Denis Villeneuve: Timothee Chalamet and Zendaya's friendship helped him shoot Dune 2

Denis Villeneuve says the real life friendship between 'Dune: Part Two' stars Timothee Chalamet and Zendaya was a huge help when they were shooting the movie.

The 56-year-old director reunited his cast to make the second part of the film, and he's revealed the two actors grew close while working on 'Dune' and the subsquent promotional tour - and it helped them when making the sequel because they "weren't afraid" to dive into "intimate" scenes.

Villeneuve told Deadline.com: "When we did Part One, I remember that very quickly there was chemistry being that were born between both actors.

"And that in between when we were doing the promotional tour of Part One, they became real friends.

"And that, of course, tremendously helped me because the whole movie is based on their love story."

Chalamet plays Paul Atreides with Zendaya as his love interest Chani, and Villeneuve is convinced the pair's strong real life connection helped them onscreen.

He added: "The whole structure of the movie is embedded in their love story. And through their relationship, we see all the drama that is being unfolded and all the tension.

"That intimacy, that friendship, that strong friendship between Timothee and Zendaya helped me because they were not afraid to go into more intimate scenes.

"So it was very easy for me to work with them. I don’t know if I was surprised [by the result], but I would say I was moved, many times.

"Many times, like where I felt I knew that I had a movie. There’s specific moments where I said, okay, okay, I’m okay. We nailed it.

"I felt the connection between both when they were like getting closer together or when they were growing apart. I felt the tension and I was very deeply happy with both."