One of the stars of the new Disney+ streaming show, ‘The Mandalorian’ has spoken with The New York Times about his experience on the show.
Giancarlo Esposito, best known as Gus Fring on “Breaking Bad,” plays Moff Gideon in the series.
You were in your late teens when the first “Star Wars” film came out. Were you a fan of it?
I really loved the original “Star Wars” movie, which had all this mystery and comedy. As a young adult, I was empowered by this vast universe — it was the unknown, and the unknown can be very intriguing. I certainly noticed that there was a lack of color. There wasn’t the vision to have people of color as either the good guy or the bad guy. The wonderful thing about what’s happened now is we’ve come to a place where we have a different understanding of humanity.
Where does your character, Moff Gideon, fit into the world of “The Mandalorian”?
When the universe collapses, there are many wardens who have been given a certain area of the universe to police. Moff Gideon has the vision to do something. He seems to know everything about the galaxy. So where is he getting his information? You don’t really know. Is he good or bad? Is he trying to co-opt power? Is he trying to take the universe over for himself? Or is he really trying to straighten things out, so he can then hand the power back to the people? It’s layered and it’s complicated, and that’s what I really enjoy. And I enjoy having the audience discover it.
Did you get to keep any of the props you used on “The Mandalorian”?
[Laughs] I wanted it all. And once you see how I look, with my costume and the plethora of weapons I have — but no, no. They wouldn’t let me take anything. They said to me, it’s all going to wind up in a museum. You’re going to be so honored when you see it there in a couple of years. But you can’t have it now.
