With the production of Star Wars: Episode VII temporarily shutting down due in part to Harrison Ford’s injury, it felt appropriate for producers of the film give fans some good news and announce that two new additions will be joining the production.
Crystal Clarke and Pip Andersen are the most recent actors to be chosen for roles in the highly anticipated J.J. Abrams film. Haven’t heard of them? Well, that makes two of us. Both Clarke and Anderson are newcomers to the acting world.
They were among 37,000 hopefuls who showed up for the currently unrevealed roles for Episode VII. That’s not including the 30,000 aspiring actors who submitted online applications as well. It must be a good feeling to be picked out of 67,000 people for coveted on-screen roles in the biggest film franchise ever created.
Clarke, a relative newcomer to acting, will be graduating from the prestigious Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow (where our very own Chris Harrison also studies) sometime in 2014. Almost nothing has been revealed about her. Not even her age. Her first film, The Moon and Sun, in which she acts opposite Pierce Brosnan and William Hurt, won’t be released in theatres until next year.
Andersen is perhaps a little more recognizable. He was recently featured in a Spider-Man/phone commercial for Sony, where he showcases some of his impressive parkour abilities. Anderson has been a practitioner of free-running/parkour for seven years.
Everyone has been asking the same question. Who are these young actors playing? In typical J.J. Abrams fashion, nothing has been revealed about their characters.
Clarke may actually play the descendant of Obi-Wan Kenobi that was rumored months ago. According to rumors, Abrams and company were looking for a young woman who was either black or mixed-race to play the role of Kenobi’s grand-daughter. Of course, the character has not been confirmed by Abrams or producer Kathleen Kennedy at this time.
Andersen’s role might be a little easier to nail down. Star Wars has been known to hire actors in the past for their physicality. David Prowse, Peter Mayhew and Ray Park were all chosen to play characters when brute strength and physical prowess was needed. Andersen’s talent at free-running will obviously suit a character that takes a more active role in the action. It makes sense for him to play either a Jedi or Sith warrior. It’s not hard to imagine him bouncing around a battlefield with a double-bladed lightsaber in hand.
Little is known about the film at this point. It’s frustrating just writing this with so few details available. If anything, it’s nice to see that the cast has steadily been expanding.
What about you reader? Happy that Star Wars is getting some fresh faces to the franchise? Let us know in the comments below.
