‘Dune: Prophecy’ Star Josh Heuston Defends Constantine’s Sex Scene Slip Up: “He Kind of Let It All Spill”
Dune: Prophecy Episode 2 “Two Wolves” follows up on a flirtation that subtly started during last week’s premiere and now has massive implications for the future of House Corrino.
**Spoilers for Dune: Prophecy Episode 2 “Two Wolves,” now streaming on Max**
I’m of course talking about the steamy hookup between Constantine Corrino (Josh Heuston) and Lady Shannon Richese (Tessa Bonham Jones). It seems that in the aftermath of little Pruwet Richese’s (Charlie Hodson-Prior) grisly murder, his older sister would rather get down with Emperor Javicco Corrino’s (Mark Strong) hot illegitimate son than mourn.
Constantine tries his best to live up to his intergalactic reputation as an incredible lover, but in doing so, inadvertently falls for one of the oldest tricks in the book. In the midst of sleeping with Lady Shannon, Constantine offers up some valuable intel. Namely, that his father knows exactly how Pruwet died and that House Corrino is holding the killer, Desmond Hart (Travis Fimmel), within the palace.
Lady Shannon naturally spreads this information to her grieving father, Duke Ferdinand Richese (Brendan Cowell), which immediately creates a political crisis for House Corrino. Emperess Natalya (Jodhi May) wants to keep Desmond Hart safe, as a sort of super weapon to target their enemies. Duke Ferdinand understandably wants vengeance for his child’s murder. Suddenly, Constantine is responsible for a massive headache for his family.
“I think Constantine went in with the right intentions and was, I guess, trying to create his own honey trap,” Dune: Prophecy star Josh Heuston said with a laugh during a recent roundtable interview. “But I think what you see what happens with Constantine quite often is his vices kind of get in the way of his aspirations and his ability to perform politically.”
Photo: HBO
Speaking of Constantine’s vices, Dune: Prophecy Episode 2 “Two Wolves” reveals to the audience another secret House Corrino is keen to keep under wraps. Princess Ynez (Sarah-Sofie Boussnina) confides in Kieran Atreides (Chris Mason) that she was not the only royal child kidnapped by the rebel group known as the “Broken Chain.” When their operatives snuck into the palace to capture her, Constantine refused to let them take his sister without also taking him, too. Constantine’s vice-riddled lifestyle is his coping mechanism.
“I think most vices generally come from some sort of trauma. And I think Constantine, especially, I think he tries to distract himself or I guess drown his sorrows instead of processing them,” Heuston told Decider during a separate roundtable at New York Comic Con.
“I think Nez has kind of directed that to her training and wanting to go to Wallach IX and become part of the Bene Gesserit. Whereas Constantine, because I guess he doesn’t have the prospects because he’s an illegitimate son, he’s kind of already at the peak of almost where he could get to.”
Photo: HBO
When Heuston was breaking down Constantine’s failed honey trap to Decider, he also emphatically defended the rogue prince. According to the Australian actor, Lady Shannon caught Constantine off guard by offering him a “synthetic drug.” Constantine, Heuston explained, typically only dabbles in drugs derived from Spice.
“So that kind of was something else that he wasn’t necessarily used to,” Heuston said. “So I think that plus the temptation that Lady Shannon was putting on him was a bit too much and he kind of let it all spill.”
“May not be the right choice,” co-star Chris Mason said about the choice to use the word “spill” in that context.
Heuston, Mason, and Boussnina all immediately burst into giggles, like their characters might.
