Star Wars: J.J. Abrams Shares Tribute to Late Actor Andrew Jack

On Tuesday, news broke that Andrew Jack, actor and dialogue coach who appeared as Resistance leader Caluan Ematt in Star Wars: The Force Awakens as well as worked as a dialogue coach on other Star Wars films among many others had died due to complications related to COVID-19. Now, Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker director J.J. Abrams is sharing a tribute to Jack, calling him “as lovely as they come” in a note he shared to social media on Tuesday.

“Andrew Jack was as lovely as they come,” Abrams wrote in a hand-written message that he shared a photo of on Twitter. “Our brilliant dialect coach on The Force Awakens… he was so handsome we had to cast him. Sending love to his friends and family. He will be missed. PS: stay safe, friends!”

Jack’s passing was shared by his representative, Jill McCullough, who said that he had died in London. Jack was born Andrew Hutchinson in 1944, the son of an actor and a horticulturist. He himself went on to have a career as a dialect coach and became one of the most prominent in the industry. In addition to his work on the Star Wars franchise, Jack also worked on multiple Marvel Cinematic Universe films — Captain America: The First Avenger, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy, Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame. He also worked extensively on the Lord of the Rings trilogy and was responsible for the various dialects of Middle-earth as well as the Elvish language so integral to the film and lore as well as the Black Speech of Mordor. Jack also worked on Peaky Blinders, multiple James Bond installments, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and many, many more. The BBC reports that he had most recently been working on The Batman.

Jack’s fellow Star Wars alum Greg Grunberg also paid tribute to Jack on social media following his passing.

“Devastated to hear of the passing of the wonderful, talented, beloved gentleman Andrew Jack,” Grunberg wrote. “He is one of the kindest people I’ve ever worked with. Please stay safe. Please stay home!!”