Thufir Hawat was a supporting character in David Lynch's film adaptation of Dune. He was a mentat who served as the loyal advisor to Duke Leto Atreides and mentor to Leto's son Paul. He was portrayed by the late Freddie Jones.
History[]
Thufir Hawat had served House Atreides since 10075 AG as its chief security advisor and Master of Assassins. He was known in the Landsraad to be both cunning and honourable. Indeed, other Great Houses coveted him for his abilities as a strategist, warrior, and trusted advisor.
During the reign of Duke Leto the Just, Thufir trained Paul Atreides in the art of war as well as political and military strategy.
In 10191 AG, House Atreides relocated to the desert planet Arrakis to assume control of spice mining operations. Prior to the relocation, Thufir had been training the Atreides' new army in the use of weirding modules, powerful weapons that utilized sound to destroy enemies. However, shortly after the Atreides occupied Arrakeen, their stronghold was sabotaged from within by Dr. Wellington Yueh who was working for House Harkonnen.
Because of Yueh's betrayal, the Harkonnens were able to quickly overwhelm the vulnerable Atreides forces. Duke Leto died during the siege and Jessica and Paul were taken into the desert. Thufir, meanwhile, was captured by the Harkonnens and pressed into the service of Baron Vladimir. He underwent conditioning and had a heart plug installed, as well as being injected with a poison that would kill him slowly unless he received an antidote at regular intervals.
Death[]
In 10193 AG, Paul Muad'Dib led the Fremen in a successful attack against the Throne of the Golden Lion. Inside the Emperor's keep, he saw Thufir among the assembled members of the court and demanded the mentat be released. Feyd-Rautha sent Thufir over to Paul with a poison-edged dagger hidden in his sleeve, though this action did not go unnoticed by Paul. In recognition of his generations of service to House Atreides, Paul offered Thufir his own life, turning his back to him. Thufir drew the dagger, but despite the Harkonnens' conditioning, he refused to kill Paul and dropped the blade. Instead, he pulled out the heart plug in his chest, causing him to bleed out. After his old friend died in his arms, Paul told his men to remove Thufir's body from the chamber and that he was to be buried with full honours.
Thufir's death scene was removed from the final cut of Dune. It would later be included among the special features of the DVD release.