“Sometimes we’re working in a place where there’s nothing in the room except for me, in my costume, in character, and I have to imagine everything” – Giancarlo Esposito
Breaking Bad star Giancarlo Esposito stars in The Mandalorian, the first live-action Star Wars series. Speaking about joining the Star Wars galaxy with The New York Times, Esposito talks about reconnecting with Star Wars before accepting the role and what he looks for in his characters now.
Esposito reveals that he did review Star Wars films before accepting the role. He says:
“I do go back and look at the style of the films. I’m more wanting to know, what does that feel like, where you’re traveling in spaceships or pods that take you to a new place? How would it feel to be in a pressurized capsule for weeks and months, in a state of suspended animation until I wake up and then have to perform and do my duty in a new place? In this new world of film, sometimes we don’t have tangible markers. Sometimes we’re working in a place where there’s nothing in the room except for me, in my costume, in character, and I have to imagine everything: imagine other characters, other vehicles, the terrain. It plays into what I love about working in this world, because anything could happen and you have to use your imagination.”
When it comes to playing complex characters, Esposito points out that his goal has been to move in a direction where he is performing multi-dimensional characters and mentions his Breaking Bad experience. He explains:
“I’m wanting to play more thoughtful characters, more soulful and interior characters. When I start to create a character, I want him to have all the elements of a human being. But human beings are not only black and white, light and dark. They have gray areas. My guy Gus Fring, he thought he could do everything better than everyone else. He had a really great sense of business, and was able to implement what he wanted to do, to take over and make things better in his business. I want to explore the decisions we make in our lives. Are we selfish? Are we courageous? Are we warriors? Will we stand up and serve the people or will we serve ourselves? These are major questions in life that I think we all have to answer.”
