"The Acolyte," starring Carrie-Anne Moss, Amandla Stenberg, streaming on Disney+. We sat down with members of the cast (Dafne Keen, Jodie Turner-Smith, Lee Jung-jae, Rebecca Henderson, Manny Jacinto, Charlie Barnett) to discuss the making the latest "Star Wars" series. We talk about the possibility of Yoda making an appearance during this season, their "Star Wars" fandom connecting generations of their families, and Dafne Keen gives us her reaction to her "Logan" co-star Hugh Jackman returning to the role of Wolverine.
00:00You came to me one day and she would be like,
00:02OK, I have to do this scene, Charlie.
00:04Are my eyebrows moving?
00:05Are they moving?
00:06I mean, like, literally, you couldn't move them in there.
00:08But I'd be like, no, Daft, there's nothing.
00:10I'd be like, nothing?
00:11I'd be like, I'm lifting my right one.
00:12Can you see it?
00:13And they'd be like, no, nothing.
00:16This isn't about good or bad.
00:20This is about power.
00:22And who is allowed to use it?
00:30The coolest shot so far happens in episode four,
00:33which is the moment that every Jedi ignites their lightsaber at once
00:36and it sort of goes down the line.
00:38I want to know how cool that was on the day of the shoot.
00:41Did it look equally awesome?
00:43You know what?
00:44It was equally awesome.
00:45About until the second that Daphne started to try and run
00:48and fell on a fern.
00:50Oh, no.
00:51That was really what made it a human moment.
00:53Was it for, like, a few takes?
00:55It wasn't like I fell, I kept face bouncing the ground.
00:57No, she kept falling, yeah.
00:59It was epic until that moment, though.
01:00It was really cool.
01:01Once we pulled them out, that was pretty solid.
01:03Yeah.
01:04It was really humbling.
01:05We all felt really cool and it was like, oh.
01:07Yeah.
01:08At least you can get a horn into, you know.
01:10Thank God, actually, that's a really good point.
01:11It's dangerous.
01:12Yeah.
01:16Yeah, that scene you mentioned,
01:18we, you know, kind of shot it with the light actually coming on
01:21and the lightsaber, so it felt very realistic.
01:24And when we saw that red lightsaber come on for the first time,
01:31it really felt like a big event was gonna happen
01:34or a big fight scene.
01:35So it was a really exciting moment on set as well.
01:39Rebecca, I'm curious, jealous of the co-stars
01:41who didn't have to endure the makeup chair
01:43or really happy with your look?
01:45Really happy with my look.
01:47Definitely look better green.
01:49Would prefer to always be green and bald.
01:52It was so sad when they took it off
01:54and like my skin underneath, like red and gross.
01:58Yeah, I love being green.
02:00My eyes are actually green, so it made my eyes really pop
02:03and I, yeah, I thought I looked fantastic, honestly.
02:06But it is a long process.
02:07It was three hours at first and then two hours we got it down to
02:10and then taking it off was a process.
02:12And when I like blew my nose for the week afterwards,
02:15it would be green.
02:17I honestly loved it.
02:19I can't think of many cons.
02:22It was really good to get into the character.
02:24I think it gave her a completely different dimension.
02:26I'd imagined her in a way
02:28and then she became something completely different
02:30when I was in the makeup, which was really nice.
02:32Also, just from like a vain, like human point of view,
02:36having your face taken away from you just takes so much pressure off you
02:39because you don't have to be like thinking about, you're just the character.
02:43Yeah, yeah.
02:44And from like a comedy point of view,
02:47it meant that anytime we went out with the crew,
02:49no one knew who I was.
02:50No one knew.
02:51They were like, it's nice to meet you.
02:52And I'd be like, I have been working with you for six months.
02:54To the end.
02:55For six months.
02:56To me.
02:57I mean, you got to mention the eyebrows though.
02:59Oh yeah.
03:00Well, they took, it's also really difficult to act.
03:02I use my eyebrows a lot, but it's really difficult to act without any eyebrows.
03:05And I kept being told off by Leslie.
03:08She'd be like, you're not acting.
03:09And I'd be like, I'm doing so much.
03:11But obviously if you do, if you cover this,
03:13it looks like you're not doing anything.
03:15So I was giving like the most deadpan performance ever.
03:17But to me, I was overacting so much.
03:20I was like, no, because all you could see was this.
03:23Oh, I thought that was a choice.
03:24I thought deadpan was just like, you're just like.
03:26Yeah.
