Forest Whitaker, born on July 15, 1961, is an actor. Notably, he portrayed Saw Gerrera in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, a Star Wars stand-alone film. He later provided the voice for the same character in Star Wars Rebels during the "Ghosts of Geonosis" and "In the Name of the Rebellion" episodes. Furthermore, he voiced the character again in the 2019 video game, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. In 2022, he returned to the role in live-action for Andor.
Born on July 15, 1961, Forest Whitaker took on the role of the Partisan Saw Gerrera in the 2016 Star Wars anthology film, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. According to writer Gary Whitta, Whitaker was the only actor considered for the part. Subsequently, Whitaker lent his voice to the character in the animated series Star Wars Rebels, specifically in the episodes "Ghosts of Geonosis" and "In the Name of the Rebellion". He also provided the voice for Gerrera in the 2019 video game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.
Whitaker once again played Gerrera in the Andor television series. The episodes "Narkina 5" and "Daughter of Ferrix" featured his performance in 2022. The night before a rehearsal for the argument between Gerrera and Luthen Rael in the "Narkina 5" episode, Whitaker contacted director Toby Haynes to inquire about backstory and kyber crystals. During the rehearsal, Whitaker and Stellan Skarsgård, who played Rael, performed the scene for the first time and intensely engaged with each other. Haynes noted that when the scene was actually filmed, Whitaker and Skarsgård nearly deconstructed their initial spontaneous performance. They then rebuilt the scene from the ground up, making it challenging to reach the same level of intensity. Haynes aimed to conclude Gerrera's rant with a direct, face-on shot of Whitaker, intending to amplify the intensity and draw the audience into the argument. To capture this shot, Haynes instructed Whitaker to repeat his speech multiple times and encouraged him to "go crazy with it."
- Rogue One—The Daring Mission Has Begun: Cast and Crew Announced on StarWars.com (backup link)
- " Launch Pad " — Star Wars Insider 160
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - The Official Mission Debrief
- Forest Whitaker Set for Celebration Orlando on StarWars.com (backup link)
- Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order — Official Gameplay Reveal Live Stream — EA Play 2019 on the official Electronic Arts Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link)
- " Launchpad " — Star Wars Insider 213
- "A Potent Moment in History": Insights from Tony Gilroy and the Andor Cast on StarWars.com (backup link)
- Andor — " Narkina 5 "