MacLachlan himself shed some light on the problem, saying, “I was young, and when you’re that age, that’s one of the things that stops you dead in your tracks, because you know what’s coming and you’re like, ‘Ahhh, I don’t know.'” The crew’s solution was to give MacLachlan a menthol tear stick, which he was supposed to apply lightly under his eyes. MacLachlan grew frustrated that this wasn’t working, so he rubbed his eyes to the point where accidentally got menthol in them, not just under them. “Then I’m really crying,” he said, but it wasn’t the right kind of cry. Paul Atreides is not the guy to bawl his eyes out over Jamis’ death; he’s the type to wrestle against his grief to the point where only a tear or two escapes.
“It wasn’t really an organic progression,” MacLachlan said. “You have this little passage of time, and there’s the moment of mourning, you know what I mean? That’s when the realization hit him. That progression makes sense to me as the actor, but it wasn’t the way it was.” He did manage to complete the scene, but the whole sequence was ultimately cut for time, and he was happy to see it go. It wasn’t a great moment for MacLachlan’s confidence as an actor, but it did at least reaffirm the trust and faith David Lynch had in him. “David was very understanding and kind during that,” Sammon explained. Sean Young, who played Chani, also confirmed this:
“David really believed in him. He had to fight for Kyle. There were a lot of other people who had more credit. David won that fight, so he would take a lot of time with Kyle. He wanted to be vindicated for that choice.”
Source link
