Emily Watson, who plays one of the lead roles in the series, which will soon premiere on Max, didn't know much about the "Dune" universe before she agreed to participate.
I was quite unaware of the entire "Dune" world. It became quite daunting when I realized how big this is, says Emily Watson to TT.
In the series, she plays Valya Harkonnen and Olivia Williams plays the role of her sister Tula. The two lead the Bene Gesserit, a sect-like movement where young women are trained to gain superpowers to save the world. But don't think it's about noble women.
Of course, it's magnificent with women taking a stand, but these two are terrible. They think they're special, that they can control the universe, but they do terrible things. They're definitely not feminist icons. They're not nice, they're strategic and have a mission driven by anger, says Emily Watson.
"High" age
However, she's glad that she and Olivia Williams get to take center stage – despite their "high" age in film and TV terms.
It's great that two women who are soon to be 60 have been able to get the lead roles in a big HBO series. Not least when it comes to the TV landscape, which is changing so that there are more opportunities for women our age.
Olivia Williams, sitting next to Watkins, notes that the science fiction genre has strangely always been male-dominated.
Thank God it's changing! There are starting to come many juicy dramas for us to play with. Who knows what's coming next?
" Became a sisterhood"
In the series, there's a lot of talk about sisterhood, Bene Gesserit is a sisterhood, even if it's a sect. But what does the term generally mean?
There were masses of women on set, and we became a sisterhood, we created a family. It was about taking care of each other's needs. We filmed in Hungary, and things happened there that made us have to make sure everyone felt safe. That's sisterhood to me, says Olivia Williams.
Emily Watson continues:
In our profession, it's often been the case that successful women don't help each other. But that's changing.
Name: Emily Watson.
Age: 57 years.
Family: Husband Jack Waters, a daughter.
Lives: In London.
Occupation: Actress.
Previous roles in selection: "Breaking the waves", "Boxaren", "The angel on the seventh step", "Gosford Park", "Punch-drunk love", "Red dragon", "The proposition", "War horse", "Anna Karenina", "On Chesil Beach", "Young women".
Currently featuring: "Dune: Prophecy" which streams on Max from November 18.
Name: Olivia Williams.
Age: 56 years.
Family: Husband Rhashan Stone, two daughters.
Lives: In London.
Occupation: Actress.
Previous roles in selection: "The postman", "Rushmore", "The sixth sense", "The body", "Peter Pan", "An education", "The ghost writer", "Hanna", "Anna Karenina", "The white king", "Victoria and Abdul", "The father", "The crown".
Currently featuring: "Dune: Prophecy" which streams on Max from November 18.
