Stellan Skarsgård

Stellan John Skarsgård, an actor hailing from Sweden, took on the role of Luthen Rael in the television show, Andor.

Biography

Stellan Skarsgård as Luthen Rael in his character poster

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was a film that Stellan Skarsgård greatly admired, especially for its depiction of human struggles and circumstances. When it came to casting the part of Luthen Rael for the Andor series, the list of possible actors was quite limited. Beau Willimon, the writer, was adamant from the start that Skarsgård should portray Rael. Subsequently, Tony Gilroy, the creator and executive producer, contacted Skarsgård to offer him a role. During their conversation, Gilroy shared details about the character he had developed, but he kept certain aspects concealed. Skarsgård was drawn to Rael's intricate nature and lack of clear-cut morality, and he found the character's internal conflicts compelling. As soon as Skarsgård donned his costume for the first time, he fully embodied the character. Gilroy struggled initially to define Rael's dual personalities. During the development phase, Skarsgård pointed out that the genuine Rael and the Coruscant Rael exhibited different hand gestures. Skarsgård's typically playful demeanor often caught the crew off guard when he was immersed in the role.

Filming of scenes set on Ferrix took place on an elaborately constructed set located in Little Marlow, Buckinghamshire. According to Gilroy, the Ferrix scenes were all shot before anything else. The Aldhani scenes were filmed at the Cruachan Dam and the surrounding mountainous terrain of the Scottish Highlands. Faye Marsay, who played Vel Sartha, stated that these scenes were filmed amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The scenes within Rael's gallery were filmed on a set created by Luke Hull, the production designer. In preparation for the scene in the "Narkina 5" episode, where Rael and Saw Gerrera have an argument, Skarsgård and Forest Whitaker, who played Gerrera, rehearsed by reading through the scene for the first time and confronting each other intensely. Toby Haynes, the director, mentioned that when the scene was actually filmed, the actors seemed to almost deconstruct their rehearsal in a way that felt both spontaneous and authentic. They then rebuilt the scene from scratch, although replicating the same intensity proved challenging.

Works

Filmography

Sources

Notes and references

External links

  • Stellan Skarsgård on Wikipedia
  • Stellan Skarsgård at the Internet Movie Database

Appearances