At the Monte Carlo Television Festival on Saturday, Lee Jung-Jae, one of the stars of the new Disney+ series “Star Wars: The Acolyte,” spoke with Variety about how he prepared for his role as Jedi Master Sol, the strengths of Leslye Headland, the show’s creator, as showrunner, and the relationship between Sol and Amandla Stenberg’s characters.
Lee, who won a Primetime Emmy for “Squid Game,” says that for 50% of the role of “The Acolyte” he drew inspiration from previous portrayals of the Jedi Masters, and “for the other 50% I tried to find something that was appropriate.” ”. to Sol, something that would only embody him.” He also consulted with an expert on “Star Wars” history at Lucasfilm.
In “The Acolyte,” Jedi Masters are shown to have flaws. How does the program present this? “In ‘The Acolyte’ what he tries to say is that anyone can make mistakes, but you have to accept the mistakes you make and make an effort to correct them or develop yourself, because any human being has unstable thinking.” Lee says. “So we all make mistakes, but you have to accept them, and if you make some really good efforts, you can move towards something good.”
Lee says of Headland that she is someone who “just thinks every human being is precious, so she also has an approach to every character that makes them very important and precious.”
And he adds: “Each of the characters has their own past and their own reasons (for doing what they do). She is really dedicated to the characters and it shows when reading the script.”
Lee apologized for not being able to go into detail about Sol’s relationship with twins Mae and Osha, both played by Stenberg, as that would be a spoiler, but he did say that “the mystery (of his relationship with Sol) is revealed episode per episode, so the fact that you’re following all these mysterious things is one of the things you’ll really enjoy seeing in this series.”
However, he added that Sol gives each girl equal consideration and “gives them the same opportunity,” although he ultimately chooses Mae as his Padawan, a Jedi apprentice.
