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Are you a Star Wars hero or a Star Wars villain? Some actors don't know even as they're filming

The Mandalorian's Katy O'Brian described the "really strange way" her Star Wars project shoots, where the morality of the character is sometimes a last-minute decision

News by Grant DeArmitt, Staff Writer

Published on Fri Aug 07 2026

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There's a lot of discussion amidst Star Wars fans about who the real good good guys in the Galaxy Far, Far Away are. Is the Rebel Alliance really that great if they blew up all the prisoners of war on the Death Star? Is the Jedi Temple really that holy if they deny their own emotions? But here's what's fascinating - sometimes, it's unclear how good or bad a Star Wars character is even to the actor in the role.

At least, that's how The Mandalorian's Katy O'Brian tells it.

The topic came up on David Dastmalchian's Grave Conversations, where the Love Lies Bleeding star delved into her time as Imperial communications officer Elia Kane on the Disney+ Star Wars series.

"So they shoot [The Mandalorian] in a really strange way," O'Brian explained, "Where they have you play certain things, you know, as if maybe you are a bad guy. Like, a little over the top, or they have you play it like you are sad that you’re betraying this person. So they have you play it several different ways and they kind of pick the performance that they want."

"Then," O'Brian continued, "You are kind of like, 'I don’t know who this character is. I don’t know what’s going on.' And then, also, they add — like, all my scenes, every time I showed up, they added Imperial music to the background! I’m like, okay."

Ouch. I have to say, if that were me, I'd wonder if maybe somebody on set just didn't like me.

The Mandalorian is streaming on Disney+ now.

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Grant DeArmitt: Grant DeArmitt (he/him) likes horror, comics, and the unholy union of the two. In the past, and despite their better judgment, he has written for Nightmare on Film Street and Newsarama. He lives in Brooklyn with his partner, Kingsley, and corgi, Legs.