You’d struggle to find an actor who wouldn’t jump at the chance to be part of a Star Wars movie. Actually, scratch that. We think it’s safe to say that almost any actor would be thrilled for a role in anything related to that galaxy far, far away. Be it a feature film, animated TV series or something else entirely. However, Domhnall Gleeson isn’t any ordinary actor, and as it turns out, he wasn’t always into the idea of climbing on board the franchise.
As fans will know, Gleeson played new villain General Hux in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, a ruthless First Order commander who found himself in a power struggle with Kylo Ren. It was more of a supporting role, to be sure, but the actor left an impact and the character certainly has his fans. As Gleeson recently revealed though, he did have some hesitations before signing on the dotted line.
Speaking to Radio Times, he mentioned that he was worried about his regular life being turned upside down due to the fame that comes from being in Star Wars.
“Why would I have thought of saying no? Fame is the end goal for a lot of people but it is not mine. I worried that the accompanying fame would get in the way of how I live my life. It got a little crazy for a couple of months – for a while, going out and having a drink with my friends was difficult, and then it died down.”
Though many would call him crazy for even thinking twice about joining a film from one of the biggest franchises in any medium, Gleeson makes some fair points here. Again, it’s not like he had a lead role in The Force Awakens, but Star Wars fans are hardcore and the actor’s lifestyle has undoubtedly been changed forever now that he’s appeared in that galaxy far, far away – even though he does mention that things have died down.
There’s also one other important thing to keep in mind, and that’s that Domhnall Gleeson’s already had experience with being part of a massive franchise thanks to his time playing Bill Weasley in the Harry Potter movies. So, it’s actually quite fair that he may not have wanted that again.
Either way, this is all moot now, as Gleeson ended up taking on the role of Hux in The Force Awakens and can next be seen reprising the part in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which opens nationwide on December 15th.
