History Characters / DuneDenisVilleneuveHouseHarkonnen

* AdaptationalWimp: The reader never quite gets a look on Feyd's inner world in the novel, so it's reasonable to assume he's just as confident and worldly as he looks. Meanwhile, the film makes him surprisingly vulnerable in this field, showing him disappointed and angry at his uncle's attempt on his life, and later insecure and almost disturbed at Margot's advances. Her report on him to Mohiam explicitly she is drawing on his insecurities to manipulate him.

* NoChallengeEqualsNoSatisfaction: Being a full-fledged BloodKnight, Feyd relishes a good fight when he finds one. Notably, when he cuts down the first two Atreides soldiers who'd been drugged, Feyd does so casually with an almost bored expression on his face. When he gets to Lanville and realizes he isn't drugged and can actually give him a fight, Feyd is notably ecstatic and savors every second of it, even barking at the guards to back off when they try to assist him.

* TheDragon: He was in charge of the Harkonnen occupation of Arrakis before their withdrawal and leads the assault on the Atreides forces. He winds up losing this role to Feyd in ''Part Two'', after the Baron becomes fed up with his inability to deal with the Fremen.

* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Feyd is this to his older brother, Rabban. Whereas Rabban is a [[HairTriggerTemper hot-headed]] [[DumbMuscle thug]] who's a [[DirtyCoward coward at his core]], Feyd is a [[StrongAndSkilled highly skilled warrior]] who [[BloodKnight embraces a challenge]] and is a more effective military commander. To put things into perspective, Feyd annihilated the northern Fremen and got spice production back on track within a few days of being appointed governor of Arrakis, while his brother wasted manpower, resources, and harvesters trying to do the same his ''entire tenure''. It's no wonder the Baron favored Feyd and appointed him as his heir.

* DragonInChief: He's much more competent and dangerous than both the Baron and Rabban, even going as far as to deliver a CurbStompBattle to the latter [[BullyingADragon when being threatened by him]].

* NoChallengeEqualsNoSatisfaction: Being a full-fledged BloodKnight, Feyd relishes a good fight when he finds one. Notably, when he cuts down the first two Atreides soldiers who'd been drugged, Feyd does so casually with an almost bored expression on his face. When he gets to Lanville and realizes he isn't drugged and can actually give him a fight, Feyd is notably ecstatic and savors every second of the fight, even barking at the guards to back off when they try to assist him.

* DavidVersusGoliath: Takes down the much bigger Rabban [[CurbStompBattle in two moves]] when the latter attacks him, and it actually looks convincing.

* ManHug: A villain example, but when killing Lanville, Feyd warmly hugs and caresses him before gently laying him down and complimeting his fighting skills. It shows that he genuinely does respects warriors willing to fight him to the death and that he is sincere in it.

* PlotParallel: Feyd is seen by Reverend Mother Mohiam as the answer to Paul. Through the sequel, his plot is somewhat similar to Paul. [[MirrorCharacter He is the youngest nephew of Baron Vladimir, a charismatic warrior prince and an efficient leader, expected to inherit Arrakis and is in the middle of a conspiration to install him as Emperor.]] He has his own manipulative Bene Gesserit in lady Margot Fenring, mirroring Paul's connection to Jessica. [[spoiler:The film's climax showcases their similar, yet contrasting styles in an even-matched duel, which ends with Feyd's demise.]]

* TheDragon: Succeeds Rabban as the Baron's right-hand after the former's repeated failure to quell the Fremen uprising on Arrakis, and is much more capable and efficient. [[spoiler:After the Baron's death, Feyd steps up at the last minute to serve as Emperor Shaddam's Dragon, serving as the Emperor's champion against Paul and serving as the final obstacle between Paul and the Golden Lion throne.]]

** Notably, this version of Feyd is subjected to the ''gom jabbar'' and successfully passes, something that never happens in the novel and would seem pretty improbable given that he lacks Paul's Bene Gesserit training, the only thing that allowed him to survive his own test. This also means the filmic Feyd passed solely thanks to his natural mental resources.

