The Mandalorian Star Giancarlo Esposito On Playing Star Wars’ Rare POC Villain

Star Wars may have quite a number of standout fascist villains like Darth Vader, Emperor Palpatine, Grand Moff Tarkin, Count Dooku, Kylo Ren, General Hux, and Kylo Ren, however, it seems like the galaxy far, far away has had very little room for villains played by people of color.

Save for James Earl Jones who voiced Darth Vader, the majority of Star Wars' Imperial and First Order villains have been played by white male actors.

Thanks to Star Wars: The Mandalorian, fans get to see a person of color changing the picture with Giancarlo Esposito playing the terrifying Imperial baddie, Moff Gideon. Best known for playing the cold and analytic drug lord Gus Fring in AMC's critically-acclaimed series, Breaking Bad, Esposito had been cast as The Mandalorian's main antagonist. Though he appears only in the final two episodes of the first season of the series, Esposito has left a strong mark on Star Wars fans.

Now, speaking in an interview with Indie Wire, the Breaking Bad star talks about his new role in The Mandalorian and how it's been a new milestone in his career.

"Well, it means a lot to me because I've strived in my career to be colorless," the actor said in a phone interview with the entertainment news outlet, "I am of mixed race, half Italian, half African American, and I grew through the period of time where I was relegated to playing thieves and thugs. I learned how to do a Spanish accent, to play Spanish street characters, who were murderers, killers, robbers, the like. So for me, it's a crowning moment when I could get a phone call from Jon Favreau, to say, ‘I wrote a role for you.'"

Like Gus Fring, Moff Gideon seems like a dangerous character who's ready to kill anyone to get his hands on what he wants, and in The Mandalorian, that's Baby Yoda. We can't wait and see Moff Gideon go after Mando (Pedro Pascal) and his ward in the second season of the series.

Star Wars: The Mandalorian is available for streaming on Disney+.

Read: Kylo Ren to Reportedly Return in Upcoming Star Wars Spinoff Projects