Emily Watson explained that her upbringing in a cult group helped prepare her for “Dune: Prophecy” because she understands “the feeling of control over young lives and a sense of ownership.”

Saturday November 9, 2024 9:00 a.m.

Saturday November 9, 2024 9:00 a.m.

Emily Watson’s upbringing in a cult group helped prepare her for “Dune: Prophecy.”

In HBO’s prequel series to the ‘Dune Movies,’ Emily, 57, plays Valya Harkonnen, leader of a controlling religious cult, and she admitted that growing up in the Economics cult was an experience similar.

She told Vulture: “It’s definitely in my wheelhouse. I felt like there was a sense of control over young lives and a sense of ownership. People end up in these places because they have some kind of damage. This was my way into it, I thought, I grew up with people who had that kind of presence.

The SES is a global group that adheres to traditional gender roles, conservative sexual mores and has faced allegations of physical abuse under its strict disciplinary policies.

Speaking about what she learned at the SES, Emily said: “No sex outside of marriage, marriages for young women are encouraged with older men, live at home until you are married or with a family. We were told that “women can hold hands.” to change the world,” which I absolutely believe to be true. But then we were encouraged to become mothers, nurses and teachers.

“Needless to say, I wasn’t a very good student and didn’t do any of the above. I was, in part, shielded from it because my parents were emotionally distant from it. We were a unit very strong as a family Probably all religions have this, but when people have power – and when you have power over children – it can get out of hand very easily. Day school was very new, and it. It was a very new organization that didn’t make any sense. It all started in the 1940s. My father joined when he was 18, so I think in the late 1950s there were still some. things I’m grateful for, but there were a lot of things that were wrong “We were all desperate to be normal kids. We felt like we were on the outside because we went into this strange setup. “

However, she took some positives from her time in the group.

Emily said: “I discovered the idea that there is a unifying force of love in everything and that everything is a version of that. I’m also able to focus, to be really hyperfocused. I I have one of those weird brains, maybe because I learned to concentrate out of fear.

“Doing your best meant being good. There was really a discipline of being in the moment and being connected to your senses, which is extremely helpful as an actor.”