* AdaptationalSympathy: Inverted. In the novels, Feyd was depicted in a somewhat sympathetic light as the product of the Baron's abuse -- with the prequels revealing he had been stolen from his loving parents -- and it was noted that he could easily have turned out like Paul had he not been corrupted by the Baron. Here, he murdered his own mother and is implied to have been a sociopath from the get-go.

* GracefulLoser: [[spoiler:Upon realizing that Paul had managed to managed to fatally stab him, Feyd merely congratulates his opponent for a duel well fought before succumbing to his wounds.]]

* AdaptationalSexuality: Implied; [[spoiler:the fact that he fathered Jessica isn't treated as out-of-character for the Baron, suggesting that this version of the character is a DepravedBisexual, rather than a DepravedHomosexual.]]

* DiesDifferentlyInAdaptation: [[spoiler:Due to the lack of Alia (who is still in Jessica's womb in the whole second movie), the Baron isn't poisoned by Alia's ''gom jabbar'' needle but stabbed by Paul.]]

* MeaninglessVillainVictory: [[spoiler:Ironically, he succeeds in getting a Harkonnen on the throne as he wanted. It's just that said Harkonnen is his hated rival Leto's ''son'', meaning his family line has been subsumed by that of his hated enemy's.]]

* VillainousGlutton: The Baron is quite overweight and [[EnemyEatsYourLunch gorges himself on Leto's food]] after taking the Arrakeen palace.

* TheDragon: Succeeds Rabban as the Baron's right-hand after the former's repeated failure to quell the Fremen uprising on Arrakis, and is much more capable and efficient.

* FanDisservice: Feyd is introduced wearing nothing but a pair of jeans. He is muscled and handsome by comparison with other Harkonnens. He then kills two of his own underlyings to test the sharpness of a blade.

-->'''Feyd:''' [[spoiler:Cousin?]] ''[casually shrugs]'' Well, it wouldn't be the first time I've killed a relative.

* TheHeavy: The Emperor is the one who orchestrates the downfall of House Atreides, but he remains in the background, leaving Baron Harkonnen to serve as the main antagonist.they are the primary antagonists to House Atreides, though they're not the ones pulling the strings.

* TheHeavy: Pun aside, they are the primary antagonists to House Atreides, though they're not the ones pulling the strings.

* BigBad: He is the principal villain of the first film.

* TheHeavy: The Emperor is the one who orchestrates the downfall of House Atreides, but he remains in the background, leaving Baron Harkonnen to serve as the main antagonist.
* HumiliationConga: Got a brief one near the end. [[spoiler:The Baron was forced to kneel and be belittled by the Emperor for his failures, before the Emperor orders a Sardaukar to sever him from his life support and crawl on his feet. This public humiliation continues ''after'' his already embarrassing death of being publicly knifed by his grandson on the stairs, as Paul orders the Fremen to unceremoniously dump his body in the desert to be ripped apart by ants and forgotten.]]

'''[[center: [- [[Characters/DuneDenisVilleneuve Main Character Index]] -]]]'''
'''[[center: [- [[Characters/DuneDenisVilleneuveHouseAtreides House Atreides]] | [[Characters/DuneDenisVilleneuveFremen Fremen]] | House Harkonnen | [[Characters/DuneDenisVilleneuveCorrinoEmpireAndBeneGesserit Corrino Empire and Bene Gesserit]] -]]]'''

--> '''Denis Villeneuve:''' I think that the Harkonnen are trying to be as disconnected from nature as possible. Their world is an artificial, plastic world. I like to think that, for them, hair is vulgar, and to remove everything and become hairless is sexy for them. Some of my friends on the team and I used to say: If there's a party, you want to be on Giedi Prime. That's where the party is.

* AlwaysABiggerFish: The Baron was the BigBad of the first film whilst his nephew Rabban was TheDragon. [[spoiler: Come ''Part Two'' and it is quickly revealed how powerless and weak he is compared to the even ''bigger'' BigBad that is the Emperor who not so subtly flexes the gulf of power between him and the Baron.]]

