The Acolyte star Lee Jun-jae has revealed how his Jedi Master Sol character was influenced by fellow Star Wars prequel icon Qui-Gon Jinn.
“I didn’t really want to be influenced by anything outside of the Star Wars world,” Lee said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. “I definitely was inspired by a lot of the past Jedi Masters and the wonderful actors that played them. And one of my favorite characters was Qui-Gon Jinn, played by Liam Neeson. I really kind of tried to find the connective tissue between him and my character, Master Sol.”
Lee is best known for his critically acclaimed performance as the main protagonist on the breakout Netflix drama Squid Game. Making his debut in an American television production, The Acolyte marks Lee’s first English-speaking performance which he had to learn before shooting. Much like Neeson’s performance as the wise Jedi hero in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, Lee’s dynamic acting range on Squid Game inspired showrunner Leslye Hedland to cast him as the honorable Jedi Master during the High Republic era.
“He is a Jedi master, but the more I saw the script, I realized that there were more of these humanistic elements to him,” Lee said. “His emotions are constantly in flux. And also, when he’s in battle, he actually does feel that element of fear. And I think because of that, really created a Sol that was extremely humanistic. And she did that with the other characters as well — they all embody such a diversity of emotions, just like regular people. And in each character, you see those elements really clearly.”
What is The Acolyte about?
The official synopsis for The Acolyte reads: “In The Acolyte, an investigation into a shocking crime spree pits a respected Jedi Master (Lee Jung-jae) against a dangerous warrior from his past (Amandla Stenberg). As more clues emerge, they travel down a dark path where sinister forces reveal all is not what it seems.”
Created by Leslye Hedland, The Acolyte co-stars Manny Jacinto, Charlie Barnett, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Dean-Charles Chapman, Joonas Suotamo, and Carrie-Anne Moss.
The first two episodes of The Acolyte are now streaming on Disney+. New episodes are to be released every Tuesday.
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