‘Andor’ presents a story of how people often find themselves amidst a revolution, says actor Adria Arjona, who believes her upcoming ‘Star Wars’ series is rooted in reality.
The much-awaited Disney+ series brings back actor Diego Luna as the thief-turned-Rebel spy, Cassian Andor, a character he first played in the 2016 hit film ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.’
What fascinated Arjona the most about the show was its "grounded" storytelling, she added.
"This show is so grounded. It's truly a mirror of our world and the world that we're living in. Even though it's in a galaxy far, far away, it very much is a story about us and what we're going through. It is about ordinary people at the cusp of a revolution. That's really interesting and cool," the actor told PTI in a Zoom interview.
Created by Tony Gilroy, ‘Andor’ explores the origins of Luna's character and his journey towards becoming a revolutionary for the Rebel Alliance that goes up against the Galactic Empire in the galaxy far, far away.
Arjona, known for her performances in movies such as ‘Triple Frontier’, ‘6 Underground’ and ‘Morbius’, plays the role of Bix Caleen, the childhood friend of Andor, in the show.
She believes audiences who are not familiar with the world of the ‘Star Wars’ film franchise can also watch ‘Andor’.
"It's the origin story of a character that we all love. But also if you haven't watched any 'Star Wars', you can still enjoy this show very much. You don't need to have watched any other 'Star Wars' movie.
"It's incredibly special to be able to explore this world and explore the different worlds within this world and the different characters within 12 episodes," the 30-year-old actor, who was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, said.
For playing the part of Bix, Arjona said she relied on Gilroy and Luna as they both had been a part of the prequel movie.
"I really leaned on Tony and Diego. I asked as many questions as I could... And I watched every single 'Star Wars' movie in chronological order to really educate myself about the time in history I was living in within this world," she added.
Arjona and her character share a common trait, the actor said, as they both have caring personalities.
"Bix Caleen and I share the caring side. She is very fearless, takes risks, is a boss, owns her cell yard and takes charge of her life. But she cares so much about the people around her that sometimes it's detrimental for her. I think I'm a little like that. I wish I was more like the fearless side, but I think I'm more on the other side," she said.
As an actor, the actor said she likes the process of transforming into a new person as well as exploring the different layers of her characters.
"I enjoy sort of the transformation within this job or the surprise element that I could potentially provide an audience member for a second and be like, 'Whoa, I didn't see that one coming.' "I do that because you almost get to play like the growth of a character and you almost get to play two characters or two different parts of them. That's always really fun. It can never get boring and you have somewhere to start and you have somewhere to go," she added.
‘Andor’ also stars Genevieve O'Reilly, Stellan Skarsgård, Denise Gough, Kyle Soller and Fiona Shaw.
In India, the show will premiere on Disney+ Hotstar on September 21 with the release of its first three episodes, followed by a weekly release every Wednesday for the remaining nine episodes.
[With Inputs From PTI]
