Star Wars' Ahmed Best Thinks Jar Jar Binks Doesn't Get Enough Credit
Let's clear something up: You don't have to love Jar Jar Binks to appreciate both the character and especially actor Ahmed Best's place in film history. By the same token, you're allowed to feel the inelegant Gungan was an unsuccessful attempt by George Lucas to pay homage to silent comedy giants like Harold Lloyd in the context of his "Star Wars" prequel trilogy. Or perhaps you've always had a soft spot for the flappy-eared, blundering sidekick. You're allowed to feel whichever way you want about him, I promise!
Whatever your outlook towards Mr. Binks and the way Lucas conceived him, we should all be able to agree Best wasn't the problem. The actor was unfairly maligned by toxic fans for his portrayal of the character in the wake of "The Phantom Menace" hitting theaters in 1999. Taken on its own terms, his performance as Jar Jar is quite remarkable — seriously! Motion-capture acting was uncharted territory back then, as was the idea of an entirely computer-generated main character. There's a reason Best's co-star, Liam Neeson, envisioned him becoming the new Eddie Murphy.
With Best's return to "Star Wars" as Jedi Kelleran Beq on "The Mandalorian" (a role he originated on the kids' game web series "Jedi Temple Challenge"), the circle is now complete. But even as the actor has garnered newfound appreciation, he feels Jar Jar hasn't. "Jar Jar changed movies, and I don't think Jar Jar gets a lot credit for changing movies," he told the official "Star Wars" website. Best continued:
"There had been other CGI characters, but the evolution of the fact that you can star as a CGI character, and an actor in performance capture, was really George [Lucas], was really Jar Jar and ILM and all of us, and it was a significant change in movies."
A new beginning
One would completely understand if Ahmed Best chose to wash his hands of "Star Wars" after his experience the first time around. For the actor, however, his involvement with the franchise has always been personal. He explained:
"To be a part of that is enormous for me. Especially me coming from the South Bronx — this corny, artsy, nerdy, skinny kid, where 'Star Wars' was the first movie I had ever seen in my life. Now, coming back, being in 'The Mandalorian,' part of me doesn't want to let it go. In 'The Phantom Menace' days, you had to let it go. It was just George [Lucas] doing it. Now, you can do it for a while. You can tell stories in 'Star Wars' and have them be in multiple mediums. As a writer, as a director now, as a teacher now, there is so much more that I want to do that this universe is perfect for, that I don't want this to be the end of legacy. I don't want this to be the end of the story. I want this to be the beginning, and a new beginning. Especially through Kelleran Beq."
Best certainly picked a good spot for a new beginning in a galaxy far, far away. The likes of Carl Weathers have already gone from acting on "The Mandalorian" to directing episodes of the show and it's feasible Best could follow his example, now that he's returned to "Star Wars." He actually branched out into directing TV and shorts films back in 2008, rounding out his skill set with the experience he amassed blazing the trail for future mo-cap actors on the prequel trilogy. However history ultimately judges Jar Jar in the future, hopefully, Best has just begun to craft his own legacy.