Movies - TV
George Lucas Based Star Wars' Dexter Jettster On A Legendary Character Actor
By WITNEY SEIBOLD
In the 2000s, George Lucas expanded the “Star Wars” franchise with his prequel series that used state-of-the-art special effects and goofy, fun imagery that appealed to him as a filmmaker. While Lucas’ inspiration for the greasy restaurant in “Attack of the Clones” most likely came from him growing up in the 1950s, its owner, Dexter Jettster, came from another icon of the time.
According to “Clones” animator Rob Coleman, Dexter was explicitly modeled on Hollywood legend Ernest Borgnine. He shared, “For a lot of the time, for any character, I would ask George [...] about backstory, subtext, and inspirations for characters. I always wanted to know whether there was an actor or a character, you know, that George had seen in an old movie, a favorite of his.”
Coleman continued, “[W]ith Dexter, it turned out it was Ernest Borgnine, who I always loved as a character actor. So immediately, I had all these images in my head.” The star of Best Picture winner “Marty,” Borgnine is known for his wide, silly grin and for playing upbeat, approachable characters. Fans of the renowned actor can see many of his mannerisms and tendencies in Dexter.