Christopher Walken discovers his secret Dune connection from more than 20 years ago: 'Never crossed my mind'

Christopher Walken has been secretly tied to the Dune franchise for more than two decades now — and even he didn’t know about it. 

The actor, who plays Emperor Shaddam IV in Denis Villeneuve’s recently released epic Dune: Part Two, danced and floated his way through Fatboy Slim’s “Weapon of Choice” music video back in 2001. But what he wasn’t aware of is that the song features Dune-inspired lyrics, including the line: “Walk without rhythm, it won't attract the worm."

When Walken was presented with the connection in a recent GQ interview, he revealed it was the first time he'd ever heard it.

“You mean the lyrics of the Fatboy Slim song refer to… yeah, in the movie they kind of do that slide and dance — when they walk in the desert, they do that kind of ice skating thing,” he said to the interviewer, putting the pieces together. “It never crossed my mind, but you’re right.”

In Dune, those brave enough to traverse the deserts of Arrakis must sandwalk in order to avert catching the attention of its large sandworms. Walken went on to describe Fatboy Slim as a “very interesting guy” who “must’ve read” Frank Herbert’s influential sci-fi novel before penning his song’s lyrics. 

"Weapon of Choice" has been having a cultural resurgence online thanks to Walken's role in Dune: Part Two. However, the Oscar winner admitted that he had no clue people were even talking about the Spike Jonze–directed video. “I didn’t realize that. I don’t have a lot of technology,” he explained. “I don’t even have a cell phone, so there’s a lot of stuff I miss out on.”

What Walken did remember was spending six weeks learning the music video's ever-changing choreography.

"We shot it very quickly because they shot it in a hotel in downtown Los Angeles and they had to close the place off to some extent," he recalled. "We had to shoot at night because there were fewer people around — I think we shot from midnight to six in the morning. But the preparation for it took a very long time."

Dune: Part Two is playing in theaters now.

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