‘Andor’ Star Genevieve O’Reilly on Fleshing Out Mon Mothma and Her Dual Identity
The Hollywood Reporter had the chance to sit down with Star Wars: Andor actor Genevieve O’Reilly to discuss Mon Mothma in depth ahead of the series premiere on September 21.
This isn’t the first extensive interview that we’ve seen in the last few weeks, but it’s one of the most revealing. While her words about embracing the character and going back to Caroline Blakiston’s original performance to refine her work might sound familiar, there are some new nuggets of information worth digging into. Head over to THR to read the full interview and scroll down to get the most important bits.
Regarding how Mon Mothma behaves in private and interacts with Stellan Skarsgård’s Luthen Rael in episode 4 (some of the press have already seen a handful of episodes), O’Reilly said the following:
First of all, yes. Stellan is just a special man and quite a brilliant actor. It was a real treat to get to work with him, and that scene you’re talking about in the gallery might be the first time we meet Mon Mothma in the season. It beautifully sets up what I think we’re trying to do with Mon Mothma, which is to meet the public face and unveil the private woman within it. That beautiful gallery set, which was designed by Luke Hull, also mirrors that within the scene. You enter a very public space, and then you go back behind a corner and we have a private interplay. So it allows for a play and a creativity, both within the space, but also between myself and Stellan, which feels genuinely full of energy. It was great to play. It is what an actor looks for; an actor looks for the private moments to reveal within a character.
We had already heard from showrunner Tony Gilroy that Mon Mothma has several moments that will get people talking and be a major force in Andor, and O’Reilly seems to reinforce that idea of meeting a very different Mon that will go through an unexpected evolution as the plot unravels and tensions escalate. Here’s what she commented on the internal toll of her “dual identity”:
Yes. We know her. We know that she is dignified and bolstered by her ideals. We know that she is a truth-teller. We see her try to effect change from within the Empire, and we see that it is a very lonely experience. There are few people willing to stand with her against Palpatine, against this collective oppression. And we see her try to navigate and find exit routes for herself to be effective, to try and be a part of the change. And I think it’s okay to say that it’s not easy and not all of those choices are black and white.
Stay tuned for more interviews and promotional material as Andor nears its three-episode debut next week.
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.
