Exclusive Interview with Laura Dern “Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo” In Star Wars: The Last Jedi
I was provided an all-expense paid trip to L.A to attend the Star Wars: The Last Jedi press junket. No additional compensation was received.
On Sunday, December 3, we had the amazing opportunity to interview just about every single cast of the new Star Wars film, the Last Jedi. This week, we will be sharing our exclusive interviews with Laura Dern, Domhnall Gleeson, and Kelly Marie Tran & our global press interview featuring actors Mark Hamill, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, John Boyega, and Andy Serkis, as well as, the film’s director Rian Johnson. So be sure to stay tuned for those, but in the meantime, let’s kick off this week with our exclusive interview with Laura Dern who plays “Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo” in Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
Related post Star Wars: The Last Jedi Global Press Event
Star Wars: The Last Jedi is shrouded in secrecy until its release day this Friday, however, one thing that we can definitely say is that the Resistance has a brand new boss and her name is Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo played by the amazing and talented Laura Dern.
So, we just had to ask Laura all about this new character to join the beloved franchise. With a huge smile on her face, she told us this about Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo:
I have purple hair! There’s a new boss in town! I have arrived in the Resistance and I am a Vice Admiral… and that’s pretty much all I can tell you.
I guess we will have to wait to see the movie this Friday! Of course, this got us thinking about how Laura felt about playing such a strong female character and she had this to say:
It was incredible to have the privilege of collaborating on who she is and how to present a powerful woman. I really appreciated Rian and Kathy Kennedy and all of our Producers to allow a powerful Female Character and also, her physicality to be Feminine. I thought that was wonderful and I feel excited to join this amazing legacy of strong Females in Space starting with our magnificent icon of Princess Leia.
Speaking of Princess Leia and the franchise itself. All of us Star Wars fans remember our parents taking us to see the original trilogy as kids. Which got us thinking if Laura was also a big Star Wars fan just like the rest of us. She chimed in with this:
I was probably 6 or I don’t remember exactly, a little girl and I stood in line. It was the first time I stood in line for a movie at the Cinerama Dome and it was blocks long. And it was profound for me.
Still speaking about the influence Star Wars had in all of us and how we are all fans of the movies. Laura, let us into a bit of Star Wars trivia about one of her father’s (Bruce Dern) films and its connection to George Lucas.
But in this specific case, my Dad, I think a few years before, had done a Douglas Trumble Film called Silent Running.” I’m told it was a great influence on George Lucas in that it was my Dad alone in space with 3 Droids named Huey, Dewey, and Louie. And I became obsessed with these Droids and those Droids I’m told, were a great influence toward R2D2. So, it felt personal, as Star Wars does to all of us.
Speaking of R2-D2, Star Wars characters are so iconic and as fans, we have our Ooh’s and Aah’s moments when we see them in the films. Which got us thinking if Laura had a fangirl moment while filming The Last Jedi and this is what she had to say:
When you walk onto set in the morning and Rian was like Oh, somebody’s fan wants to say Hi. Right before we were starting one day, standing making tea, and I turned around and Chewbacca was there and embraced me and I cried. I really cried. It was so moving to me.
And then you know, being on set and seeing R2D2 and these Characters we all fell in love with. It’s stunning so then you have to get over it and go to work but it’s an incredible opportunity and experience. I’m so happy to get to be part of it.
Finally, Star Wars has always had strong female characters. Now that Laura is part of this universe with her character Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo, what is her opinion on these strong women characters?
Well it’s just incredible. That’s so exciting. I know what Leia was for me as I know she was for all of you. And it was again, not just her strength in some superheroic way but in the deeply human way that she, Carrie so incredibly embodied was this fearless irreverent sassy bold, vulnerable Female. And all things to be true and powerful and kick butt and all of those things were in one Character.
And we know how rarely we see that. So that meant the world to me and now my daughter and all her friends have this in Rey and soon other Female Characters in this movie and it’s really exciting to see what the different Females do.
Stay for tomorrow’s exclusive with Gwendoline Christie, who plays “Captain Phasma” in Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
In Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi, the Skywalker saga continues as the heroes of The Force Awakens join the galactic legends in an epic adventure that unlocks age-old mysteries of the Force and shocking revelations of the past.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi arrives in theaters everywhere on December 15, 2017