Star Wars: Andor audiences almost didn't get to experience Kino Loy's incredible speech, largely thanks to Andy Serkis being unsure about taking the part. It turns out the veteran actor wasn't immediately on board to play a new character in the Star Wars universe, apparently because he knows how the fans work.
When Serkis showed up in the Narkina 5 prison as the day shift manager inmate Kino Loy, it was already a pleasant surprise for viewers. But he quickly enhanced that feeling through the next few episodes as he acted his heart out and put on a memorable performance that fans are sure to be quoting for years to come. So why did Serkis almost decide not to take the gig? Well, it had pretty much everything to do with his previous Star Wars role, Supreme Leader Snoke.
In a recent interview with StarWars.com, Serkis spoke about the role of Kino as well as his initial hesitation to join Andor. "I was slightly trepidatious because when I came into it I was thinking, 'Oh no, no, the Snoke theories are just going to go crazy! Is this Snoke? Has he come back?'" he explained, referencing the tendency of many Star Wars fans to always search for connections and even occasionally find ones where there aren't any. Naturally, it didn't take long for fans to speculate on whether Serkis' return to Star Wars could be a hint at Snoke.
But Serkis did eventually come around, of course, and it had everything to do with his respect for Andor showrunner Tony Gilroy. "I was such a huge fan of Rogue One, which I absolutely adored and when we met and we talked about [the part of Kino Loy], I really just fell in love with the character," he continued, before going into detail on the character of Kino. "He's used to working on the factory floor and standing up for workers' rights. This is a man who cares for others. And he just suddenly finds himself in a world where he has to keep his head down, not speak his truth, and just try and get through his sentence believing that he's going be freed." This was actually part of a backstory Serkis himself helped to develop.
It wasn't just Gilroy's directing that swayed Serkis. It turns out he was also already an admirer of Diego Luna, who plays Cassian Andor. "That was another very strong reason why I wanted to do this because I really love Diego's acting and I love Cassian as a character," Serkis went on. "So to have a chance to really intimately get to work together was incredible. He's such a major talent and a brilliantly gifted actor and storyteller and really generous, a really great natural leader. He also directs, so it was lovely to have that conversation with him as well."
It's lucky that this was all able to offset Serkis' feelings about the "fundamentally uninteresting" character of Snoke. In a series with standout performances in nearly every episode, Kino really seemed to resonate with fans during his appearances on Andor. Here's hoping the fans will see him again because a talent like Serkis deserves to grace Star Wars as much as possible.
Star Wars: Andor is available to stream on Disney Plus.
Source: StarWars.com