By: Dominic Jones
The good folks over at Newsarama have a brand new interview with actress Vanessa Marshall who will be providing the voice of Hera in the upcoming Star Wars Rebels. The interview goes into quite a lot of depth and demonstrates just how deep Marshall's love and knowledge of Star Wars goes. Below we have some interesting quotes from Marshall from the interview, which you can read in its entirety over at Newarama.
First up, Marshall describes her reaction when she got the part,
"Now when I got the call for Star Wars Rebels, that I
booked Hera, I hyperventilated, fell to the ground, I think I was
sobbing, and my agent then asked if she should call an ambulance.
(laughs) Truly, of all the roles I’ve ever played, this is by far the
most epic. I look forward to the long-term implications of interacting
in the Star Wars universe. It’s really, really thrilling."
Marshall also discussed Star Wars' history of strong female roles,
"I will say that in a greater sense, I’m not so sure that there’s a stigma for the people who are buying
those toys. In a real way, I think that George Lucas kind of destroyed
the stigmas as far as gender is concerned, and raised the bar for future
filmmakers. The fact there are female Jedi straightway levels the
playing field. There are so many alien races that gender is sort of the
least of the issues (laughs).
You look at Princess Leia, and Mon Mothma, Ahsoka Tano and Asajj
Ventress – even to go to the games and EU [Expanded Universe – the Star
Wars stories that are told in novels, comics, and video games], Jan Orrs
or even Mara Jade - the women in the Star Wars Universe just kick butt, in a way that transcends gender. And each in their own way.
I’ll say, even the female characters in Rebels each
have their unique strengths – it’s another reason I’m so excited to be a
part of this show. Just to get into Hera a bit again, she’s
strong-willed, but she’s also nurturing. She really knows how to bring
out the best in her team. She leads with humility. Her agility and
physical skills are admirable; she can pull just the right punch at just
the right moment and get the job done, and that’s how she delivers. Her
very personal reasons for rebelling against the empire, I think, are
things viewers are going to delight in uncovering each season."
She also discussed what it's like playing a Twi'lek,
"Well, perhaps it’s an opportunity to, I dunno, come clean on a few
things – I’ve had friends ask me “why does she have legs coming out of
her head?” I say, “Um, those are Lekku – brain tails – they’re advanced
organs for communication and cognitive functions – those are not legs.”
Then they’ll ask me, “wait, are you the one who dances for Jabba?”
Look. While many Twi’leks have been enslaved, Hera is not a
dancer. She is an ace pilot, a supreme fighter, perhaps approaching the
Twi’lek Jedi Master Aayla Secura, who fought in the first battle of
Geonosis, as we know. Obviously, Hera’s not a Jedi, but you see that
Twi’leks have the capacity to fight, and fight very well. So she’s in
that category.
So yes, it may shed more light on the diversity of the Twi’lek
community. But I don’t think there’s a focus on her alien nature so
much, not only because all the characters are equally antagonized by the
Empire regardless of their race, but also because the Ghost crew really
creates a cohesive family – one that truly transcends any and all
racial distinctions. I think race becomes irrelevant. So while it will
elucidate some things, it will also equalize others, and unite us all in
the fight against the Empire!"
You can read the entire interview over at Newsarama, it's quite a long one and covers many aspects of Rebels, Marshall's career, and Star Wars in general! It's definitely worth a read.
You can follow Dominic on Twitter: @DominicJ25
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