Donnie Yen Looks Back on Playing Chirrut Imwe in ‘Rogue One’, Reveals How Much He Influenced the Character
It’s been less than a year since Andor debuted on Disney Plus and impressed both longtime Star Wars fans and critics alike with its dark, mature, and political story depicting the origins of the Rebellion. The series was so well-received that it arguably gave The Mandalorian a run for its money in terms of acclaim. However, it shouldn’t be forgotten that Andor is itself a prequel to another project: the franchise’s first spinoff film, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which was released in 2016.
That film endured a tumultuous and reshoot-heavy production to earn solid reviews and an impressive box office return. Some fans still regard Rogue One as the best Star Wars movie of the Disney era. Now, one of the movie’s stars has just spoken about his experience participating in Rogue One.
Renowned actor and martial arts superstar Donnie Yen recently spoke with GQ in the latest installment of their Iconic Characters interview series to talk about some of his most famous roles. Unsurprisingly, the actor’s Star Wars character, Chirrut Imwe, was one of the characters he discussed. As it turns out, Yen was initially hesitant to accept the part, but once he did, he did everything he could to develop Chirrut beyond what was on the script page and make him as memorable as possible.
Yen started the conversation by revealing that, when he was offered the role in Rogue One, he wondered whether or not he was too old to play the character:
I was thrilled, but at the same time I was kind of confused. Am I too damn old to take that role? I don’t know! So I actually asked my kids, ‘Do you think your father should do Star Wars? I mean, do you like Ip Man better or Star Wars better?’ And they said, ‘Star Wars, of course!’ So that changed my mind. That’s pretty much it.
It looks like Rogue One fans owe Donnie Yen’s children a “thank you” for convincing him to accept the role of Chirrut Imwe. Had the star passed on the opportunity, it’s highly unlikely that Chirrut would have been portrayed as he was in the finished movie, as Yen had plenty of his own ideas for fleshing him out:
One of the creative conversations before I agreed to do it, I said, ‘You know, the role was a little bit too cliché…’ Because in the beginning the character was a little bit more serious. Then I said, ‘You know, you have enough of these kind of Asian martial arts masters. That’s fine. You know if you want me to play that, be that Asian master, you want me to swing that stick a little bit, that’s perfectly fine but shouldn’t he have a sense of humor?’ And he liked the idea, so we kind of added lines and made this character a little bit more funny.
While Yen’s character had his more serious and dramatic moments, Chirrut also undeniably liked to make jokes and occasionally comment on the absurdity of the situations he found himself in. Let’s not forget his incredulous line, “Are you kidding me? I am blind!” as Saw Gerrera’s Partisans put a hood over his head and dragged him away after his first fight scene.
Yen’s contributions to the character didn’t end there. Apparently, it was also his idea to have the character be blind:
Then I just kind of suggested, ‘Would it be even better if he can’t see? Where he can feel the Force… but then somehow he has a grasp of that universe?’
When Rogue One initially released, the introduction of the Guardians of the Whills, an order of Force-worshipping devotees other than the Jedi, caused a good deal of conversation among fans. Force users beyond the Jedi and the Sith had been introduced in the old Legends continuity before, but Chirrut and his partner, Baze Malbus, were the first members of such an order that audiences got to see on film.
Additionally, Chirrut’s final scene where he puts his faith in the Force and walks across the Scarif beach in the middle of a deadly firefight is arguably among the film’s most memorable moments. Chirrut can’t see, but he trusts the Force to guide him, and he is rewarded.
Yen concluded the portion of the video about Chirrut by elaborating on his approach to acting in general:
In all my films and all the characters that I’ve played in my entire career, I always emphasize on the realism of the character. No matter what genre I do, I always emphasize on interpreting this character. He has to be grounded, or else you’ll be off the wall and no one understands where you’re coming from.
“So that’s how I approached the whole character, not just the action side. So maybe that worked. Maybe people really came to like this character so much.
Based on Rogue One‘s success at the time of its release as well as its enduring popularity, it would seem that Yen’s take on the role resonated with audiences. Chirrut was a man driven by his unwavering faith in the Force, and that faith inspires him to give his life for the Rebellion. Given that his character dies in Rogue One, it’s unlikely that Yen will ever reprise the role. Still, at least he made the most out of the screen time he got.
For the full interview, you can watch the video from GQ.
Eric has been a fan of Star Wars ever since the age of five (or so) when his parents sat him down in front of a TV with pizza and a Sprite and showed him the original trilogy. He keeps trying to convince more fans to read the amazing 1980s Star Wars newspaper comics by Archie Goodwin and Al Williamson. When he's not reading, watching or playing Star Wars media, he's often enjoying other great fantasy and science fiction sagas or playing roleplaying games with his friends.
