Joel Edgerton talks about his time as Owen Lars, Luke Skywalker’s uncle Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clonesbefore returning to the character two decades later Obi Wan Kenobi.
While the 2002 episode of Star Wars did not receive critical acclaim across the board, Edgerton acknowledges that the film and creator George Lucas have made a great contribution to his career path.
“I owe so much to my career to George who gave me that job. It opened all the doors to Hollywood,” the actor said NME. “This allowed everyone in LA to welcome me and say, ‘Oh, he’s in Star Wars. Let’s give him an audition for other things.’”
While pointing out how much he owed Lucas, Edgerton admitted he was a little hesitant to return to the role of Owen Lars for the Disney+ series.
“I was kind of… not snobbish but reluctant to say, ‘I’ve done this before,'” he said. “I’ve always joked that Uncle Owen is the most boring character Star Wars history because he is a moisture farmer and he is not allowed to wield a lightsaber. But, he added, “I saw it as a way to sort of complete the circle.”
Despite eventually deciding to appear on the series, The Great Gatsby star explained that he wanted to add more layers to the character than before.
“Everyone thinks Uncle Owen is a grumpy, cantankerous ‘say no’ guy,” Edgerton said. like it a little more.” And I think we have done that.”
He continued, “My only warning to them was, ‘I know what you’re up to with the story and how it unfolds, and I’m not asking for more screen time, I just want to do something cool. Can I fight at least once? Can I at least roll up my hessian sleeves and get into one brawl?’”
The writers agreed, and Owen ended up fighting Moses Ingram’s Reva Sevander, which the actor says made it even more special. “How cool is that?”
