Like pretty much all of the new and returning characters in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Domhnall Gleeson’s General Hux is a mystery. We know he’s a high ranking bad guy in The First Order, but that’s pretty much it, and the actor was understandably reluctant to give too much away in a recent interview. He did, however, mention that J.J. Abrams has described the villain as “merciless.”
“Yeah, I mean you look at him and you realise he’s not a good guy! He’s got an English accent so he can’t be good. I hadn’t played anybody like that before. Star Wars is amazing, J.J. Abrams is amazing, but the thing to do was play something different. That’s what got me really excited.”
As of right now, we don’t even know if Gleeson will be returning for Star Wars Episode VIII, but it certainly sounds like the actor loved his time working on Star Wars: The Force Awakens, as he reflected on the first time he arrived on the set of the movie.
“That does sort of take your breath way. That’s one of those ‘pinch me’ moments. I experienced it in a major way on Harry Potter and it’s a similar thing with Star Wars, except you look down and you’re in the gear and you have stuff to say and you’re like, ‘Holy God.’ And yes, it’s very difficult to remain cool about stuff like that. There’s no two ways about it, it’s totally brilliant.”
It remains to be seen if anything more will be revealed about Hux before the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens on December 18th, but the character is no doubt in very good hands with Gleeson, and should definitely make for a memorable villain alongside Captain Phasma and Kylo Ren.