Exclusive: We talk to Dune: Prophecy star Jihae about playing Reverend Mother Kasha

The first episode of Dune: Prophecy has aired on HBO and Max, starting us off on a strange, compelling journey through the Imperium some 10,000 years before the birth of Paul Atreides. It's the Dune we know, it's Dune as we've never seen it, it's a good time in front of the TV.

We've been lucky enough to get to talk to some of the cast and crew members behind the show. That includes Jihae, who plays the Reverand Mother Kasha, a Bene Gesserit sister who is the personal Truthsayer of Emperor Javicco Corrino (Mark Strong) himself, as well as a maternal figure for the emperor's daughter and heir apparent, the Princess Ynez (Sarah-Sofie Boussnina). Kasha resides with the royal family on the imperial planet of Salusa Secundus, which sets her up as someone with a lot of power and influence. But if you watched the opening episode, "The Hidden Hand," you know that she runs into some trouble. (Beware MAJOR SPOILERS ahead.)

In "The Hidden Hand," Kasha has an alarming dream — possibly a prescient premonition — about dire things ahead for the Bene Gesserit. She's rattled enough that she returns to the Bene Gesserit home planet of Wallach IX to share her fears with Mother Superior Valya Harkonnen (Emily Watson) and Valya's sister Tula (Olivia Williams), who run the Sisterhood. While on Wallach IX, Kasha dies, burned from the inside out by a mysterious man named Desmond Hart (Travis Fimmel), who is somehow able to affect her even though he's planets away on Salusa Secundus.

We asked Jihae (who also has a thriving career as a singer-songwriter, FYI) about the mysteries surrounding Kasha's death, what it was like to act opposite powerhouses like Watson and Williams, and what's next for her. Read our exclusive interview below!

WinterIsComing: How did you get involved in Doom: Prophecy?

Jihae: "Well, I have worked with Alison Schapker on...Altered Carbon, season 2, Episode 1. And we just adored each other and she told me as she was working on this, that she thought of me for this. And then the initial director is also a friend of mine. And so we spoke about it. It was offered to me. It was such a gift. I didn't audition for it. I loved the journey of this character and...yeah, such a blessing."

WiC: Let's talk about the character of Kasha. Do you think, as Valya seems to think, that Kasha is torn between her loyalty to the Sisterhood and her affection for the family she's assigned? How does Kasha think about her position?

Jihae: "I think Kasha, from the start when she was a young girl and power went to Valya with that violent end of [Dorotea], always believed in the cause. And the cause of the Bene Gesserit is to make sure that...the world doesn't get screwed up by men, in a sense. And I think she feels noble to that cause.

"I think she definitely developed a motherly love for Ynez. So she's trained her and loved her and kind of acted as a surrogate mother, so much so that Ynez is no longer really even close to her own mother...I think there's definitely that element there. But to me, Valya is more interested in going ahead with the plan, and not necessarily considering Kasha's abilities as the most gifted Truthsayer in the Sisterhood to come and speak to her about how she feels about the visions that she saw, and she ends up becoming a prophet in her own land that's unheard, [even though] she's the right hand of the Emperor of the known universe and she tells him what to do. You can't really do that if you can't really see what's happening. I think Valya may wonder that, and she has a right to wonder that. But I think she's just so laser-focused on going with the plan."

WiC: Can I ask about some of the outfits you wore? Me: What is it like acting under that really elaborate veil?

Jihae: "It sticks to your lip gloss, so you're doing that [blows air] a lot. It's interesting because when it's cold outside because...it becomes ice. It was tricky...But that was nothing compared to what I had to do the first time around, where I had a burn on this whole side [of my face]."

WiC: The death scene was very memorable. Could you talk about playing that?

Jihae: "Doing the death scene was intense, for sure. It was three or four days...The way I approach acting is that I have to really feel it for the audience to really feel it. It has to be believable to me, and then if it's not, then it's not for the audience. And then sometimes the body doesn't know the difference; your psyche might, but your body doesn't know the difference. So it's a very tricky thing where you have to act out a scene where you are dying a very painful death.

"I decided to use it...with the amount of screaming that I had to do for the amount of hours that I did, as a platform for all the women before me who had something to say...Let's say I decided to become a portal through which they could express their angst.

"In terms of the feeling of pain and the burning of the inside-out, I think when I learned that they were adding an extra day, my body started to convulse. It's just rebelling saying, 'no way, I can't do another day.' But yeah, it wasn't easy. It took a long time to decompress from that."

WiC: It did not look easy look easy. I think that comes across.

Jihae: "I wish it could be fun!"

WiC: A fun burning death?

Jihae: [laughs] "Yeah! Hey, you can do anything you put your mind to. And if I ever do that kind of scene again, which I doubt I will after this experience, I'll try to make it fun."

WiC: I would like to see that. So your career is quite interesting. You've gone from being being a singer-songwriter who started your own music label to being an actor. And you've acted mostly in sci-fi/fantasy stuff like Altered Carbon, Mortal Engines, Mars...Is that something that you wanna keep going with — acting in sci-fi projects — or do you wanna branch out into more dramas like Succession, which you also appeared in?

Jihae: "I'm happy to play a normal human being. But I'm very proud of the selection of work that I've done with some of the most unbelievably creative humans that I got to collaborate and work with. So no regrets."

WiC: Could you talk a little bit about working with Emily Watson and Olivia Williams? Because you had some good scenes together.

Jihae: "Yes. There was was one particular scene that didn't make it to the episode. These women are such gracious humans but also they're quite masters in their craft, and we had so much fun together. And I have to say that they're just really giving loving actors. Not all actors are that way, believe you me. They were really kind and sweet and just wonderful to work with. I was so honored to work with them."

WiC: I don't suppose you can say anything about the scene that didn't make it into the episode?

Jihae: "Oh, I think there was a lot of editing...It's always the same. In everything I've done, things are cut, because there's a lot of moving parts. I can't talk about that...It's just the nature of the beast, you know?"

WiC: How did Dune: Prophecy compare to working on Mortal Engines, Mars, Altered Carbon, the other sci-fi/fantasy projects that you've been on? Bigger in scale, smaller in scale, very similar?

Jihae: "I think Mortal Engines was the biggest in scale. There was 500 working behind the camera. And Peter Jackson was writer/ producer as well as second unit director; he was on every day.

"This particular project was two years in the making. And the strike...I got there in July and I had to walk after nine days and wait to go back for like 5-6 months. And I was grateful they waited for me. And when I got there, it felt like a military operation, bull-dozing through these scenes with no breaks in between, dying before I can be the most powerful. It was crazy. It was a miracle it got made, because of all those interruptions."

WiC: Is there anything else you're working on that you want people to know about?

Jihae: "I'm working on a new album, my fifth album, due out next year. I'll probably do a single early next year."

WiC: Is there a name or anything you can share, or is that still in the process or under wraps?

Jihae: "At the moment, the name of the project is called 'Way Back Home.' But it might change! You never know."

Thanks very much to Jihae for talking with us! The first episode of Dune: Prophecy is streaming now on Max.

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