Bonnie Maree Piesse (born August 10, 1983) is an Australian actress and singer/songwriter who played Beru Whitesun Lars in both Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. She reprised her role in the television series Obi-Wan Kenobi, as Beru Whitesun Lars.
Bonnie Maree Piesse was born on August 10, 1983. At the age of 16, she got a call from Robin Gurland, the casting director for Attack of the Clones, who wanted to audition her for a role in the movie. She eventually got the part of Beru Lars, previously portrayed by Shelagh Fraser in Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope. On July 7, 2000, StarWars.com announced that Piesse would be playing the role of a younger Beru in Attack of the Clones. Piesse approached Beru as being a little shy, the idea being that it was the introduction of Luke Skywalker into her life that matured her. In September, 2000, Piesse and the crew were filming the Tatooine scenes in Tunisia.
Piesse reprised her role as Beru in the 2005 film Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith. Director George Lucas filmed part of a scene for the film in which a stand-in actor playing Obi-Wan Kenobi delivers baby Luke to Owen Lars, played by Joel Edgerton. During the Episode III shoot in September, 2003, Lucas filmed Ewan McGregor handing the baby to Piesse, with Owen being played by a stand-in—Edgerton would be shot and added in almost a year later. Lucas made this change because he "felt it would be better if Luke were handed over to a woman." In an interview, Piesse admitted that her role in Star Wars had been "a huge help in my career."
Piesse loved watching what had done with the new Star Wars and she loved Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens. After spending many years meeting fans and learning what Star Wars means to people, Piesse started to appreciate Star Wars and she learned more about the franchise. Piesse has said Star Wars means much more to her than it did before and she "kind of became a fan in a whole new way."
Bonnie Piesse, Joel Edgerton, and Grant Feely on the Lars Homestead set
After escaping from the cult NXIVM, Piesse had not been trying to pursue acting and was processing her PTSD from the experience. She did not return to Hollywood until she received a message from Deborah Chow, the director of the Obi-Wan Kenobi television series. When Piesse first received Chow's message to chat, she did not recognize it as having to do with work. She then ignored the message for almost a week until realizing the message was for casting. Piesse then joined a call from Portugal and Chow convinced her to return to the role of Beru Lars. Chow was very excited to bring Edgerton and Piesse back to play Owen and Beru Lars, respectively, and she said their return was part of what made the series special. Piesse and Edgerton were excited to see each other again. She didn't feel pressured because it felt like everyone wanted to be there.
Piesse got to embody Lars in a different way, and her portrayal was a middle space between Lars starting to be a mother and Shelagh Fraser's portrayal in the original trilogy. Piesse felt like she did not need to try too hard to embody Lars because it was a character that "just fits so easily." Piesse prepared by healing, nourishing, and strengthening herself to have all the energy she needed to be on set. On March 29, 2021, Lucasfilm Ltd. confirmed Piesse as a cast member of the live-action Disney+ television series Obi-Wan Kenobi. Piesse has said she would like to continue acting in a second season or an adjacent film for Obi-Wan Kenobi.