Stellan Skarsgård explains why he refused CGI makeup for Dune and Pirates of the Caribbean

Stellan Skarsgård has divulged why he refuses to use CGI during some of his most iconic roles in films such as Pirates of the Caribbean and Dune.

Stellan Skarsgård is an actor with a lot of range as the Swedish actor has appeared in campy films like Mamma Mia! and hardcore dramas like The Hunt for Red October.

Currently, Skarsgård is on a press tour for his latest role as the dastardly Baron Vladimir Harkonnen in the highly anticipated Dune: Part Two.

The role of Harkonnen is pretty demanding as Skarsgård must transform into a gluttonous mammoth of a man, but he has revealed that he flat out refused to use any CGI for it as he’s done with other transformative roles.

Skarsgård will choose practical over CGI every time

The actor sat down with Business Insider to discuss his transformation into Harkonnen, which included sitting in an makeup effects chair for upwards of eight hours.

“It was painful, but it was worth it,” Skarsgård said, “We wanted him to be so well defined as an image that he made an imprint on people just by showing up on the screen. And that imprint should last throughout the film without having him show up all the time.”

The makeup and prosthetics for needed to turn Skarsgård into the evil Harkonnen had the actor having to sit completely naked for more than half a shooting day.

Dune definitely wasn’t the first time Skarsgård chose practical effects over stop motion/CGI as he recalled what he had to go through to play Bootstrap Bill in Pirates of the Carribean.

“I was the only one on set with real prosthetics on,” Skarsgåard explained as he reflected on being covered in fake barnacles, “Everyone else on that ship showed up five minutes before we started shooting and had dots put on their face, and away they went.”

“I had been there for six hours [already]. But the thing is, I like it. I like to see the artists paint, if that makes sense.”