On Star Wars‘ The Mandalorian, Game Of Thrones‘ Pedro Pascal is beneath the mask. However, every actor needs a stunt double – in this case, that duty fell to John Wayne’s grandson.
Jon Favreau’s new Disney+ show in a galaxy far, far away has proved to be hit with audiences, becoming the most in-demand series in the world (mainly due to Baby Yoda mania).
Considering it’s very much in the style of a space western, Brandon Wayne – the grandson of America’s most famous cinematic cowboy – would have felt right at home.
Though he was hired primarily as a stunt double, he recently took the character’s reigns in the episode ‘Sanctuary’ – which Pascal wasn’t in whatsoever.
Bryce Dallas Howard, commenting on directing the episode without Pascal, told Vulture:
He was in rehearsals for King Lear on Broadway. And so, while we were doing my episode, I wasn’t working with Pedro.
Wayne and Lateef Crowder are credited in the episode as ‘Double – The Mandalorian’, however Howard added that she predominately worked with the former. ‘He absolutely just brought everything to that character, and we were able to find the moments and figure them out together,’ she said.
Wayne has been acting since 2001, appearing in small roles on Angel, CSI, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D and even Favreau’s own Cowboys and Aliens.
He worked on every episode on the first season, and has already started work on the second. In order to effectively capture Pascal’s body movements, the pair would work together to develop their respective body languages.
Wayne said:
[Pascal] would ask me, and I would ask him the same question, which is: ‘Why did you move like this during that moment?’ We would go back and forth.
The great thing about him is he’s not impressed with himself. He’s just an actor. And I mean that in the good way, not the bad way. He likes to learn and he likes to collaborate and he’s very good at it.
Using stunt doubles under the guise of an actor’s voice isn’t a new technique for Star Wars – for example, James Earl Jones never wore Darth Vader’s helmet during the original trilogy.
There are three episodes to go in The Mandalorian‘s first season. For UK viewers, we need to wait until March 31 next year, when the streaming platform finally makes its debut across the pond.
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After graduating from Glasgow Caledonian University with an NCTJ and BCTJ-accredited Multimedia Journalism degree, Cameron ventured into the world of print journalism at The National, while also working as a freelance film journalist on the side, becoming an accredited Rotten Tomatoes critic in the process. He’s now left his Scottish homelands and took up residence at UNILAD as a journalist.