The Big Picture

Collider’s Perri Nemiroff talks to Saltburn star Paul Rhys who plays Duncan, the Head of the House at Saltburn. During their conversation, Rhys reveals the details of Duncan’s backstory, including how he came to work at Saltburn to begin with. Rhys also explains why he thinks Duncan is Oliver’s greatest threat and why the Saltburn sequel should be Saltburn 2: Duncan’s Revenge.

[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for Saltburn.]Saltburn is loaded with big personalities, many of whom can come across as quite suspicious. Is Felix (Jacob Elordi) really a golden boy who will always treat Oliver (Barry Keoghan) as a true friend? Is Farleigh (Archie Madekwe) as much of a threat to Oliver as he presents? And what about Oliver himself? Is he a diabolical mastermind or do uncontrollable impulses and immaturity risk him losing all ties to Saltburn for good?

While many were likely assessing and reassessing potential answers to those questions throughout the Emerald Fennell-directed film, viewers should have kept a closer eye on this extreme threat to Oliver who was hiding in plain sight — Paul Rhys’ character, Duncan, the Head of the House.

Saltburn Struggling to find his place at Oxford University, student Oliver Quick finds himself drawn into the world of the charming and aristocratic Felix Catton, who invites him to Saltburn, his eccentric family’s sprawling estate, for a summer never to be forgotten. Release Date November 17, 2023 Director Emerald Fennell Runtime 127 minutes

During a recent interview with Rhys, he noted that he went into “enormous detail” while working on Duncan’s backstory with Fennell, including figuring out precisely how Duncan came to work at Saltburn. He explained:

“I thought he was the son of the elderly butler and just took over that position and had known it all his life, but then we worked out a scenario where his mother had been a cleaner there. He’s from a single parent, and at 14 he went there and thought, ‘I want a bit of this.’ And as soon as he could, at 15, he went to work there. He is really that house more than anybody. When Barry says to Rosamund in the cafe, ‘Is Duncan still there?’ Of course it’s important that all that is maintained because if he’s not there, it’s not Saltburn in a way. If anybody’s got ownership of that house, it’s him. It’s very unusual. He loves it. He loves them, and he loves that house.”

Yes, the Catton family may often behave like entitled babies who rely on Duncan and the Saltburn staff to do everything for them, but that doesn’t mean Duncan doesn’t love them — especially the children, Felix and Venetia (Alison Oliver).

“[Duncan is] not a paternal person, not a maternal person, doesn’t like children, but for some reason – and the reason is he was stuck with these children because their parents are away all the time – he loved these kids, Alison and Jacob. He loved them. So the death of Felix is devastating to him. I think he feels that probably the most, or lets his feelings out when he’s closing the curtains, just being wrecked by the death of this boy.”

Duncan Would Have Killed Oliver If He Knew What He Was Doing at Saltburn
Image via A24

Unfortunately, no one in the Catton family caught on to what Oliver was capable of until it was too late. But, Rhys insists that Duncan picked up on Oliver’s bad vibes from the moment they met. “If anybody knows that Oliver, Barry’s character, is a bad soul, it’s Duncan.” He continued, “I said to Emerald, ‘Do you think he knows the details?’ She said, ‘No, because he’d kill him.’ He would kill him if he knew the details of what he was doing. But I know there’s something wrong with that boy.”

Throughout the film — and the Catton family’s lives — Duncan and co. essentially operate in secret. Oliver breaks a mirror? It’s miraculously fixed overnight without anyone noticing. “Everything is done seamlessly.” Rhys continued:

“This enormous staff would facilitate anything he wanted. ‘Go to the mirror in bathroom number three immediately. It needs to be replaced,’ and it would be simply done by two footmen who were handymen. That’s how efficient this house is. That family never has to think about anything. They’re babies. They have never had to look after themselves from the moment they were born. He has. He’s from the rough end of life and has developed a liking for the way they live. [Laughs]”

Given how dedicated Duncan is to keeping the house in order and never troubling the Cattons to lift a finger, one might wonder, where does Duncan draw the line? How far would Oliver need to go to get him to approach Sir James (Richard E. Grant) and Elspeth (Rosamund Pike) about the issue? Here’s Rhys’ take on the matter:

“I don’t think he would have stepped into the family. I think Emerald is right. He would have killed him. He would have killed him with his bare hands. And there is a feeling that he could, and Barry’s character sort of knows that on some level. I think his love and devotion to this place is so intense he would have taken the law into his own hands and not have worried the family, in a way. But he knows immediately there’s something wrong with Barry because he’s from that world. He knows underprivilege. He knows what it is to strive.”

The ‘Saltburn’ Sequel Should Be ‘Saltburn 2: Duncan’s Revenge’
Image Via MGM

By the end of Saltburn, the Cattons are gone and Oliver is in full control of the estate. But, he’s not alone. It is noted that Duncan is still there. So what’s life like for Duncan and Oliver at Saltburn? Here’s what Rhys thinks would happen next:

“He’s very much still there. I think eventually Duncan would reveal him. Eventually he’d find a way because he knows something is wrong. We used to have a joke on the set that the follow-up film, Saltburn 2, would be called Duncan’s Revenge … Duncan probably murders him and has retribution and revenge for the family that he loved. And also, nobody else speaks except Duncan, so that’s the other bit of revenge. [Laughs]”

Looking for even more on the making of Saltburn? You can catch my chat with Emerald Fennell in the video below:

Saltburn is available to stream on Amazon Prime in the U.S.

Watch on Amazon Prime