The women of 'Andor' see their roles get bigger, and go deeper, in Season 2

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – Mon Mothma was archetypal introduced to “Star Wars” fans arsenic the rebel person who appears lone agelong capable to determination the crippled guardant by delivering conflict plans successful hushed tones.

But successful the past moments of the astir caller “Andor" episodes connected Disney+ (spoilers for already released episodes ahead) she is simply a patrician legislator who, soaked successful high-end abstraction booze and potent emotions, tears up the creation level to a bass-and-drums rave-up astatine her daughter's wedding. The country would play arsenic comic if it weren't tragic. None of her chap revelers cognize that she has conscionable taken a large measurement successful her emergence — oregon descent — into radicalism by washing her hands of an aged person who whitethorn beryllium a menace to the burgeoning Rebel Alliance.

The size of the country — and its subtleties — shows disconnected the caller levels of extent and breadth fixed to actors Genevieve O'Reilly, Adria Arjona and different cardinal women successful the 2nd play of “Andor”; 3 caller episodes driblet connected Tuesday.

“It’s a techno-galactic creation moment, but it’s besides this infinitesimal of interior chaos for this woman,” O’Reilly said successful an interrogation with The Associated Press. “She’s tacitly agreed to person her person murdered. She’s dancing to halt herself from screaming. It’s profoundly painful. It is that 1 infinitesimal wherever we tin really spot Mon Mothma wrestle retired of this straitjacket and creation with terrified abandon.”

Making Mon Mothma into a existent character

Mothma’s struggle is successful immoderate ways adjacent much cardinal to the show’s premise — what does it instrumentality to marque a revolution? — than that of the rubric character, played by Diego Luna. Like galore real-life figures past and present, she is trying to support a facade of respectful, and respectable, absorption to tyranny portion feeling the propulsion of unfastened rebellion.

“If she drops that disguise of diplomacy, she’s useless," O'Reilly said. “She’s lone effectual if she maintains composure.”

“Andor” creator Tony Gilroy told the AP that Mothma's “journey is the hardest, I think. Because she has to bash everything, and has to beryllium observed. She can’t move.”

The quality originated arsenic a brief-but-memorable relation for Caroline Blakiston successful 1983’s “Return of the Jedi.” The 48-year-old Ireland-born O’Reilly, who has lived overmuch of her big beingness successful Australia, was archetypal formed successful the relation of the young legislator erstwhile the 2005 prequel “Revenge of the Sith” was shooting there, because, she says with a laugh, she was the “palest idiosyncratic successful Sydney.”

All of her “Sith” scenes were relegated to DVD extras. But she would reprise the relation successful 2016’s “Rogue One," to which “Andor” is simply a prequel, and has played the portion successful the Lucasfilm properties “Star Wars: Rebels" and “Ahsoka.”

But it's successful “Andor," particularly Season 2, wherever the root communicative of the person from the satellite Chandrila is genuinely told.

“You truly consciousness that she’s of worth to this satellite that is created,” O’Reilly said. “That’s the acquisition that each histrion wants.”

Gilroy wrote the archetypal 3 episodes of Season 2, and says helium insisted connected including the elaborate and difficult-to-produce three-day wedding ceremonial that ends with the country acceptable to a chaotic dance-club remix of composer Nicholas Brittel’s “Niamos!” from Season 1.

Gilroy says the expanded roles for his show's women came successful portion from him learning the talents of the performers.

“You get a large amusement similar this wherever clip is truly your person successful a way," helium said, "and you ticker who rises.”

Gilroy knew O’Reilly from “Rogue One,” which helium besides wrote, but said she’s fundamentally “a portion of furniture” successful that movie.

He brought her to “Andor” arsenic a bequest quality without giving it overmuch thought. But past helium got to spot her work.

“It was like, ’My God, look what she tin do, she tin bash anything,” Gilroy said. “She’s a freaking Steinway. Let's spell for it.”

Kleya: Stepping retired of the shadows successful ‘Andor’ Season 2

He had a akin acquisition of find with Elizabeth Dulau, whose quality Kleya had an intriguing but tiny portion successful Season 1 arsenic the lieutenant of convulsive revolutionary Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård).

Gilroy remembers thinking, “She could beryllium the sorcerer’s apprentice, oregon she could beryllium 1 of the top actresses I’ve ever worked with successful my life."

He chose to dainty her arsenic the latter, and this play Kleya gets a existent arc and a elaborate backstory.

Bix Caleen: Bringing caller dimensions to Star Wars

Arjona, who plays Bix Caleen, the spouse successful romance and rebellion to Luna's Cassian Andor, was “another idiosyncratic it’s casual to underestimate.”

She gets to question the top melodramatic distances of immoderate quality successful Season 2, aft constricted clip successful Season 1.

She begins arsenic a communal agrarian husbandman successful hiding with chap rebels past becomes an municipality dweller with Andor. She moves from trauma into traumatic stress, and from conflict with addiction into explosive action.

“This play I conscionable felt truthful cushioned,” she told the AP. “I’ve ne'er done a Season 2 of anything. I was capable to spell to places that I’ve ne'er benignant of dabbled successful in my career, due to the fact that I felt truthful harmless astatine each twist and turn.”

In the astir precocious released episode, she is the people of an attempted intersexual battle from an imperial officer, which Arjona said shows “the maltreatment of power, but successful a postulation acold far away.”

And she called her forthcoming last lines connected the bid “the scariest infinitesimal that I’ve ever been presented with. I didn’t cognize however to tackle it arsenic an actress.”

“I was a mess!” she added. "It took maine takes and takes of maine perfectly conscionable bawling done that country until yet it gets to what I judge they used."

The enactment of his chap actors leaves the prima astir embarrassed by the project's title.

“It’s a paradox that this amusement is called ‘Andor’ due to the fact that it’s astir community, it’s an ensemble,” Luna said. “The complexity of that is what makes this amusement interesting.”

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