo is. The kind of the warmth in her voice, all of those things…just by thinking of what I had watched of Olivia, it kind of gave me a shape to take away any self-consciousness. Like, it made me quite active.
That’s wonderful. And you could see you are literally channeling her, which is not an easy feat, because she’s so good. So you nailed it! And I’m glad that you guys got a chance to kind of see each other’s scenes and talk to each other too. And that’s wonderful to hear. And it makes sense. It’s evident in the performance, because it’s a whole character. It’s not two actresses, it’s a whole character that you guys created, and I think that that’s wonderful.
Canning: I really do think she had the more difficult job, actually. Because I get to just play the events and, you know, live in them and kind of react. She has the whole bank of imaginative work to do…she has to imagine those scenes, and then she has to try and imagine what the repercussions of those scenes are to a person. Not just in a year’s time, but in 30 years’ time. How does that follow and haunt her? And she does such an amazing job with us.
If I may be so bold, I think you’re selling yourself short. If anyone, whoever watches that third episode next week, when they see your performance there, your job was equally as difficult, and you crushed the living hell out of it. It is Olivia. She’s wonderful, she’s amazing. But it’s also you. And that is something that I want to make sure that everyone knows, especially after next week’s episode.
Canning: Thank you so much!
Speaking of next week’s episode, and I’m not gonna go into spoilers, but from what we’ve seen of this relationship, it’s kind of a broken Harkonnen household, in the sense that no one really agrees with Valya. What she’s speaking of here very much is, in some ways, a lot of ways, treason. You guys are already banished. And she’s very much against the Imperium and against the Emperor and the choices that have been made because history dictated it. So the one person that seems to have her back is Tula. And I wanted to know, in your opinion, is it out of sisterly obligation, or do you think she actually does believe in the same cause that Valya is championing?
Canning: Yeah, I think, I mean, I suppose to start at the beginning of the episode, let’s say, where does Tula kind of stand on various views? I mean, I think I really deeply admire and respect our brother, Griffin, and I know he’s going to become head of the household. And I think I kind of see Valya is incredibly intelligent, incredibly astute, so driven. And, you know, The Sisterhood. I really believe will help her kind of hone her skills and make her really formidable. And kind of not quite finishing school, but like take her raw power and intelligence and really kind of smelt it down and and make it more controlled, perhaps. And I do think, like the duo of Griffin and Valya would be really powerful and not treasonous in the slightest, actually.
And so I [Tula] believe in that. And then I think, you know, as the episode goes on, and the final decision to join Valya in The Sisterhood, I don’t believe Tula is as driven. I don’t think she’s attracted to The Sisterhood. I think she’s driven to The Sisterhood, and it’s very much a kind of a sanctuary for her. I mean, we talked about this, actually, of how Olivia never really leaves Wallach IX. You know, is this a kind of a large prison for her. Has she vanished? Is this a sort of a penance? Or does she feel she needs to be sequestered from the world. So, yeah, I think Valya is there for ambitious reasons. Tula is there for survival reasons.
And you definitely see that in their characters. There’s a reason why Valya is a lot colder. Whereas with Tula, there’s a sense of empathy and caring, especially when it comes to Lila’s character. And I think, you know, you both flesh that out. Really beautifully established early on when you go back in those flashback sequences. So do you think a lot of the emotion that Tula carries is genuine? Do you think it’s something that continues to persist from childhood to adulthood? And how come it’s a little bit different than Valya’s approach? I mean, like, do you think Valya is just broken and Tula’s less broken? How do you interpret those emotional aspects of the character?
Canning: I think it’s, you know, their emotions, and how they deal with their emotions or express their emotions. I think these are just kind of innate and just innately different. I think Valya does feel those emotions, but she expresses them very differently. And I think, you know, Tula feels those emotions and expresses them differently, but also acts upon them differently. I do think they’re genuine. I think if they aren’t, they’re certainly, she’s certainly, not aware that they aren’t. You know, it’s that beautiful speech that Olivia has in Episode 1, where she’s talking to the acolytes of you know, “We lie to ourselves.” And I think, as they say, the greatest lies are the ones we believe ourselves. So I think the emotions that that Tula has or expresses aren’t red herrings or aren’t for deceptive purposes. It’s from a genuine place.
My last question for you might be an easy one, because I don’t know, maybe if there’s a little bit of bias there. But Team Atreides or Team Harkonnen?
Canning: Team Harkonnen! It’s difficult because [Tula] does have to kind of think about it. And you know, she’s really bought with all of the propaganda that has been said about the Atreides. And [in Episode 3] she’s amongst them. And they’re being very and warm and are interested in her. She falls in love with a man who is an Atreides who wants her and sees her. And she’s never been afforded that status as a Harkonnen by blood. Then perhaps she regrets not choosing the Atreides later down the line.
Well, really an amazing job, Emma! Congratulations on this wonderful show, and your wonderful performance. I can’t wait to see how the rest of the season progresses.