Star Wars: Skeleton Crew star Jude Law on planting the seeds of Jod’s backstory
For a franchise that oozes nostalgia, it’s hard to believe that it’s only now that we’re finally getting a coming-of-age story set within the Star Wars universe. Fair to say though that this was worth the wait as Skeleton Crew is utterly delightful. If you adore Spielberg’s golden age of Amblin Entertainment, the years that brought us the likes of E.T. and The Goonies, you’ll find plenty to enjoy here.
In this charming tale, four youngsters - Fern, KB, Wim, and Neel - embark on an unexpected journey, one that leads far from home. They yearn to return, but doing so proves to be much harder than anticipated, with the pirate world hot on the group’s heels. Of course, they’re not navigating the grisly corners of Star Wars’ vast galaxy alone. A chance meeting unites our young heroes with the enigmatically mysterious Jod Na Nawood, or Crimson Jack as he’s also known, brought to life by actor Jude Law.
I have to say, Jod is easily one of the most intriguing aspects of the show’s opening three episodes as he’s a true chameleon, holding his cards exceptionally close to his chest. As it happens though, I had the opportunity to sit down with Jude to discuss what it is that makes up the real Jod, a mystery we’ll see unravel over the coming weeks.
See the full interview below, where we also spoke to Skeleton Crew’s Ravi Cabot-Conyers, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Kyriana Kratter, Robert Timothy Smith, Jon Watts, and Christopher Ford.
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“It was one of the big pulls to be a part of this,” Jude said of Jod’s hidden intentions. “You always look for the potential in a role, and when you're playing someone who is changeable, contradictory, seemingly different things to different people, that's a lot to work on.”
It goes without saying that as the season develops, Jod is certainly a character that we’ll learn more about, but I was curious to ask Jude about how the eventual reveal of what makes up the core of Jod might affect a second viewing of Skeleton Crew. In those opening three episodes, you don’t know what’s a facade and what’s the truth, but the actor is planting seeds of truth regardless of whether we recognise them or not.
“That's a really good question,” he replied with a smirk. “I mean, it's my job, obviously, as the keeper of that character to work all of that out, but a lot of the heavy lifting was done by the writing. It was already really beautifully laid out in the scripts. And so working on it, I was able to plan, like you're saying, when to reveal what. And that was obviously discussed an awful lot with me and the directors and with Jon [Watts] and Chris [Ford], the showrunners.”
He continued, “Yeah, I think on second viewing, there will definitely be hints that will make sense.”
For many actors, stepping onto a Star Wars set might be an overwhelming endeavour, the scale unlike anything they’ve experienced before, but that’s not totally true of Jude. With appearances as both Yon-Rogg in Captain Marvel and Dumbledore in the Fantastic Beasts franchise, he is no stranger to cinematic behemoths yet confessed that plenty about Skeleton Crew still managed to leave him in awe.
“Honestly, one of the big reasons why I love doing these jobs, you know, is that I'm always curious as to how these universes, these worlds, are created - and each one does it slightly differently,” Jude began.
“I think the biggest surprise, and I hadn't really considered it when taking the part, was working with the puppets and the animatronic experts, because, you know, they are the actors. I had scenes where a single character is being manipulated by five or six different puppeteers. And so I can say, ‘Oh, could you put your hand on my knee in this scene?’, and you're engaging with that puppeteer. It was a new way of working, and a quite challenging way, and incredibly rewarding. And now seeing these things come fully to life is wonderful.”
As a major fan of Star Wars, you might’ve thought the experience of filming Skeleton Crew would’ve been filled with pinch-me moments for Jude, but the actor confessed there was a comforting familiarity about stepping into this world: “It was oddly familiar. That was what I couldn't believe.”
He continued, “It felt like I'd been there before, because obviously I'd grown up with and knew the world - and I've watched almost all they've ever put out there, all the films, all the episodes, the series, which I've watched with my own kids. And so, yeah, it felt strangely familiar to me.”
Step inside the world yourself as Star Wars: Skeleton Crew launches on 2 December at 6pm PT with the first two episodes, exclusively on Disney Plus. UK viewers can tune in from 2am GMT on 3 December.
Topics: Star Wars, TV And Film, Disney, Interview