*This article includes very light spoilers.

If you know Dune or have seen Dune Part 2, you might be confused right now. How the heck is this crazy psycho related to mindfulness?

If you're not familiar with Dune, here’s the gist:

“Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen is the heir to the villainous House Harkonnen—a scheming, violent, yet highly intelligent sociopath.”

The Movie Feyd

After watching Dune Part 2, I was struck by Feyd’s presence, played by Austin Butler.

This Feyd is, to me, much more interesting than the book version. He’s dangerous, brutal, enjoys killing, and honors a good fight. But unlike the book where he’s a pretty boy, in the movie, he looks more like a bald psycho alien.

So I wondered, how can someone with such a weird appearance be so hot to so many people, including myself? (I’m straight and happily married.)

Presence Makes a Person Attractive

I read a book on charisma that said presence is a key component.

What is presence? It means being fully in the moment, deeply connecting with people, listening to them, and giving them your wholehearted feedback.

In the book, people describe their experience with charismatic individuals, saying, “When they look at me, it feels like there’s only us in the world!”

Presence is essentially the same concept as mindfulness—fully engaging with something.

Based on this theory, I’ve noticed why many actors and performers are so attractive. Their job forces them to be present—to act, to sing, to dance, to enjoy the art. With long-term practice, being present becomes second nature to them.

Feyd is So Present

Back to our psycho boy. I rewatched all the scenes where Feyd appears in Dune Part 2. And I found, Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen is SO present!

He’s fully engaged in the fight, the schemes, the anger, the torture. Even though most of what he does is quite bad, his full presence makes this character attractive and deep.

Feyd is Playful

From another angle, Feyd enjoys every moment. He’s probably the character who smiles the most in the movie. He smiles when the fight gets dangerous, when the biggest enemies arrive, when he salutes his enemy.

He’s like a dude who just wants to have fun, always finding something interesting—but in a pretty twisted way.

This mindset is key to staying present. You need to actively engage with the things around you, the thoughts in your head, to find something fun right now. This ties back to the concept of Mind Playground.

This isn’t an article to say what Feyd does is dark and cool, but to show that, from good or bad, there’s always something to learn.

In a nutshell, we've learned that Feyd's charisma comes from his presence and mindfulness, and his presence stems from his playfulness.

I’m very happy to meet such an interesting, multi-layered character in the theater. I think it would be pretty fun to walk in his shoes…okay maybe not the killing part.