Gurney Halleck is a fictional character in the ''Dune'' universe created by Frank Herbert. He is a major character in Herbert's '' Dune'' (1965) and ''

Children of Dune ''Children of Dune'' is a 1976 science fiction novel by Frank Herbert, the third in his ''Dune'' series of six novels. It was originally serialized in ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' in 1976, and was the last ''Dune'' novel to be serialize ...

'' (1976), as a lover of the widowed

Lady Jessica Lady Jessica is a fictional character in the ''Dune'' universe created by Frank Herbert. A main character in the 1965 novel ''Dune'', Jessica also plays an important role in the later installment '' Children of Dune'' (1976). The events surrou ...

, also appearing in some of the prequel/

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

novels by

Brian Herbert Brian Patrick Herbert (born June 29, 1947) is an American author who lives in Washington state. He is the elder son of science fiction author Frank Herbert (who died in 1986). Brian Herbert's novels include ''Sidney's Comet'', ''Prisoners of Ar ...

and Kevin J. Anderson. Gurney is portrayed by

Patrick Stewart Sir Patrick Stewart (born 13 July 1940) is an English actor who has a career spanning seven decades in various stage productions, television, film and video games. He has been nominated for Olivier, Tony, Golden Globe, Emmy, and Screen Actors ...

in the 1984 David Lynch film '' Dune''. P. H. Moriarty plays the role in the 2000

Sci-Fi Channel Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. ...

TV miniseries ''

Frank Herbert's Dune ''Frank Herbert's Dune'' is a three-part science fiction television miniseries based on the 1965 novel by Frank Herbert. It was written and directed by John Harrison. The cast includes Alec Newman as Paul Atreides, William Hurt as Duke Leto At ...

'' and its 2003 sequel, ''

Frank Herbert's Children of Dune ''Frank Herbert's Children of Dune'' is a three-part science fiction miniseries written by John Harrison and directed by Greg Yaitanes, based on Frank Herbert's novels '' Dune Messiah'' (1969) and ''Children of Dune'' (1976). First broadcast i ...

''. The character is portrayed by

Josh Brolin Joshua James Brolin (; born February 12, 1968) is an American actor. He has appeared in films such as ''The Goonies'' (1985), '' Mimic'' (1997), '' Hollow Man'' (2000), '' Grindhouse'' (2007), '' No Country for Old Men'' (2007), '' American Gan ...

in the 2021 Denis Villeneuve film '' Dune'' and its 2023 sequel '' Dune: Part Two''.

Characteristics

Halleck is a talented minstrel skilled in the use of the baliset. His jawline bears a scar from an

inkvine This is a list of terminology used in the fictional ''Dune'' universe created by Frank Herbert, the primary source being "Terminology of the Imperium", the glossary contained in the novel ''Dune'' (1965). ''Dune'' word construction could be clas ...

whip wound inflicted by Glossu Rabban in the Harkonnen slave pits. A loyal friend to Duke Leto Atreides and his concubine

, many years after Leto's death it is suggested in ''Children of Dune'' that Gurney and Jessica have become lovers. Leto's son Paul Atreides refers to him as "Gurney the valorous" in ''Dune'', and Duke Leto comments that Paul has named Gurney well.

Appearances

''Dune'' novels

Halleck is Paul's weapons teacher, as well as a skilled musician. He is one of Leto's chief officers, and serves alongside

Duncan Idaho Duncan Idaho is a fictional character in the ''Dune'' universe created by Frank Herbert. Introduced in the first novel of the series, 1965's '' Dune'', he became a breakout character and was revived in 1969's '' Dune Messiah''. He is the only ...

as a Swordmaster of House Atreides. According to ''Dune'', Gurney was trained by "the best fighters in the universe", and alongside Idaho and Thufir Hawat gave Leto a war council almost unparalleled in the Imperium. He manages to survive the fall of

House Atreides ''Dune'', also known as the ''Dune Chronicles'', is an American science fiction media franchise that originated with the 1965 novel ''Dune'' by Frank Herbert and has continued to add new publications. ''Dune'' is frequently described as the best ...

