Josh Heuston Takes Flight

It’s nearing midnight in New York during a particularly cold December spell when a cheery, brightly lit smile materializes on my screen. Its bearer, calling in from across the globe and drenched in Australian summertime light, exudes both the polish of a seasoned professional and the charm of someone who still finds himself slightly startled by the accelerating trajectory of his career. Josh Heuston, twenty-eight, is one of the breakout stars of Dune: Prophecy, the galaxy-spanning streaming sensation that has sustained the public’s fascination with Frank Herbert’s sprawling universe since its premiere on HBO in November. The series, delving into the origins of the politically conniving, bloodline-weaving Bene Gesserit sisterhood as well as the interplanetary political machinations that set the stage for Denis Villeneuve’s cinematic adaptations, has drawn widespread attention—and with it, a watershed moment for Heuston.

“We just got the news this morning that we’ve been renewed for a second season,” he grins. A resounding success for Max, Prophecy dominated streaming charts for much of its run—a renewal is no surprise and offers an opportunity for Heuston to continue exhibiting his dramatic chops in the grand, complex universe of Dune. It’s a long way from his early days waiting tables in Sydney, where a chance encounter with a talent scout launched him into modeling and, subsequently, acting.

At the time of our conversation, the finale—an episode which holds immense importance for his character’s story—was two days out. Prophecy focuses on the tension between the burgeoning Bene Gesserit and the simultaneously nascent Imperium—the feudalistic governing body of the known universe—a conflict quite literally embodied and epitomized by Heuston’s Constantine Corrino. As the emperor’s illegitimate son with his consort Francesca (played by Hindi cinema darling Tabu), contradiction and tension are baked into Constantine’s DNA. “I approached him as a wounded boy—there’s a lot of pain involved, and also clarity. He’s sitting here like, ‘My mom’s in the Sisterhood, my father’s literally the emperor of the Imperium,’” Heuston says. “[Constantine is] a glorified bodyguard for his sister, Ynez Corrino, who is clearly the favored heir.” Despite their contrasting genetic lineage and trajectories, the half-siblings share a surprisingly strong (and potently charismatic) dynamic. Offscreen, Heuston developed a similarly sincere friendship with his counterpart Sarah-Sofie Boussnina, who plays Ynez. “When we first got to Budapest, we made a point of hanging out a lot, we got along really well. Otherwise it would have been a really grueling process,” he remarks with a chuckle. “We’d hang out in each other’s trailers or in each other’s tents on set, then we’d finish work and go hang out still. We’d spend an infinite amount of time together, even just walking in the park, to build that relationship.”

After an early stint modeling and building his social profile (he at one point ran a self-titled YouTube channel, since shuttered and wiped) Heuston uncovered a fervent passion for acting while featuring in a music video for Australian electronic duo SUPER CRUEL. “Ever since I did that video, I was doing uni during the day and every single night acting class I could find,” he reminisces. Rather than following the more traditional stage-to-screen pipeline most young actors pursue, he was able to leverage his already fleshed-out on-camera presence from his time modeling. “A modeling background is actually quite helpful with acting. You have zero camera shyness, you understand lenses, you understand movement on camera,” he states matter-of-factly. “How to hit your light, how to hit your mark, you get the functional parts of filmmaking. Then, the actual craft of it is what you have to work on. I had to go the other direction.”

Although familiar with the franchise from his childhood, Heuston quickly became an avid student of the “Duniverse”—his own vernacular—upon receiving word of his audition for Prophecy. “I heard about it in passing from my grandfather, he introduced me to it. But then I really became a massive fan from [Villeneuve’s] first film,” he says. “I came into it as a fan first. I quite literally immersed myself in the Duniverse and I’ve been a fan ever since. It’s a dream role, really.” He became something of a Dune scholar, kicking off with the original novel and its sequel before digging into the source material for the show: Sisterhood of Dune by Brian Herbert, Frank’s son. “I scrolled across all sorts of things online. The Dune wiki,” he trails off for a moment. “TikTok,” he laughs emphatically.

Well before his first forays in front of the camera, Heuston was charting an entirely different course: pursuing a double degree in biomolecular science and commerce. “I was much more of a science and math kid at school,” he states frankly. “I always thought about doing drama, but when I spoke to my parents they were like, ‘Yeah, but you don’t like to get up in front of people, so why would you want to do that?’” I ask him where he would be right now in an alternate universe if his path hadn’t led him to acting. “Playing with test tubes or something. [Biomolecular science] is super interesting but definitely not sword fighting for a living.”

Although a sizable chunk of Constantine’s plot advances in the training room, his narrative picks up speed amidst the political scheming of the broader royal palace, constructed to gorgeous effect. “I’ve never done a project that is this grand,” Heuston marvels. “It was nuts, the scale of everything! You walk in and the throne room is literally four stories high.” For a sci-fi franchise, Prophecy utilizes remarkably little animation to establish the worlds of its lore—requiring Heuston and the cast to fly in from around the globe to shoot in Hungary. “I spent six months in Budapest living in this world. It’s such a rewarding experience, but I need the ocean to feel grounded,” he opines. “I’m from Australia and I was in a landlocked country. I need to touch some ocean!”

Hungary’s environs are a far cry from those of his early roles—tropical, beachy, balmy. Despite the change in scenery and his new presence in front of a massive international audience, however, Dune: Prophecy is not his first brush with the spotlight. Call sheets started rolling in early in his venture onto the screen, initially (as befits his attractive, boyish demeanor) in a smattering of teen dramas. 2021 brought his prominent role in the beachy and globally successful Dive Club. The following year he played a popular musician and student in Netflix’s reboot of Heartbreak High (a resoundingly successful, gritty major Australian show from the late nineties) and snagged a brief appearance in Marvel’s Thor: Love and Thunder. Slated for release this year is his first thriller, Dangerous Animals, an opportunity to explore his breadth as an actor. “[In thrillers,] you’re constantly building suspense, whereas something like Dune is more of a political drama. It’s acting on a completely different wavelength,” he compares. Also on the horizon? An indie shooting next month about which (outside of his unbridled excitement) he is reticent to divulge much.

Looking ahead, Heuston’s eyes remain set on storytelling. “I just want to keep booking good roles and telling stories I find interesting. I want to get into producing,” he says. “That’s something I’m starting to do more.” As Dune: Prophecy expands toward its second season (spoilers ahead), Heuston is excited for fans to see what’s next for Constantine in his new role governing Arrakis, the most important planet in the franchise and the hub of all commerce. “He’s playing the game a lot more strategically now that he’s got the fleet,” he explains. “You’re going to see someone with a lot of turmoil and given a lot of power.” Grappling with the deaths of both his parents and challenged with stabilizing the Imperium’s economy amid political upheaval, the stakes for Constantine in the next season will intensify formidably: “He’s ruling spice production on Arrakis and he’s addicted to spice...there’s a whole other kettle of fish there.”

Dune: Prophecy is now streaming on Max. We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land and pay respect to elders past and present.