Date : winter 2000, Publication : Scifiuk.com

Dune has been described as a period piece of the future...
I`ve done quite a few films in tunics and corsets. It got to the point where, whenever I got a role, the first question I usually asked was whether I was wearing a corset again or not. In fact, I was getting quite bored with them. But even though Dune is a huge costume drama, it was completely different. The wardrobe people were fantastic! I mean you can`t help but feel very special when you are dressed up in things like I was. Even when I was a kid, I used to love to dress up as a princess.

You're quite a fan of Science Fiction aren't you?
It was due to my older brother. He was my guide. He turned me on to Asimov, Bradbury, Herbert and Tolkien. When I grew up, I started reading the works of Philip K. Dick, and that made me say that`s the kind of stuff I want to eventually do when I`m acting. I`d put Greg Bear in that company; he`s another great one. When I read his Eon my brain was just going, 'Wow!' One of the great misconceptions about sci-fi is it`s written for men and just about space ships and such. I love reading up on things like singularities and stuff like that. I love how they create worlds and I would end up believing it.

Princess Irulan is more directly involved in the plot in the mini-series than she was in the book isn't she?
It was there in the script when they gave me the part. I knew from the book that she was kind of in her own part of the world and didn`t have much contact until the very end. What they handed me was much more of a character. As John (Harrison) explained to me when I got the role, he was interpreting her actions from what was out of the page as opposed to what was in it. At the same time, he made sure to not sensationalize her. What he did with Irulan I feel is 100 percent true. What he was concerned about was the relationship between her and her father and the rest of the royal court. She gives a kind of moral tone to all the decadence that is going on around her.

How did you approach the role of Princess Irulan?
The way I portray Irulan is she knows she`s the natural successor to her father. That comes with the best and the worst of things. It`s 10,000 years in the future and many of the things are still very sexist. At the same time, when she and Paul have their first meeting, you quickly realize that they are very well-matched people. She finds a like mind, and you get the feeling that under different circumstances they could have made great lovers or friends. And after all, there really is a part of her that does fall in love with him. Even though she`s a very solitary figure, you can tell in the long run she will make a very good partner for Paul. She`s not unaware of how things really are in any way. She knows that you can`t do anything in this Empire unless you have the right blood. When she walks around in public, she does act extremely bored. But under it all she`s a good person, even if she doesn`t always handle the situations well.

Will you return as Irulan in the sequel?
It's one of those things that John and I talked about from the beginning. Personnally, if it stays in John's hands, I'll have no problem saying yes. If it goes to different hands, then I'll have to think about it. I think nothing can compare to what John did with Dune. He's the main cog. If (he returns), then I'd love to. I think there's a lot to still be said about her story. Again, John will probably have to work out of the page a bit, but she's a very interesting character and I wouldn't have any problems working on the sequels at all.