The stars of The Acolyte are currently enjoying their final few hours of relative anonimity before the series launches with a two episode blast on Disney Plus, but they’ve been plenty busy hitting the interview circuit, and with the premieres now completed and the clock ticking, here’s a look at some of those interviews.
Amandla Stenberg
As the show is about to arrive, Amandla Stenberg received the best surprise from StarWars.com as she got a surprise message from a fellow star of the saga.
A surprise to be sure.
Hayden Christensen shares a special message for #TheAcolyte’s Amandla Stenberg. pic.twitter.com/UVr0Xd5hDP
— Star Wars (@starwars) June 3, 2024
Speaking with GQ, Amandla remembers her own deep, deep dive into the Star Wars mythos as she prepared for the role.
After she was cast, Stenberg spent more than a year delving into the Star Wars mythos. Despite self-identifying as a “huge nerd” with a longstanding admiration for speculative fiction, the franchise always presented a bit of a block for the actress. From an early age, she’d understood the allure of Natalie Portman’s Padmé Amidala, but the fandom as a whole never felt quite accessible.
“I had a childhood experience of the series, but not really an adult one,” Stenberg says. She’d assumed things about the (generally underdeveloped) role of women in the Star Wars universe that turned out not to be true. Getting the role presented the perfect opportunity for her to become “the superfan that I knew I could be,” and she soon found herself “obsessed with the female characters.”
She also discussed her duel roles with the Radio Times at last weeks UK premiere.
“For one of my characters, I wanted that person to feel warm and kind of masculine. I thought about Han Solo, and there’s this humour and levity to Star Wars that makes it so joyous and fun, and I wanted that to be a part of her.
“And with the other character, I guess I thought about Anakin, when he goes to the Dark Side of the Force. His story is all driven by his relationship to his family, and like a deep pain that exists there. And it’s very similar for one of my characters.”
Manny Jacinto
That Shelf had the chanced to chat with Manny and Amandla about the show.
The Morning Show also spoke to the pair.
Manny discussed the topic of pressure when chatting with The Hollywood Reporter.
How do you deal with stress or pressure in this business?
When I was working on Star Wars, it was a stressful time, emotionally, and the shoot took a lot out of us. I was away from my family for eight months, and I tend to get seasonal depression, so the winter in London was hard. I’d take salt baths at night because it would force me to relax. But I remember on Nine Perfect Strangers, what helped me was playing Mario Kart. I’d just throw it on my Nintendo Switch and play endlessly, and I got pretty damn good — not to pat myself on the back. So if there are any challengers out there, bring it. Also, if I’m able to work in L.A., I have my wife and our dog — she’s a Frenchie/pitbull mix and looks like a tiny little hippo — so that’s really helpful.
Lee Jung-Jae
Sure to quickly become a fan favourite, Lee Jung-Jae spoke with EW about his character Master Sol and how he drew inspiration from Liam Neeson’s Qui-Gon Jinn.
“He is a Jedi master, but the more I saw the script, I realized that there were more of these humanistic elements to him,” says Lee. “His emotions are constantly in flux. And also, when he’s in battle, he actually does feel that element of fear. And I think because of that, [showrunner Leslye Hedland] really created a Sol that was extremely humanistic. And she did that with the other characters as well — they all embody such a diversity of emotions, just like regular people. And in each character, you see those elements really clearly.”
“I definitely was inspired by a lot of the past Jedi Masters and the wonderful actors that played them. And one of my favorite characters was Qui-Gon Jinn, played by Liam Neeson. I really kind of tried to find the connective tissue between him and my character, Master Sol.”
Lee also spoke to Games Spot about making history as the first Asian actor to play a Jedi master.
“I believe I’m the first Asian actor to play a Jedi Master,” Lee told GamesRadar+. “So I think that is something that’s a little bit different… When you look at Star Wars films and shows in the past, you see that whether it’s the costume or some of the martial arts [and] choreography, there is some kind of Asian influence. So I thought that maybe, because The Acolyte happens in a timeline that is previous to any show or film that’s out currently, there was a choice to select an Asian actor for the role of Master Sol.”
Dafne Keen
Empire Magazine took the opportunity to chat with Dafne Keen about her character Padawan Jecki Lon and her excitement for getting the role.
What is that moment, then, when you get a call and it’s not just Star Wars, but they want you to play a Jedi? A Jedi Padawan!
I absolutely lost my mind. I literally was skipping on the street. I was going to my friend’s house, and I obviously couldn’t say anything to my friend. I just spent all day smiling to myself. My friend was like, ‘What is wrong with your face? What’s happening, Dafne?’ I was like, ‘Nothing, I’m just happy!’ He was like, ‘No you’re not, you’re giddy.’ I’d literally gotten the call five minutes before going into his house. And I had to pretend. Then I got home and I was like, ‘Oh my god!’ Literally lost it. I was so excited.
Dafne also spoke with HeyUGuys on the red carpet at the UK premiere.
Charlie Barnett
Collider spoke with Dafne, Manny and Charlie Barnett.
Rebecca Henderson
Speaking with Empire Magazine she touched on the already infamous lightwhip.
“The lightwhip is so cool. When I first read about it, and that she’d altered the lightsaber to be able to do this, and that the Nightsisters had [used them]… The history of the lightwhip, I thought was was really fascinating. Purple lightwhip: cool!”
Rebecca discussed her role as Vernestra Rwoh, a character known to readers of The High Republic, alongside Jodie Turner-Smith.
Jodie Turner-Smith
Jodie spoke to EW about the show and how our perceptions of the Force could be altered – a different point of view if you like, and what’s more Star Wars than that?
“Others feel that only the Jedi should wield the Force and so, here you have a group of people who are just trying to find their way of life and they challenge the binary — this idea of the light side and the dark side that they don’t fit into at all,” Turner-Smith shares. “But you know what do people do when someone or something challenges the light within you? They try to destroy it, feeling that that will protect them, you know? So it’s all just one big misunderstanding.”
Finally, there are stunts and action galore in the series, as highlighted by this YouTube short.
There’s going to be plenty more from the stars of the show as The Acolyte finally arrives on Disney Plus today in the North America and tomorrow everywhere else, so stay tuned.
