Joel Edgerton Says Star Wars Helped Launch His Career
Joel Edgerton believes that he owes much of his career to Star Wars and George Lucas.
The celebrated actor portrayed Owen Lars beginning in Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones, a role which he says kickstarted his career.
In a recent interview, Edgerton talked about how his role in the Star Wars franchise opened doors for the actor throughout Hollywood.
“I owe so much in my career to George giving me that job. It opened all the doors to Hollywood,” said Edgerton. “It allowed everyone in L.A. to kind of welcome me and go, ‘Oh, he’s in Star Wars. Let’s give him an audition for other things.’”
Portraying Owen Lars
Owen Lars, commonly referred to as Uncle Owen, first appeared in Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope. The cantankerous man often kept Luke Skywalker grounded on Tatooine, fearing that he would eventually follow in his father’s footsteps.
Owen’s story was expanded upon in Revenge of the Sith, where he was tasked with caring for Luke Skywalker by Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Edgerton’s Star Wars career would not end with the prequel trilogy. Nearly two decades after his final Star Wars film, Edgerton returned for the Disney+ series in Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Fleshing Out The Character
Although Edgerton was initially hesitant about returning to the role, he eventually agreed after he realized he had an opportunity to change the narrative around Uncle Owen.
“Everybody thinks that Uncle Owen is a grumbly, cantankerous ‘say no’ dude,” the actor continued. “I was like, ‘This is my opportunity to put a bit more context on that and have people maybe like him a little bit more.’ And I think we did that.”
While Edgerton was happy to expand upon his character’s backstory, he did admit that he wanted to spice Owen up a little.
“I was a little bit… not snobbish but reticent in regards to going, ‘I’ve done this before,’” Edgerton said. “I’ve always joked that Uncle Owen is the most boring character in Star Wars history because he’s a moisture farmer, and he doesn’t get to wield a lightsaber. I saw it as a way to complete a circle of some kind.”
“I Just Want To Do Something Cool”
According to the actor, his one requirement for coming back did not revolve around billing or screen time, but making Owen a little more exciting.
“My one caveat to them was, ‘I know what you’re planning 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 at least have one fight? Can I at least throw my hessian sleeves up and get into one brawl?’” he recalled.
From his start in Attack of the Clones to his return in Obi-Wan Kenobi, Edgerton’s career has now come full circle. Whether or not Owen’s story will continue to unfold, however, remains to be unseen.
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