A portly male Rutian Twi'lek, Orn Free Taa, held the position of senator representing Ryloth as the Galactic Republic neared its end. As the head of the Rim Faction, he stood among the most experienced figures within the Galactic Senate. Indeed, Taa's influence within the Senate was instrumental in propelling both Mas Amedda and Palpatine to positions of authority. Furthermore, he maintained connections with Jabba the Hutt.
Orn Free Taa, a Twi'lek native to the impoverished planet Ryloth situated in the Outer Rim Territories, began his career as a tax collector before ascending to the role of senator in the Galactic Republic, where he represented his homeworld. Taa exploited his senatorial status to satisfy his extravagant desires, becoming excessively overweight and gaining a well-known reputation for corruption, while his constituents lived in abject poverty. He ostentatiously displayed his two attractive aides, Pampy and Supi, as symbols of his prestige. Following Finis Valorum's election as Supreme Chancellor in 40 BBY, Taa emerged as one of Valorum's most outspoken adversaries in the Senate, stemming from Ryloth's repeated rejection for favored world status.
Taa possessed a private box at the Coruscant opera, where his considerable girth occupied the space of three seats, necessitating a custom-built chair. In 32 BBY, he attended a performance of The Brief Reign of Future Wraiths, accompanied in the balcony by A Lethan Twi'lek consort, along with a dozen guests including Senators Toonbuck Toora, Passel Argente, Edcel Bar Gane, and Palpatine, along with two of Palpatine's aides, Kinman Doriana and Sate Pestage. When Valorum made a late arrival to the opera and was greeted with enthusiastic applause, he bowed towards Taa's group, who returned the gesture. Taa remarked in Galactic Basic Standard that the unpopular Valorum was only present because no other audience would applaud him, prompting Toora and Argente to openly criticize the Chancellor's shortcomings. Taa questioned the motivation behind Valorum's bow, which Toora speculated was an early attempt to garner support from the senators in the balcony for Valorum's upcoming taxation of Free Trade Zones. After Taa considered other more notable senators, such as Bail Antilles and Horox Ryyder, and Tendau Bendon, both senators quickly realized that Palpatine was the true intended recipient, as he had been convincing Valorum of the tax plan's necessity.
The senators engaged in discussions regarding Valorum's proposal, with Taa suggesting that the outcome would hinge on partisan conflicts between galactic regions, with the Core Wolds in favor and the near Colonies opposed. When Toora requested Palpatine to divulge details of his conversation with Valorum, she instructed Taa to activate the balcony's noise cancellation feature, although Palpatine refrained from speaking until Pestage verified the device's security. The senator representing Naboo justified the tax plan as a necessary measure to curb the influence of the Trade Federation, which Taa interpreted as a belief that the Federation's ties with the Outer Rim Territories could not be severed due to its benefits in trade within the Republic. Palpatine refuted Taa's interpretation, asserting that the Trade Federation could overshadow influence in the Senate if left unchecked. As Palpatine further elaborated on his stance on the taxation plan, Taa quipped that he sounded like a future party whip, shortly before the operatic performance commenced.
Taa held the leadership position in the Rim Faction of senators; consequently, he advocated for reducing the Republic's involvement in regional affairs. Taa was the senator who nominated both Mas Amedda for the position of Vice Chair and Palpatine for the position of Chancellor; both of which became successful in their positions.
Taa served on the Allocations and Appropriations Committees and was among the initial members of the Loyalist Committee. A Militarist during the Separatist Crisis, he strongly supported the Military Creation Act, despite the Twi'lek's inherent aversion to violence. Nevertheless, he endorsed Palpatine's attempt to negotiate with Count Dooku shortly before the Clone Wars erupted.
When Senators Tikkes, Bufus Ritsomas, Danry Ledwellow, and Wuja Wojaine were apprehended and arrested for their involvement in a slavery operation originating from their sectors, Taa publicly expressed his revulsion. All convicted Senators were placed under house arrest pending trial, but one week later, Tikkes escaped aboard his Quarren vessel, the Krakana Current. Enraged and uncertain whether to attribute the escape to a conspiracy or security incompetence, Taa denounced it as evidence of Tikkes' guilt. Senator Edcel Bar Gane of Roona, conversely, believed that Taa was prematurely drawing conclusions and viewed Tikkes' flight as a desperate attempt to save his life following Senator Aks Moe's death. Taa's accusation proved accurate when Tikkes aligned himself with Count Dooku and the Confederacy of Independent Systems. After Neimoidian senator Lott Dod was involved in a skyway accident, Taa, during an appearance on the Amberdawn morning news broadcast covering the incident, jokingly suggested on air that Dod was likely planning to sue the Skyway Flyer company for alleged anti-Neimoidian bias, intending to present evidence of their interference with Neimoidian markets. The following day, Taa issued a public apology for his remarks on Amberdawn after Dod complained about the joke being tasteless.
When the Senator's home planet of Ryloth became the site of Separatist invasion, he was understandably concerned about the well-being of his people. With the blockade in orbit and the onslaught on the surface, it appeared that the resistance was doomed. The Jedi Council dispatched Senator Bail Prestor Organa to negotiate humanitarian aid from King Katuunko of Toydaria, to provide supplies to Ryloth. Taa made a personal plea to the Toydarians via hologram highlighting the suffering of his people. However, the Trade Federation representative Lott Dod countered that supporting Ryloth would compromise Toydaria's neutrality. Officially, Katuunko declined to participate in the war, but he secretly assisted in delivering the supplies to Ryloth, undetected by Dod.
