Joel Edgerton: I Owe So Much of My Career to Star Wars & George Lucas

Joel Edgerton appeared in the Star Wars prequel film Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones as Owen Lars. Edgerton says he credits the role with kickstarting his career.

What did Joel Edgerton think of his role in Star Wars?

Speaking to NME (via The Hollywood Reporter), Edgerton said that he owes much of his career to George Lucas and the Star Wars series. The job, Edgerton said, allowed others in Hollywood to see him and put his foot in the door of other auditions.

“I owe so much in my career to George giving me that job. It opened all the doors to Hollywood,” said Edgerton. “It allowed everyone in L.A. to kind of welcome me and go, ‘Oh, he’s in Star Wars. Let’s give him an audition for other things.’”

After playing Lars in the prequel, Edgerton would return decades later in the Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi. At first, the actor was unsure of returning to the role. However, he saw the chance to do away with the narrative of Uncle Owen being a “grumbly” guy.

“I was a little bit… not snobbish but reticent in regards to going, ‘I’ve done this before,’” Edgerton said. “I’ve always joked that Uncle Owen is the most boring character in Star Wars history because he’s a moisture farmer, and he doesn’t get to wield a lightsaber. I saw it as a way to complete a circle of some kind.

“Everybody thinks that Uncle Owen is a grumbly, cantankerous ‘say no’ dude,” the actor continued. “I was like, ‘This is my opportunity to put a bit more context on that and have people maybe like him a little bit more.’ And I think we did that.

“My one caveat to them was, ‘I know what you’re planning with the story and how it unfolds, and I’m not asking for more screen time, I just want to do something cool. Can I at least have one fight? Can I at least throw my hessian sleeves up and get into one brawl?’”

Owen Lars, commonly referred to as Uncle Owen, is the stepbrother of Anakin Skywalker. He was tasked with caring for Luke Skywalker by Obi-Wan Kenobi at the end of Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith. He was originally played by Phil Brown in the 1977 film Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope.

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