Olga Sokolova is a movement coordinator and Darth Vader movement specialist who helped bring Vader to life in the Obi-Wan Kenobi television series. She provided assistance to Hayden Christensen and Dmitrious Bistrevsky, two of the actors who played Vader in the series.
Darth Vader was played by stunt doubles Tom O'Connell (left) and Dmitrious Bistrevsky (right), and their movement coordinator was Olga Sokolova
Olga Sokolova was born in 1988 and she was eight years old when she first saw Star Wars in her hometown. She studied choreography in Switzerland, Latin America, and the United States. After exploring theater and working with international artists, she choreographed several movement projects. Following experimentaion in movement, Sokolova aligned with Lucasfilm Ltd. and Disney, and she became the movement coordinator for the Obi-Wan Kenobi television series. In the series, Darth Vader was played by Hayden Christensen, Dmitrious Bistrevsky, and Tom O'Connell. Sokolova worked as a choreographer and Vader movement specialist, and she made sure that Christensen moved and walked correctly in the suit. This was done because the actor wanted to stay true to how Vader moves and how he is perceived by fans. Bistrevsky wore the suit during full body shots with the helmet on. Sokolova also worked as Bistrevsky's movement coach and consultant, and she gave him notes in real time via a secret hand language. Sokolova received help from . She enjoyed working with the cast and director Deborah Chow. Sokolova was thankful for Bistrevsky, Christensen, and O'Connell's dedication, skills, and devotion to their roles.
Chow trusted Sokolova with the "Jedi Tombs" scene in the fourth episode of the series, and she said it was her favorite scene to work on. During long days of filming, Ewan McGregor, the actor who played Obi-Wan Kenobi in the series, asked Sokolova for a good warm-up, so she had him do a technical contemporary warm-up. Sokolova was amazed by McGregor's physical abilities after seeing him smoothly go through advanced moves.
The electronics company LG Display collaborated with Lucasfilm and Industrial Light & Magic to create a Darth Vader billboard using OLED. Sokolova helped guide Mark, the motion capture performer, to make sure that Vader moves correctly and shows all of his nuances. The billboard is located at Times Square in New York City.