Sam Witwer Landed His First Of Many Star Wars Roles By Being A Franchise Superfan
In 2020, the voice cast of "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" reunited on Zoom to celebrate the long-delayed release of season 7 and play some "Star Wars" trivia questions. The one cast member whose hand always shot up, no matter the question? Sam Witwer, the voice of Darth Maul.
When Witwer proclaims himself a "Star Wars" geek, it isn't PR, nor is his knowledge limited to Wookieepedia factoids. The man can and has discussed the meaning of "Star Wars" with passion and evenhandedness. He can also stretch his voice into impressions of Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Emperor, and even George Lucas himself. With that range, it makes sense that Witwer has voiced so many different "Star Wars" characters.
During a guest appearance on Michael Rosenbaum's podcast "Inside of You," Witwer discussed how he first got cast in "Star Wars." If you don't know, Witwer provided both the voice and motion capture for Starkiller/Galen Marek, the secret apprentice of Darth Vader and anti-hero of the 2008 video game "The Force Unleashed." Witwer scored an audition because he had a friend with connections who submitted his headshot and reel. Witwer had just the appearance that "The Force Unleashed" team wanted for Starkiller — after all, he's handsome like a hero but can be scary like a villain too.
However, while Witwer's physical presence got him in the door, his nerdiness helped him at the audition.
Nerding out at his audition
In Witwer's audition, he was given a scene where Starkiller meditates, telekinetically assembles his Lightsaber with the Force, and then has dialogue. As Witwer recounted, he read the lines differently in each of the four takes, but during the meditation, he always acted very tense, "balled up, fists of fury and white knuckles" — the opposite of a serene journey inward. When the director asked him about this, Witwer explained to him:
"[Starkiller] doesn't know how to meditate [...] he's a Sith, he thinks this is how you do it. You force the pieces together because this is my jaw, the Force belongs to me. So, I was like, 'Vader would never have taught him how to find inner peace, he would have taught him to do the opposite.'"
Witwer took notice of Lucasfilm employees eyeing his explanation with interest; he was told his thought process for playing Starkiller won him the part. His role in "Force Unleashed" was twofold — he volunteered himself as Emperor Palpatine and, thanks to that aforementioned impression, got the part. Again, Witwer drew on his "Star Wars" knowledge to give notes on Palpatine's dialogue and push himself to get close to Ian McDiarmid's superlative performance.
Witwer's performance in "The Force Unleashed" caught the attention of Dave Filoni, supervising director of "Star Wars: The Clone Wars." While "The Force Unleashed" would only get one sequel and then fade out, "The Clone Wars" turned Witwer's "Star Wars" career into a long-term gig.
Playing Darth Maul
In season 3 of "The Clone Wars," Witwer voices the Son of Mortis, the living personification of the Dark Side of the Force. The following season, Filoni called Witwer to play the revenant Darth Maul. Witwer had been unsure if bringing back the Sith after his demise in "The Phantom Menace" was a good idea, but when offered the part, he jumped at it.
Once again, Witwer's "Star Wars" knowledge informed his performance. He used Pete Serafinowicz, the original Darth Maul voice, as the base to make the character his own. When the insane Darth Maul first returned in "Brothers" (the penultimate episode of season 4), Witwer suggested that he be deliriously reciting the Sith Code:
"Peace is a lie, there is only passion.
Through passion, I gain strength.
Through strength, I gain power.
Through power, I gain victory.
Through victory, my chains are broken.
The Force shall free me."
As both the Son and Maul, Witwer is only in about a dozen "Clone Wars" episodes; he admits to Rosenbaum that, "It feels like I'm in the show more than I was" due to Maul's appearances always being "events." However, Witwer's "Star Wars" career continues. He's become the de facto voice for Maul, reprising the part in the "Clone Wars" sequel "Star Wars Rebels" and the film "Solo: A Star Wars Story" (even being chosen over Serafinowicz). He's also made the jump to live-action "Star Wars" with cameos in "The Book of Boba Fett" and "Andor."
All because Witwer knew what he was talking about. Aspiring actors hoping to be in "Star Wars" should remember (a). To do their homework and (b). That kind of homework doesn't take only memorization, it takes critical thinking.