Timothée Chalamet is “really proud” of a Dune: Part Two scene in which he delivers a speech in the film’s invented language Chakobsa.

The Dune films are based on the desert planet Arrakis, where the indigenous people, the Fremen, speak a language called Chakobsa. Director Denis Villeneuve hired linguist David J. Peterson to develop the language and then send his actors to “Fremen school” for weeks to become fluent in it.

In one climactic scene, Chalamet’s character Paul Atreides delivers a rousing speech in Chakobsa – and the Oscar nominee considers it a career highlight.

“Those five days on set, speaking in a language that was conceived for the films, I was just savouring those days,” he told Entertainment Weekly. “I wanted to bring justice not just to the arc of Paul, but also to Dune. And I knew that those were the days. Even when we rehearsed that scene, we went all in.”

His co-star Zendaya shared that Chalamet wasn’t his usual light-hearted self on set that day and was seriously focused on the speech that lay ahead.

“I actually felt bad about that,” Chalamet admitted. “But it’s true. I thought, ‘I’m in the pocket. Let me just get this done.’ I’m really proud of that scene. That might have been my favourite day on set.”

Villeneuve also praised the Call Me By Your Name star’s performance in that scene, confessing that he was “moved to tears by how magnificent and powerful he was”.

Dune: Part Two is in cinemas now.

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