Following Lucasfilm’s announcement that Donald Glover would portray a young Lando Calrissian in Solo: A Star Wars Story, fans rejoiced as Glover’s charm and humor in previous projects made him seem like the perfect fit for the young gambler. Despite fans feeling like Glover was the obvious choice, the actor’s agent didn’t entirely agree, which made the actor work even harder to score the coveted role.
“I told my agent, ‘I wanna be Lando,’ ” Glover told Esquire about the first time he heard the character would be involved in the Han Solo spinoff. Glover claimed his agent thought his odds were poor, with the actor noting, “That was exactly what I needed to hear.”
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It’s unclear whether the agent truly believed those odds or knew that doubting the actor would ignite a fire within him, but whatever the justification, Glover earned himself the part.
“I’m the person who’s not supposed to make it, so much so that I don’t think people recognize where I came from and what I’ve done,” Glover confessed. “At a certain point, it does look easy. I do sometimes look like a Mary Sue. I was like, ‘Oh, okay, cool.’ I studied, I watched the movies a lot, and I killed it, because I was ready.”
For as excited as Glover was to earn the part, he confessed that his enthusiasm was rivaled by his father’s when he got to call him, confirming, “Yo, you’re not gonna believe what I’m going to be doing next year.” The actor said the best part was getting to bring his father to the film’s set, which featured the construction of almost an entire city.
Ron Howard, who took over directing duties on the film last summer, praised Glover and noted that the actor was so prepared for the role, they often avoided shooting scenes with a planned stunt double.
“I loved his take on Lando and his passion for the character,” Howard told the magazine. “It’s charm, it’s humor, it’s an intelligence, there’s a roguishness he understands without selling out the character’s traits.” Howard added, “You’d be a fool not to engage him creatively.”
Fans can see Glover’s depiction of the character when Solo: A Star Wars Story hits theaters on May 25.
[H/T Esquire]
