Entering the Stage [00:02] Host Andi Gutierrez introduces Katee Sackhoff, noting that she originated the character of Bo-Katan and announcing that it was learned that morning she will be returning for the third season of The Mandalorian. [00:34] Sackhoff walks out to loud applause, immediately greeting the crowd by yelling, “Hi you guys, where my Mando at?” She jokes about accidentally bringing her phone on stage and hides it. Gutierrez welcomes her back to Star Wars Celebration. Landing the Live-Action Role [00:52] Gutierrez points out the amazing journey of bringing Bo-Katan to life in animation and then in live action, asking what those initial meetings were like when Sackhoff learned she would be playing the character on screen. [01:07] Sackhoff jokes that she is a “lucky girl” because that kind of transition just doesn’t usually happen. She recalls being at Star Wars Celebration 2018 in Chicago where she cornered Dave Filoni. She playfully told him, “So I hear about this show Mandalorian and my character is not dead, so um, how good of friends are we?” Filoni told her it was already in the works, though she likes to think she had some sway. [01:46] Sackhoff reveals she didn’t actually believe anything was going to happen until she got a phone call that Jon Favreau wanted to sit down with her. She went into the meeting and sat there for 20 minutes before realizing her face was already on the wall as the character. When she realized Favreau was asking if she wanted to be in the show, she remembers almost diving over the table and dropping an expletive, saying, “Of course I’ll do it, are you crazy?” Transitioning from Animation [02:32] Gutierrez asks how bringing the character from animation to live action changed her performance. [02:45] Sackhoff says it absolutely changed things. She recalls her first makeup and wardrobe test, noting that Dave Filoni was there and they might have shed a few tears because it was so strange to finally see the character in live action. [03:00] Sackhoff explains that they spent so much time making sure physical details like her freckles, scar, and eyebrows were perfect that she never stopped to ask how Bo-Katan actually moved. Because she had voiced the character for so long, it never occurred to her that she hadn’t physically played her. A couple of days before shooting, she suddenly had to figure out how to move her face as the character. She felt unprepared, but credits director Bryce Dallas Howard for holding her hand through the whole process, calling her an amazing director that she would follow anywhere. Bo-Katan’s Complexity [03:48] Gutierrez suggests that working on the set must have eventually felt like the most natural thing in the world. Sackhoff agrees, stating that she knows the backstory very well and feels the character is a piece of her at this point. She jokes that she does have to fight Dave Filoni’s wife for ownership of the character, as Bo-Katan is physically based on her. [04:31] Gutierrez asks why Bo-Katan has resonated so deeply with fans over the years. [04:37] Sackhoff believes it is because Bo-Katan is not only a phenomenally cool character, but also deeply flawed. She explains that fans have enjoyed watching her grow, change, and evolve rather than staying stagnant. “She’s learning her lesson, she’s figuring out the mistakes that she made,” Sackhoff notes, adding that the character has paid the price for those mistakes and is trying to atone. The Convention Family [05:21] Gutierrez points out that Sackhoff is no stranger to the convention circuit and asks what makes Star Wars Celebration so special. [05:33] Sackhoff jokes that she is aging herself by admitting she has been coming to conventions for 20 years, dating back to her time on Battlestar Galactica. She explains that while she wasn’t prepared for the love of sci-fi fans back then, the love from Star Wars fans is unlike anything else. “It really is a family,” she says, expressing her deep gratitude for how fans welcomed her character. [06:15] When asked what the most rewarding part of her personal Star Wars journey has been, Sackhoff reiterates how much she loves watching the growth and change of her character from the very beginning. She then teases the crowd by adding, “You’re in for a lot of fun surprises.” [06:42] Gutierrez wraps up the interview, thanking Sackhoff for her continuing work in Star Wars and expressing excitement for season 3 of The Mandalorian.