‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’: Rupert Friend Talks “Sweaty” Grand Inquisitor Suit and Joining ‘Star Wars’
Juicy bits of information keep pouring in as we approach the arrival of Obi-Wan Kenobi on Disney Plus.
Yesterday, we reported on the bleak tone we should expect from the long-anticipated limited series, according to head writer Joby Harold, and today, we’ve learned a bit more (via Digital Spy) about Rupert Friend’s experience shooting his scenes as the Grand Inquisitor, who we first met in Star Wars Rebels.
During his appearance in BBC’s The One Show, the actor admitted working with a copious amount of prosthetics on his face and head, all with a heavy suit on, wasn’t the most pleasant of experiences:
“It was a sweaty, sweaty suit and I did sweat buckets inside the prosthetics which would pour across my face at the end of a day and make me look like a very, very miserable clown… But so worth it!”
This is a common sentiment among many actors and performers who have joined the Star Wars franchise over the years; playing an alien sounds extremely cool on paper and can be a rewarding and unique experience, but prosthetics and awkward suits are tough to deal with. Later into the conversation, he also praised his time working with Lucasfilm on the series, highlighting the huge universe they’ve built alongside fans:
“It’s amazing. They have literally built a universe over the years and the incredible thing about is the relationship between the stories and the fans is completely interlaced – they are as connected with those stories as those of us who make it and you really feel like you’re in dialogue as you do it… It’s an amazing thing to be a part of.”
It appears Friend cherishes the time he spent in a galaxy far, far away in spite of the unavoidable annoyances of alien costumes and make-up — we’re sure he’ll deliver an intimidating performance as the Grand Inquisitor, following in the footsteps of Jason Isaacs.
A large portion of the fandom, however, isn’t quite happy with the live-action look of the Pau’an villain in Obi-Wan Kenobi, which is far below the costume and make-up work we saw in Revenge of the Sith when Obi-Wan visited Utapau, and lacks the demon-like eyes that complete his fearsome facade. We’ll have to wait and see whether some (digital) changes have been made ahead of the series’ May 27 debut.
Francisco J. Ruiz is that guy who has watched Jurassic Park a thousand times and loves Star Wars. His hunger for movies is only matched by his love for video games. He graduated in English Studies from the University of Malaga, in Spain. As he keeps writing about what he enjoys (and doesn’t) for websites all over, he’s continuing his studies.
