Watch Kelly Marie Tran's Audition For 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' Opposite John Boyega
One of the many cool new additions to the Star Wars franchise in The Last Jedi is Kelly Marie Tran's Rose. The character isn't Force sensitive, or a big player in the Resistance, yet she makes a huge difference anyway, and Tran's performance is worth paying attention to. A new behind-the-scenes video reveals Tran's audition with Star Wars actor John Boyega, and it's a must-watch.
Not too long ago, Kelly Marie Tran was an unknown actress, with small parts here and there and a background in improv comedy. Now, she's one of the co-stars of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, a huge box office and critical success that takes the Star Wars franchise to new, exciting places. Tran plays Rose Tico, a low-level Resistance maintenance worker who finds herself at the center of the fight against the First Order. A great new behind-the-scenes video tracks Tran's whirlwind journey joining the Star Wars franchise, and reveals her audition with John Boyega. Check it out.
Kelly Marie Tran Star Wars Audition
This is a fun video, mostly because you can literally see director Rian Johnson realizing Tran was right for the part in real time as it unfolds. Watching the audition tape, Johnson says it felt "like the character I had in my head when I was writing...showed up to read." The director also says seeing Tran and Boyega "spark off" each other played a big part in her casting, which makes sense since Boyega is the actor Tran spends almost the entire film with. In an interview with the LA Times, Tran addressed this very topic:
"Rian was always so generous in terms of his ability to make everybody feel comfortable, and John Boyega, who I have the most scenes with, was so easy to work with. You get the initial script and then things sort of change here and there but the whole thing is this sort of mushy collaboration, which I love."
Tran also has a great take on her character in general. Speaking with Vulture, the actress discussed how the character's low-level status in the Resistance as a whole is part of what makes her arc in The Last Jedi so special, and how this element ties into filmmaking as a whole:
"To me, Rose is this background character, right? If she was in The Force Awakens, she'd be running around in the background and no one would ever think about her, because she's not a hot-shot pilot or a princess or a leader, per se. But just like Rose, all of those people who are in the background making the movie are just as important as the people in the movie who the audience sees. Every single person. Like for example, if the Porgs were unfinished, how distracting would that be? For me, there's so much appreciation for the people who work so hard. The women who were making those falthiers ... putting even one hair in that falthier was so difficult! And they'd be doing this for hours and hours every day. It was a very eye-opening experience and I'm so thankful and grateful that people let me poke my head in all the time. I think I'll do that on every set I get to be on."
There you have it: Kelly Marie Tran – exceedingly nice person.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi is now playing everywhere.