Page 75 - Star Wars Insider #194

INTERVIEW: CARL WEATHERS

opportunity to experiment, 03 Carl Weathers
as Greef Carga.
that you inhabit the set and
the story in a different sort 04 Greef Carga,
of way. It’s been an awesome armed and
dangerous.
experience, really. In its own
strange way, it reminds me 05 For Weathers,
of the feeling that I had in working with
actor Werner
Rocky, or the feeling that I Herzog on The
had in Predator, because those Mandalorian
was a career
worlds were so new in their
highlight.
own ways. All of the talent was
so spectacular that you had
an opportunity to walk through
something unlike anything you’ve
walked through before. And so, for
me, The Mandalorian project has
been very much the same.

Director Dave Filoni is something
of a walking repository of Star
Wars knowledge. Did you fi nd 05
yourself picking his brain to help
you navigate that world?
Dave is truly an encyclopedia of
all things Star Wars. It’s been really should be. It gave us a wealth of
wonderful to be around him, and knowledge to draw from.
to ask questions of him because
you get so much background. The series has an incredible
Sometimes, when you don’t have cast. Was there a co-star you
background and you’re working had particular fun with?
in a vacuum of sorts, it’s a little Working in scenes with Werner
tougher to fill out the space as an Herzog, I must tell you, are some

actor. If you have background, you of the highlights of my career. His
have context. If you know nuggets presence and his commitment
about how this relates to past Star to the role, and to every scene,
Wars stories, and what this means and to getting it right was just
in relation to that past, then you phenomenal. What an absolute
have some chance of utilizing it joy! I never could have imagined
in the present. Dave is a wealth that would happen in that capacity,
of information and a wealth of actor to actor. But I’m telling you,
nuance that otherwise I wouldn’t it was truly one of the highlights of
have, so it’s really been a joy to my career. He’s stunningly chilling
be around him. I continue to ask in that role, in what he does and
questions about things, you know? the way in which he does it. And
It’s just great. of course, that voice. I’m really into
And Jon was always there on set. voices, and his is just spectacular.
You had the guy who wrote all of
these scripts, so what you had was You’re a grandfather, and your

the benefit of his vision translated grandchildren love Star Wars. Has
through the vision of the director taking the role of Greef Carga
of the episode. In my mind, Jon’s upped your cool factor to new
an invaluable talent and somebody heights with them?
I really, really admire. As a director, I think my cool factor has gone
as a creator, as a producer, he’s up a couple of notches, for sure,
a phenomenon, he really is. In because that was the operative
conjunction with Dave Filoni, what word when I told them: Cool.
we also had were two guides who They’re really excited about seeing
04 know the franchise really well and it, and now I’m a lot cooler than I
had a clear idea of what this thing used to be (Laughs).

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