* DepravedHomosexual: An ImpliedTrope, as opposed to it being explicit like in the book. [[spoiler: In ''Part One'' While humiliating his archnemesis Leto Atreides, he has him stripped naked for his own amusement and seems to enjoy the sight. In ''Part Two'' he kills two of his attendants offscreen while naked, and later kisses Feyd Rautha on the mouth when granting him Arrakis.]] [[spoiler: His fathering of Jessica, while a plot twist, is not considered out of character]], as mentioned above with AdaptationalSexuality.

--> '''Stellan Skarsgard:''' No, I have to understand him as much as he understands himself. I understand Harkonnen because he doesn't have empathy. I mean, in that sense, he's a monster. But he has rationality behind his actions; he's a realpolitik [thinker]. It's like any corporate leader.

* SecretTestOfCharacter: A dark example. In [[https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/dune-2-stellan-skarsgard-interview-baron-harkonnen an interview]], Stellan Skarsgard stated the Baron didn't drug Lanville so he could see if Feyd has what it takes to succeed him after Rabban has proved to be a disappointment.
--> '''Stellan Skarsgard:''' I risk Feyd-Rautha's life because I have to see if he can take it. Is he really the tough guy that I need? And he is.

* TheStarscream: [[spoiler: The Baron's ultimate goal is for his house to usurp the Corrinos by installing Feyd-Rautha on the Imperial throne through marriage to Irulan, intending to use Shaddam's complicity in the destruction of the Atreides as blackmail to accomplish this.]]

--> "She's your pet? Any special attention for the pet?"

* BigBrotherBully: {{Inverted}}. After replacing Rabban as Planetary Governor of Arrakis, Feyd demands that his older brother [[IKissYourFoot kiss his foot]], knocks him to the ground when he violently refuses, then forces him to comply at knifepoint, all while snarling that [[DisappointingOlderSibling Rabban humiliated their family]].

-->'''Paul''': May thy knife chip and shatter.\\
'''Feyd''': May ''thy'' knife chip and shatter.

* TheStrategist: First thing he does after becoming the new governor of Arrakis, is to attack Sietch Tabr, killing most of its inhabitants. His attack becomes the first significant victory for the Harkonnens in months.

* DepravedBisexual: While primarily interested in women, he's in an incestuous relationship with the Baron, and it's implied he's attracted to Paul thanks to his violence and skill in combat.

* VillainousIncest: He has an incestuous relationship with Feyd, and kisses him quite lustfully before his nephew leaves for Arrakis.

* UnskilledButStrong: For all his size and strength, Rabban doesn't have any fighting skills to speak of, immediately fleeing when directly confronted by Muad'Dib and almost being killed by a random Fremen during his retreat. Rabban doesn't fare any better in any other altercation, with Feyd-Rautha and [[spoiler:Gurney Halleck]] dealing out a CurbStompBattle on separate occasions.

* AdaptationalWimp: The reader never quite gets a look on Feyd's inner world in the novel, so it's reasonable to assume he's just as confident and worldly as he looks. Meanwhile, the film makes him surprisingly vulnerable in this field, showing him disappointed and angry at his uncle's attempt on his life, and later insecure and almost disturbed at Margot's advances. Her report on him to Mohiam explicitly she is drawing on his insecurity to manipulate him.

* BorrowedCatchphrase: When he is about to duel Paul, he returns the customary Fremen salute (though his tone implies he doesn't really care about the 'custom' aspect of it and simply returns the salute mockingly).

[[caption-width-right:350:''"I said I will not harm them, and I shall not. But Arrakis is Arrakis, and the desert takes the weak. My desert. My Arrakis. '''My Dune.'''"'']]

[[caption-width-right:350:''"I said I will not harm them, and I shall not. But Arrakis is Arrakis, and the desert takes the weak. My desert. My Arrakis.'' My Dune."]]

!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/StellanSkarsgard [[labelnote:Other Languages]]Creator/PedroDAguillonJr (SP, [=LatAm=]), Joan Massotkleiner (SP, Spain), Normand D'Amour (FR, Quebec)[[/labelnote]]

* RedRightHand: In addition to the BaldOfEvil and EvilAlbino traits shared among all Harkonnen, Feyd and his cannibalistic harem have had their teeth painted black. This makes him particularly unsettling to look at, especially when he's [[ScaryTeeth baring them in the heat of battle]].