Gavyn Sykes was a human male. He served as an N-1 starfighter pilot within the Royal Naboo Security Forces. During the Invasion of Naboo, he was a member of Bravo Squadron, holding the callsign Bravo Six. His assigned astromech droid at that time was R2-C4.
The character Gavyn Sykes initially appeared as a background performer in the 1999 movie Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, which was the first film in the Star Wars prequel trilogy. Although credited as "Bravo Six," he was played by Christian Simpson, a British actor who did not receive formal credit for the role. His identification as Gavyn Sykes occurred in the Star Wars Legends video game Star Wars: Episode I: Battle for Naboo, released in 2000. In current canon, Sykes's name was first officially used on the product listing for an ARTFX+ series R2-C4 figure, which was released in December 2014 by KOTOBUKIYA CO., LTD, a Japanese toy manufacturer. On that page, the character is referred to as ギャヴィン・サイケス using Japanese katakana, without a specified English spelling.
Simpson's role as Sykes marked his entry into acting, secured through an audition arranged by his agent, Laura, after he responded to a newspaper advertisement seeking actors for the film in London, England. Despite filming multiple cockpit scenes, these were ultimately omitted from the final cut due to time constraints. Nevertheless, Simpson can be seen in two instances within the film: first, running towards his starfighter, and later, standing among the surviving pilots during the victory celebration. While uncredited as "Bravo Six," Simpson did receive credit as a stand-in, a detail he discussed with producer Rick McCallum. Simpson expressed his gratitude for his involvement in The Phantom Menace, fulfilling a childhood dream of appearing in a Star Wars film. He vividly recalled the hangar scene's filming, where mini-explosions were directed at him, with sparks even hitting his hat. Simpson jokingly apologized for Sykes's indirect role in Darth Vader's creation, given that some fans view Skywalker's destruction of the droid control ship as the initial step towards his fall to the dark side of the Force. Following fan speculation about Sykes's canonical involvement in Skywalker's victory, Simpson contacted Leland Chee, keeper of the Holocron continuity database, who confirmed his role.
Following Simpson's work on The Phantom Menace, McCallum re-engaged him to serve as Hayden Christensen's stand-in for Anakin Skywalker in the 2005 film Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith on the film's United Kingdom set. He was also granted a VIP blog on StarWars.com, allowing him to share behind-the-scenes insights from the film's production. Simpson was subsequently invited to the premiere of Revenge of the Sith in Berlin, Germany. After The Walt Disney Company acquired Lucasfilm, Simpson returned to the franchise, providing voices for aliens, stormtroopers, and Resistance pilot C'ai Threnalli. He also collaborated with Matthew Wood on Nien Nunb's dialogue in the 2015 film Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens. Simpson reprised his role as Threnalli in the 2016 video game LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens, voiced rebels for Saw Gerrera, and some Death Star Imperials in the 2016 Star Wars Anthology film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Furthermore, he co-wrote and directed Kipsang Rotich's dialogue as Nien Nunb for the 2019 film Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker.
Simpson expressed interest in reprising Gavyn Sykes in the live-action Star Wars television series that George Lucas was planning back in 2009 in his blog. However, Lucas put the project on hold in 2010 because of financial limitations, and Pablo Hidalgo verified that it had been canceled by 2012 by 2019.