Arrakis Arrakis ()—informally known as Dune and later called Rakis—is a fictional desert planet featured in the ''Dune'' series of novels by Frank Herbert. Herbert's first novel in the series, 1965's ''Dune'', is considered one of the greatest scien ...

with 73 men. In the years after the attack, he falls in with the

melange Melange comes from the French meaning of a "mixture" or "medley". It may also refer to: *Melange (fictional drug), in Frank Herbert's ''Dune'' series novels * Mélange (rocket fuel component) *Mélange, a type of rock with block-in-matrix structur ...

smugglers, eventually becoming a powerful figure. His smugglers fall for a Fremen trap—a fake hoard of spice—and are almost killed before Paul, now the Fremen leader "Muad'Dib", recognizes him. Halleck later becomes Jessica's loyal chief officer after nearly killing her, mistakenly believing she betrayed Duke Leto. In the later novels it is implied that the two become lovers, although this is never confirmed. In ''Children of Dune'', Gurney returns to Arrakis with Jessica from Caladan. He coordinates a purging of dissidents along with

Fremen The Fremen are a group of people in the fictional Dune (franchise), ''Dune'' universe created by Frank Herbert. First appearing in the 1965 novel ''Dune (novel), Dune'', the Fremen inhabit the desert planet Arrakis (also known as Dune), which ...

leader

Stilgar The following is a list of secondary fictional characters from the science fiction media franchise ''Dune'' created by Frank Herbert. The characters listed originate in Herbert's novel series (1965–1985), but some also appear in the ''Prelude to ...

, an operation that he kept secret. He goes to the sietch Jacurutu under what he believes are Jessica's orders to test that Paul's son Leto II has not fallen to

Abomination Abomination may refer to: * Abomination (Bible), covering Biblical references **Abomination (Judaism) *Abomination (character) The Abomination is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The original ...

. When the Fremen Namri reveals that the testing was ordered by Alia, he kills the man and escapes, sending a message to Duncan to set off the course of events that will force Stilgar to act. He takes temporary shelter with a new batch of smugglers before stealing an

ornithopter An ornithopter (from Greek ''ornis, ornith-'' "bird" and ''pteron'' "wing") is an aircraft that flies by flapping its wings. Designers sought to imitate the flapping-wing flight of birds, bats, and insects. Though machines may differ in form, ...

. With it, he escapes to a rebel sietch, where Leto II and The Preacher arrive. Leto II takes him to Shuloch. After Leto II returns to Arrakeen and takes the throne, Gurney is assigned to Sietch Tabr as part of Stilgar's council.

Prequels and sequels

Gurney's character is further explored in the ''

Prelude to Dune The ''Dune'' prequel series is a sequence of novel trilogies written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. Set in the ''Dune'' universe created by Frank Herbert, the novels take place in various time periods before and in between Herbert's o ...

'' prequels (1999–2001) written by Brian Herbert, Frank Herbert's son, and Kevin J. Anderson. According to the prequels, Gurney Halleck was born on Giedi Prime, the homeworld of House Harkonnen. After an incident with the local militia and the murder of his sister, he escaped Giedi Prime and aligned himself with the rogue House Vernius. Eventually, after a string of conflicts and the death of Earl Dominic Vernius, Gurney Halleck arrived at the Atreides homeworld of Caladan seeking the exiled Prince Rhombur Vernius. After helping reclaim the planet Ix for House Vernius, Halleck served House Atreides, eventually becoming Paul Atreides' weapons teacher. In '' Chapterhouse: Dune'' (1985) it is revealed that the Tleilaxu Master Scytale possesses a hidden nullentropy capsule containing cells carefully and secretly collected by the Tleilaxu for millennia, including the cells of Paul Atreides, Duke Leto, Jessica, and Gurney. A ghola of Gurney is "conceived" in ''

Sandworms of Dune ''Sandworms of Dune'' is a science fiction novel by American writers Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, the second of two books they wrote to conclude Frank Herbert's original ''Dune'' series. It is based on notes left behind by Frank Herbert ...

'' (2007), a sequel to the original Frank Herbert series written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, but is killed during gestation in an act of sabotage.

In adaptations

Gurney is portrayed by

in the 1984 David Lynch film '' Dune''. P. H. Moriarty plays the role in the 2000

TV miniseries ''

'' and its 2003 sequel, ''

''. The character is portrayed by

in the 2021 Denis Villeneuve film '' Dune'', who will reprise the role in the 2023 sequel '' Dune: Part Two''.

Merchandising

A line of ''Dune'' action figures from toy company LJN was released to lackluster sales in 1984. Styled after David Lynch's film, the collection featured figures of various characters. A figure of Gurney previewed in LJN's catalog was never produced.

Family tree

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Halleck, Gurney Halleck, Gurney Fictional martial arts trainers Fictional string musicians Fictional swordfighters Literary characters introduced in 1965 Male characters in literature