The Big Picture

Perri Nemiroff sits down with Lee Jung-jae to discuss his experience playing Jedi Master Sol in
The Acolyte
.
During their conversation, Lee explains how other
Star Wars
Jedi Masters influenced his own work, and discusses how the events of Episode 3 changed the game for his character.
Episodes 1 – 3 of
The Acolyte
are now available to stream on Disney+.

There’s a wealth of wonderful acting opportunities in Hollywood, but as a lifelong Star Wars diehard, I’ve got to think that scoring the role of a Jedi Master is one of the absolute best of the bunch. Following up his Emmy-winning performance in Netflix’s international sensation, Squid Game, Lee Jung-jae scored that exact dream gig, and he put in the work to do the opportunity justice.

Lee plays Jedi Master Sol in the Leslye Headland-created Star Wars Disney+ series, The Acolyte. He’s a highly respected figure in the Jedi Order who’s a strong warrior, but also in-tune with his emotions more than most. As we learn in the first two episodes, Sol once trained Amandla Stenberg’s Osha, but then, for unknown reasons, she opted to leave the Order. The two are reunited years later when a Jedi Master is killed and Osha is blamed for the crime.

In celebration of The Acolyte’s June 4 debut on Disney+, I got the chance to have a brief chat with Lee, during which he walked me through the process of figuring out why Master Sol has become the person we meet in Episode 1 of the series, a discussion that includes the impact of the game-changing events of Episode 3, “Destiny.”

Joining ‘Star Wars’ Demanded a Different Prep Process for Lee Jung-jae
Image via Disney+

As Lee explained, preparing to play Master Sol wasn’t just about fully understanding the character. He also needed to make sure he had a firm grasp on the larger universe and the Jedi Masters’ place in it. He explained:

“Before I go into a role, I really like to understand the role fully and then make a lot of those decisions beforehand. But, you know, the
Star Wars
universe is a completely other thing, and there was so much I had to learn about the universe, and within the world.
The Acolyte
happens in a timeline 100 years prior to any existing
Star Wars
franchise now, so even though Lucasfilm told Leslye Headland, ‘This is the first story. You can go do your thing, do whatever you want to do,’ I didn’t want to just go by instinct. So what I did was, in prepping for my role, I watched all the episodes of
Star Wars
in the past, saw how all of these legendary actors acted as Jedi Masters and studied their motivations. Why are they acting this way? Why do they do what they do? And
I really focused on the connectivity of the Jedi Masters and wanting Sol to be part of that group of people
.”

In addition to drawing a connection between Sol and other Jedi Masters we know, Lee also aimed to make Sol stand out. “The uniqueness that I wanted to portray in Master Sol is that he’s extremely humanistic.” Lee continued, “So I think he’s kind of this connective tissue between the audience and the show that has this human element to it.”

On top of studying up on Star Wars and doing personal prep work for his character, Lee also recognized that the man we meet in Episode 1 is heavily defined by his past experiences with Stenberg’s twin sisters, Mae and Osha. Here’s how he put it:

“The way that he thinks, his inner emotions, those are all informed by his relationship to them. It also informs, not only that, but also the way that he teaches the younglings and the way he selects his path as a Jedi, and also the way that he preserves peace.”

How Do the Events of Episode 3 Change Master Sol?
Image via Disney+

Related ‘The Acolyte’ Episode 3 Recap: The Force Witches of Brendok ‘The Acolyte’s third episode takes us back to Mae and Osha’s childhood.

[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for The Acolyte, Season 1, Episode 3, “Destiny.”]While Episodes 1 and 2 offer up a strong introduction to the character of Master Sol, it’s the events of Episode 3 that heavily inform how he carries himself as a Jedi.

Episode 3, “Destiny,” is a flashback episode of The Acolyte directed by the incomparable Kogonada. Osha and Mae are young girls being raised by Mother Aniseya (Jodie Turner-Smith), the leader of a coven of witches. While Mae is eager to uphold the coven’s traditions, Osha is apprehensive. When the Jedi, including Master Sol, arrive to test the Force-sensitive children, Mae deliberately fails the test and expects her sister to do the same. However, Osha does not, and the betrayal sends Mae spiraling, and she starts a fire that kills all of her people. While Sol manages to save Osha, Mae appears to fall to her death. Feeling responsible for the tragedy, Sol vows to take care of Osha and train her as his Padawan.

Given how heavily those events impact Sol’s own path in life, I opted to ask Lee for specific qualities he aimed to imbue in past Sol and present day Sol to highlight how he’s changed over the years. Here’s what he said:

“When I was acting out the Sol of the past and also the present, I hoped that I could express them very differently.
Young Sol, he’s filled with ambition, with passion, and he moves with this heart.
However, as he ages and you see him in the present day, he’s gone through a lot of personal changes, and he’s become more patient,
he’s become more logical when it comes to the decision-making
, especially related to preserving the peace within this world, so I really tried to differentiate these two time periods.”

Looking for even more on the making of The Acolyte? You can catch my conversation with Amandla Stenberg and Leslye Headland below:

The Acolyte
The Acolyte is a mystery-thriller that will take viewers into a galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging dark-side powers in the final days of the High Republic era. A former Padawan reunites with her Jedi Master to investigate a series of crimes, but the forces they confront are more sinister than they ever anticipated.Release Date June 4, 2024 Seasons 1 Studio Disney+ Franchise Star Wars

The first three episodes of The Acolyte are now available to stream on Disney+.

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