Star Wars: The Acolyte: Lee Jung-jae Says Using the Force “Felt Awkward at First”

When you’re a kid (or Silent Bob in Mallrats), just about everyone tries at least once to use The Force or some other kind of telekinetic power. Reaching for something in the vain hope that it will pop up into your palm is a fairly universal way to explore fantasy. As an adult, though, it can feel a little bit silly — and Star Wars: The Acolyte star Lee Jung-jae felt the same. He told ComicBook that he had a hard time dialing in exactly how to manage his use of The Force on the show, but it was better when he realized it was more about the intentionality and emotion of the story than the actual physical acting.

Lee Jung-jae plays Sol, a respected Jedi Master in The Acolyte. In addition to learning English for the part, he had to learn how to use The Force. We asked him about the experience.

“It felt a little awkward at first,” the star said with a laugh. “There’s no set answer to how to do it….I thought it was really the pose that was very important at first, but then I realized it was really the emotion behind it, how much emotion I’m using for that specific scenario, and the level of emotion that I’m expressing. So at first I was like, ‘Do I hold my hand like this? Do I do this?’ I was really focused on the gestural aspect of it, but with more practice and understanding of my character, I really was just focusing on expressing the emotion rather than how I looked using the Force.”

Set during The High Republic, Star Wars: The Acolyte delivers an investigation into a mysterious string of crimes, which pits a Jedi master against his former apprentice in a race to uncover the truth. The more that the pair learn about the situation, the darker their journey becomes, as they confront things that darker than either of them could have imagined.

The series stars Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Charlie Barnett, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Dean-Charles Chapman, Joonas Suotamo, and Carrie-Anne Moss. Star Wars: The Acolyte premieres on Disney+ today.