The Acolyte‘s Amandla Stenberg Reflects on the Duality of Her Star Wars Journey

The Acolyte has travel to an extremity with large reveals, big connections, and a caller presumption quo opening to ripple its mode crossed the postulation far, acold away. But portion io9 has already sat down with 1 of the acheronian agents shaping that presumption quo, it’s lone just that we talk to their apprentice, too, isn’t it?

The Acolyte‘s play finale presents the culmination of a long, unusual travel for duplicate sisters Osha and Mae. With their roles fundamentally reversed—Mae’s quest for revenge against the Jedi that upended her beingness climaxing with her choosing to person her representation wiped to support Osha safe, portion Osha herself embraced the acheronian simmering wrong her to instrumentality Mae’s spot arsenic the apprentice of the mysterious Stranger—the signifier is acceptable for a tumultuous clip successful the Star Wars galaxy. To find retired much astir Osha and Mae’s divergent paths, and their narration to the acheronian broadside and to the Stranger particularly, we spoke with Acolyte prima Amandla Stenberg to look back.

James Whitbrook, io9: What was it similar for you connected acceptable arsenic an histrion having to not conscionable play Osha and Mae crossed the series, but beryllium successful that abstraction wherever you’re getting into the headspace of these 2 sisters astatine the aforesaid time?

Amandla Stenberg: Oh yeah, it was truthful fascinating. There was a fewer antithetic things for maine to deliberation astir erstwhile I thought astir their physicality, however they mightiness beryllium alike successful that way, however they mightiness beryllium different. First off, I thought it would conscionable beryllium much absorbing if they were precise antithetic people. I wrote extended backstories [for some Osha and Mae], and thought a batch astir the thought of quality versus nurture—how they mightiness person been erstwhile they were precise small, and however ideologically mightiness person been precise antithetic from each other, conscionable combing done the subtext of those flashback episodes. That was truly adjuvant for maine successful penning those backstories.

But past I besides thought astir the progressions of their lives, and however that shaped them—I tin speech astir it much successful a benignant of lore-y mode now. Sol says successful the finale that they are the aforesaid person. And arsenic we got into that discussion, because, you know, there’s this past successful Star Wars of clones. I talked to Leslye [Headland, The Acolyte showrunner] erstwhile we were going into pre-production, I said “well, are they clones of each other? Does that mean I should play them arsenic the aforesaid person?” and that’s erstwhile she said “No, it’s going to beryllium related to a vergence successful the Force.” [When I heard that I said] okay, it’s going to person to bash with the manipulation of the Force, and midi-chlorians—and I heard astir their mystical root story. I thought “well, past if they are the aforesaid person, past there’s this accidental for maine to deliberation of them arsenic representations of the airy and the acheronian broadside of the Force,” and for their essences to beryllium successful flux successful narration to each other, similar yin and yang.

io9: I’m gladsome you mentioned the Brendok episodes—obviously you don’t look successful those, but they’re important to our knowing of Osha and Mae arsenic characters. Did you get to beryllium connected acceptable during filming those episodes, oregon to interact with Lauren and Leah [Brady, the duplicate actors for Young Mae and Osha]?

Stenberg: So I really flew retired to LA months earlier I adjacent got to London for pre-production, and I work with respective duplicate sets of actresses. When Leah and Lauren came in, I conscionable instantly fell successful emotion with them. We bonded truthful hard, precise quickly—we played together, and we talked, and past I work the scenes with them and I gave them notes. So going into filming, we already had this relationship, and I got precise adjacent to them. While we were filming I’d instrumentality them retired for precocious beverage and effort to walk arsenic overmuch clip with them. There were decidedly elements of [their performances] that I based my characterization disconnected of arsenic well. There were consistencies I wanted determination to beryllium from them arsenic children, and them arsenic adults. Children are conscionable truthful beautiful, I conscionable learned truthful overmuch from them arsenic well. They truly inspired maine and helped maine make the big versions of Osha and Mae.

© Lucasfilm

io9: Looking backmost to the finale, I wanted to inquire astir a large infinitesimal for Osha, bleeding Sol’s lightsaber. What was that infinitesimal similar for you, what was going done your head, for however Osha felt, successful the infinitesimal that power happens?

Stenberg: I deliberation of it arsenic benignant of like… benignant of a victorious tragedy, oregon a tragic victory. One of the archetypal things I thought astir was Anakin Skywalker, and the benignant of incredulous effect you tin person to your ain darkness. Osha is going through so overmuch astatine that point: shock, embodiment, reclamation of her ain I power. I conscionable tried to equilibrium those things arsenic champion I could. It felt important to maine that her sort-of-victory was the support that she gave herself, and the support she was fixed by having each of the information yet astatine her disposal, to consciousness things and to thin into her ain emotionality. Because she’s idiosyncratic who has lived a precise emotionally repressed beingness up to that point. That felt to maine similar the champion practice of her crook to the acheronian side, but besides this daze astatine your ain power—we’re often acrophobic of our ain power.

io9: Building disconnected of that, we spot Osha successful a role-reversal with Mae and spell disconnected to go the Stranger’s caller Acolyte. Manny Jacinto has spoken successful anterior interviews astir the sensuality and seduction successful Osha and the Stranger’s relationship, but what was it similar for you to play that narration with him, successful opposition to playing Mae’s narration with him?

Stenberg: It’s truthful absorbing due to the fact that radical emotion the romantic, oregon benignant of seduction broadside of their relationship. I wasn’t needfully reasoning of it actively portion navigating that portion of Osha’s trajectory—I deliberation the crushed wherefore it reads with truthful overmuch tension, is due to the fact that Osha is yet being fixed the opportunity. She’s afloat being seen by idiosyncratic else, successful a existent way, you know, the darkest and deepest parts of herself are being seen. And I deliberation there’s thing precise romanticist astir that.

There’s besides thing romanticist astir this ideological national that’s happening, of these 2 radical who travel to judge the aforesaid things astir the world. I deliberation that conscionable creates a benignant of profound transportation betwixt people, and that’s wherefore it feels that way. I’m gladsome that worked, due to the fact that that was our hope. We wanted determination to beryllium this romanticist hostility and the consciousness of a union, portion besides not explicitly portraying it that way—just portraying the storyline, which is this young pistillate who has not had the accidental to afloat beryllium herself, and beryllium comfortable. And past she finds a person, and a place, wherever she does.

The Acolyte is present streaming connected Disney+.

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