Following successful operations led by Jedi Generals Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi in breaking the Separatist blockade and initiating a ground assault, Jedi Master Mace Windu briefed Taa and the Senate on the clone army's progress, specifically the securing of numerous villages and the entire southern hemisphere of Ryloth.
Windu believed that defeating the Separatist occupation required capturing the capital city of Lessu, achievable only with the assistance of Taa's political rival Cham Syndulla. Despite Taa and Syndulla's skepticism about a potential alliance, Windu secured their cooperation through their shared desire to protect their people. Taa pledged that the clone army would immediately leave the system after the battle concluded and all Separatist droids were removed from the planet, while Syndulla vowed not to attempt to usurp power from Taa.
After Master Windu successfully captured the capital, as well as Separatist leader Wat Tambor, Senator Taa participated in a parade celebrating the victory and liberation of Ryloth.
At some point during the Clone Wars, Senator Taa received an invitation from Duchess Satine Kryze of Mandalore to consider joining her Council of Neutral Systems. He accompanied the Duchess on her voyage to Coruscant to present her arguments to the Galactic Senate. He was present during the incident aboard the Coronet, where he witnessed the horrifying monstrosities deployed by the Death Watch and the Confederacy of Independent Systems in an attempt to assassinate the Duchess.
When the infamous bounty hunter Cad Bane and his team successfully infiltrated the Senate Building and took a group of prominent Senators hostage, Senator Orn Free Taa was the one who alerted Chancellor Palpatine to the crisis. Taa remained with the Chancellor throughout the ordeal and was privy to the Chancellor's refusal to concede to the bounty hunter's demand: the pardon of crime lord Ziro the Hutt.
However, as it became evident that Bane had control of the Senate, Palpatine relented and agreed to pardon the Hutt. Orn Free Taa was entrusted with a pardon chip, which, under his authority, would ensure Ziro's release. After freeing Ziro, Taa mobilized a force of clone troopers to safeguard the Chancellor and prevent Bane's escape. Unfortunately, Bane had rigged the room holding the hostage Senators with detonation devices, forcing the Republic to grant him his freedom.
Fortunately, despite the Chancellor's compliance, Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker foresaw Bane's treachery and managed to save the lives of the hostages when Bane detonated the devices.
Taa was a prominent and outspoken member of the Loyalist Committee until the Galactic Republic was dissolved in 19 BBY. Similar to Chom Frey Kaa, another obese Twi'lek, he differed from typical Twi'leks by possessing four lekku instead of the usual two. His weight caused him to develop an anterior set of fatty lekku from the thick brows common in male Twi'leks. In Twi'lek culture this may have been seen as a sign of power or virility. Additionally, he had three fingers and a thumb, unlike the standard four fingers and a thumb found in most other Twi'leks. He also possessed the sharpened teeth characteristic of Twi'lek males.
Despite his genuine concern for his homeworld and its best interests, he was among the most avaricious and corrupt senators in the Republic. Originating from the impoverished Outer Rim world of Ryloth, Orn Free Taa exploited his influential position to indulge his every whim while on Coruscant. Consequently, he was quite decadent, flaunting his wealth and power with extravagant robes, beautiful Twi'lek consorts, and residing in a lavish penthouse in the towering skyscrapers of Coruscant. His given name translated to "bird of prey" in Ryl.
He was remarkably obese and gluttonous, as noted by Obi-Wan Kenobi himself. He possessed a legendary appetite and a fondness for food. This was evident when Satine Kryze was too preoccupied to eat; he urged her to maintain her strength while continuing to eat himself. While this trait was common among spacefaring Twi'leks, partly due to food scarcity on their homeworld, some often overindulged when they left it and gained access to abundant resources.
During the Clone Wars, however, his more compassionate side became apparent, particularly during the Invasion of Ryloth, which caused suffering for his people and widespread destruction. This demonstrated his ability to set aside his corrupt and self-indulgent nature when striving to save his people from the droid army. This was strongly illustrated by his pleas to the Toydarians for aid and his willingness to ally with his rival Cham Syndulla to liberate his people from Wat Tambor.
There were instances when Orn Free Taa voiced his outrage at certain Senators for what he perceived—often correctly—as injustices against the Republic and Ryloth, most notably when Senator Tikkes and other members' slave ring was exposed. Unlike some Twi'leks, he did not condone slavery or believe it was essential for his planet's inhabitants.
Orn Free Taa appears in all three episodes of the prequel trilogy. Jerome Blake portrayed him in Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace. Matthew Rowan played him in Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith. In Revenge of the Sith, he has a single line of dialogue, voiced by Matthew Wood. He says "Watch it" to Jar Jar Binks when the Senator appears to obstruct his path or accidentally bumps into him at the Republic Executive Building. Wood also provided the voice for General Grievous in the film, as well as in several Expanded Universe productions. Stock footage of Rowan as Taa is featured in a full-motion cutscene of the video game Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron. In Star Wars: The Clone Wars, he is voiced by Phil LaMarr with a French accent. David W. Collins portrays him in the HoloNet News — A Galaxy Divided segment.
Orn Free Taa's appearance in The Phantom Menace video game is merely a brief cameo. When the player, controlling Qui-Gon Jinn, falls into Jabba Desilijic Tiure's beast pit, Orn Free Taa can be seen standing beside Jabba.