Giancarlo Esposito is known for playing some of TV’s most notorious villains. He continues the trend by playing Mof Gideon on Star Wars Disney + series of the franchise, The Mandalorian.
Esposito was very excited to join the Star Wars franchise initially, and has a unique process to get into the character.
Giancarlo Esposito is a big fan of ‘Star Wars’
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Esposito is a fan of Star Wars for much of his life and couldn’t wait to star in the series, according to an interview in Star Wars YouTube page.
“I’m a big fan of the first Star Wars films and the world in which they exist, ”said Esposito. “I was upside down when I was invited to do this show by Jon Favreau.”
He always liked Darth Vader
Esposito has always been intrigued by Darth Vader in previous films and loved how dynamic a Vader character is.
“I’ve always been fascinated by Darth Vader,” said Esposito. “I thought that inside that very, very hard and rough exterior could be a human being who had the ability to bring some light to our space odyssey in our galaxy.”
The versatile actor researched ‘Star Wars’ extensively before filming
Because he knew many Star Wars fans can be very passionate about the franchise, he made sure to do a lot of research before taking on
“I was strongly affected by Peter Cushing, who also played Moff many, many years ago,” said Esposito. “And I tried to research, because I knew that fans knew a lot more than I did about Star Wars. “
Giancarlo Esposito worked hard to get into the character of Moff Gideon
On the first day of filming, Espotio had to carefully decide how he was going to approach the role of Mof Gideon.
“On my first day of shooting, I went down with a TIE fighter and landed,” said Esposito. “And then I am led to what is an impasse with 300 stormtroopers. And all I can think of in my brain is, I’m Moff Gideon. I don’t have to do or say much to get what I want, because I will get it. “
That first day of filming laid the foundation for the exploration of Esposito by the character Mof Gideon.
“And then this impasse was the beginning for me to find the balance of who this character is,” said Esposito.
He takes his craft very seriously
Esposito has a very specific idea of what it means to be an actor and the responsibility he has in each of his interpretations.
“For me, as an actor, I have to reflect the images I see and feel that they are not really in front of me, so that you can see this world reflected through my vision, Esposito said. “And you have a real sense of that.”
Giancarlo Esposito says ‘Star Wars’ empowers young people
In addition to entertainment, Esposito believes that Star Wars franchise teaches important lessons to children about the power of their choices and doing good in the world.
“This is a series that empowers people to be who they are,” said Esposito. “We are in a different world. And more than at any other time in history, our young people need to be empowered to think about the effect that they, personally, can have on our world. AND Star Wars really focuses on that effect and allows them to dream, allows them to be amazed and creates a sense of power around being a hero.