03:27Let's go with that.
03:28It was definitely a choice.
03:29If you came to me one day and she would be like, okay, I have to do this scene, Charlie.
03:33Are my eyebrows moving?
03:34Are they moving?
03:35I mean, like literally you couldn't move them in there.
03:37But I'd be like, no, Daft, there's nothing.
03:39I'd be like, nothing?
03:40I'd be like, I'm lifting my right one.
03:42Can you see it?
03:43And they'd be like, no.
03:44No, nothing.
03:45Sorry.
03:46Destiny is not decided for you by an anonymous force.
03:53If you want to pull the thread, you'll change everything.
03:58Then pull it.
04:01We finally get to get into Force Witches, which is an incredible thing to discuss.
04:07How much research into this corner of the universe did you have to do?
04:10And who could you turn to when you needed questions answered?
04:13Leslie is pretty much like a walking Star Wars encyclopedia.
04:19That was one thing that was like really great about it, to know like the person the most closest to the project was right there for me to just be like, okay, explain this to me, explain that to me.
04:31Thank God for the internet because, you know, in lieu of reading a bunch of books, when you don't necessarily like when you're literally thrown into something, it's good to be able to like go down a black hole of doom scrolling.
04:46But what was nice is to be able to talk to a person, right? Because it's like there's so much information out there.
04:53And so to actually be able to like to talk to someone who is so knowledgeable about it, I mean, Leslie really walked me through everything.
05:00I would say I had the most conversations with director and showrunner Leslie Headlan.
05:09I mean, she is a mega fan. So she has like an encyclopedic knowledge of Star Wars.
05:14So whether it was any questions I had about, you know, the background, the backstory, about the characters, she was really able to answer all of them.
05:24We have Force Teacher, which is, for me, one of the coolest parts, aside from our unbelievable stunt team and their leadership.
05:33Alex was leading us through our own connection to the Force, through meditation, through movement.
05:39A lot of that I took in just kind of centering myself and applying the physical nature.
05:45We all, as actors, we always have a different inlet. You know, it might be physical, it might be imagery, it might be costume, it might be shoes,
05:53or music. Through that experience, I really grasped a better control or knowledge of how physical can play such a huge role.
06:03Alex was incredible, though, really.
06:05I think Star Wars is so invested in its characters. You know, it's really so much about each character.
06:14And you don't often get that kind of special attention to character and story in all sci-fi productions.
06:21Like, a lot of times it's really about the bigger picture and not necessarily about, like, what is granular about each character.
06:32What happened?
06:33I sensed the darkness.
06:35Part of the joy of getting to watch these episodes is that I'm sharing them with my son right off the bat.
06:44He's a college student. He's home from school. He's watched Star Wars with me all my life.
06:48I'm curious if there's a family member who introduced you to this world or maybe even a family member who you can't wait to share these episodes with because of their shared love of Star Wars.
06:57The answer is my dad and my dad. I watched them with my dad when I was young, and he's so excited that I'm in the show.
07:05It's beautiful. And I was doing some press yesterday, and the answers of the two people I was with yesterday also, like, watched it with my dad, watched it with my dad.
07:11So there's obviously, like, a big... I love that.
07:14Yeah, of course, my family is extremely excited for the Acolyde to come out.
07:25Actually, there's going to be a group of my friends, you know, watching it the day it comes out, and then also my family members, so...
07:33I'm kind of torn. They're saying I should come to each of their meetings, and I don't know where to go.
07:39I don't know where to go.
07:43Close your eyes.
07:46Your eyes...
07:49can deceive you.
07:51Tell me what comes into your mind.
07:55Rebecca, you can't mention the High Council, the Jedi Council, without us wondering if Yoda, who's been around for a really long time, might potentially show up.
08:03Touch your nose if this is a character who you're familiar with, or...
08:07If I'm familiar with Yoda?
08:09Yeah, or might see in the Acolyte at some point down the line.
08:12Touch your nose!
08:13Unfortunately, you do not, unfortunately.
08:15But, I don't know, maybe in the second season? Third season?
08:19Daphne, before they kick me out, I just need to know, as someone who was in Logan, what your reaction was to Hugh coming back to the role? Were you shocked?
08:25I was so shocked, because when we were shooting, Hugh was like, I love it, but I've been doing this for 17 years, and I want to leave this behind.
08:34So, it was a real shock to see it, but the trailer looks incredible, so I'm just really excited to see it when it comes out. I will be in the cinema, for sure.
