Donald Glover, who stars as a younger but just as debonair Lando Calrissian in Solo: A Star Wars Story, said if Lando ever came back to screens, he needed to play him.
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“When I heard they were making these, I told my agent, ‘If they’re making anything with Lando in it, I have to be Lando,’” Glover told press during a Solo press conference Saturday.
“And he was like, ‘I hear you. I don’t like your odds,’” Glover said. “That was exactly what I needed to hear. I really auditioned like it was the only role I wanted in the world. It really was.”
Glover’s father was a fan of the character, as was the then 7-year-old future actor, who compared the role to getting to be part of the Bible.
“It feels like I get to be something original, but also something as old as time,” Glover told The Hollywood Reporter. “I’m very like, lucky to be a part of it. I grew up on it, it’s the first toy I ever had, so this role I didn’t take lightly. I’m a fan, first and foremost, before I’m an actor in this.”
Glover has since drawn praise for his turn as the suave gambler, first portrayed by Billy Dee Williams in 1980’s The Empire Strikes Back and 1983’s Return of the Jedi.
The 34-year-old actor texted Williams after Thursday’s world premiere to learn what he thought of the Star Wars prequel, earning Williams’ praise.
“He said, ‘you did a good job,’ and that was all I wanted, that was all I needed,” Glover told ComicBook.com in an exclusive interview.
“It definitely made me feel like I didn’t let him down, which was nice,” Glover said. “He did such a good job, he’s such an iconic figure in that first one, in the Empire Strikes Back, so I didn’t want to let him down.”
Asked by ComicBook.com if he’d reprise the role in possible sequels, Glover said, “Oh, yeah, absolutely, yeah.”
Starring Alden Ehrenreich, Donald Glover, Emilia Clarke, Joonas Suotamo, Thandie Newton, Paul Bettany, and Woody Harrelson, Solo: A Star Wars Story opens May 25.
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