There are a lot of wacky futuristic terms in Dune: gom jibbar, Kwisatz Haderach, ornithopter, Muad’Dib. But author Frank Herbert decided to make it easy on readers in one way: Some of the characters have normal-to-us names. Our hero is called Paul and his mom’s name is Jessica. There is one truly out-there moniker: The House Atreides swordmaster is named Duncan Idaho. Cool name, right? Not really, says the actor who plays him in the new movies.
In a new chat with Men’s Health, Jason Momoa was straight-up asked if he’d, in his opinion, ever “played any character with a cooler name than Duncan Idaho,” the character he played in the first Dune. His answer may surprise you:
There are definitely cooler names. I love Duncan Idaho, but it’s not the coolest. There are some pretty cool names, characters I’ve played, man. Khal Drogo is a pretty cool name. Even Ronon Dex was a pretty cool name. There’s Declan Harp, that was pretty cool. I have a couple in the future that are going to be pretty cool.
Mind you, Momoa isn’t saying Duncan Idaho isn’t a cool-ass name. He’s just saying it’s no Khal Drogo, his doomed character from Game of Thrones. Perhaps you forgot about Ronon Dex, who he played pre-mega fame on Stargate Atlantis. Ditto Frontier’s Declan Harp. Still, none of those roll off the tongue quite like Duncan Idaho. Besides, it’s refreshing to learn that in the year 10,191 the name Duncan is still bouncing around. It’s like a part of our present lives on in the far-flung future.
(Via Men’s Health)