10 Actors Completely Wasted In Star Wars
Iconic movie legends, Academy Award-winning sensations, and more actors utterly wasted in Star Wars.
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00:00While there is still a small glimmer of hope for many of the figures attached to this list,
00:05when it comes to finally being given the treatment their talent and dedication undoubtedly deserves.
00:10At this current moment in time, you'll struggle to find a fan of this corner of the galaxy
00:14who would claim each of these actors were used to their full potential on the Star Wars
00:19stage.
00:20Gaga Binks here from WhatCulture Star Wars and here are 10 Actors Completely Wasted in
00:24Star Wars.
00:2610.
00:27Benicio Del Toro The announcement of the one-of-a-kind Benicio
00:31Del Toro finally making a splash in the Star Wars pool in Rian Johnson's The Last Jedi
00:36left many licking their lips at the mere idea of who he could be bringing to life, and what
00:41chaos he could be set to let loose on the sequel trilogy's feature players.
00:44And with Del Toro himself even noting sometime before he'd shot his first scene for the
00:49flick that, as a kid, I really liked those films, like, way before I ever thought I was
00:53going to be in movies.
00:55It's clear the distinct performer was as excited as the masses were about showing up
00:59as DJ.
01:00Yet in the end, outside of being a typically enigmatic and compelling presence during Finn
01:05and Rose's unwanted detour to Canto Bight, Del Toro's slicer didn't offer an awful
01:10lot to the overall tale, before stabbing the heroes in the back and wandering off into
01:14the twin sunsets, never to be seen again.
01:179.
01:18Andy Serkis Motion capture maestro Andy Serkis' appointment
01:22as the Force Awakens' apparent big bad seemed to set the stage for yet another can't-miss
01:27portrayal for one of the most engaging thespians in the game today.
01:31Yet on the back of his sparing, yet still pretty chilling usage in said episode 7, what
01:35could have acted as Supreme Leader Snoke's real moment to shine one film later, ultimately
01:40left a universally sour taste in the mouths of most taking in The Last Jedi.
01:45Instead of having the unsettling Strangkast take the franchise by the throat, before planting
01:49seeds for a thrilling climax with Daisy Ridley's Rey and the rest of the Resistance in the
01:53trilogy's finale, Serkis' wrinkled villain was shockingly cut down out of nowhere by
01:58Kylo Ren before episode 8's climax.
02:01And with Serkis himself even admitting it was a bit of a shock, but I could see exactly
02:05why they were going that route, before noting how I just wish he'd survived, but who knows.
02:10It's clear fans weren't the only ones who desired a little more from Serkis' time
02:13in the Snoke saddle.
02:158.
02:16Lupita Nyong'o
02:17If this list has highlighted one thing up to this point, it's the fact that the sequel
02:21trilogy certainly boasted its fair share of ridiculous talent, and alongside the freakishly
02:26gifted Andy Serkis and Benicio Del Toro, was another unquestionably brilliant performer
02:31coming off one of the most captivating turns of the decade, and an Academy Award-winning
02:35one at that in 2013's 12 Years a Slave.
02:38I am of course talking about the utterly mesmerising Lupita Nyong'o, who, like Serkis, was also
02:43thrust into the motion capture landscape during her stint in the galaxy far, far away.
02:48But also like Serkis, one of the hottest talents the business had to offer at the moment in
02:52time wasn't exactly given much time to make a lasting impression as the mysterious Maz
02:57Kanata, despite actually appearing in every sequel flick.
03:01All in all, it often felt as though Disney simply liked the idea of having such an acclaimed
03:04performer on the team, and hadn't actually pieced together a meaningful reason for Kanata
03:09coming along for the ride.
03:10Instead of handing Rey Luke's lightsaber in The Force Awakens and spouting out chunks
03:14of exposition.
03:157.
03:16Riz Ahmed Putting together one of the most diverse and
03:19consistently outstanding bodies of work you'll find in the industry today over the course
03:23of the last few years in particular, British acting sensation Riz Ahmed can pretty much
03:28always be counted on to deliver the goods, no matter what dramatic or comedic material
03:32is laid before him.
03:33That being said, while his stunning work in everything from Nightcrawler to Sound of Metal
03:37deserves to be hugely praised, and then some, the same sadly cannot be said for a number
03:41of his slightly underwhelming blockbuster appearances to date.
03:45And joining his less-than-thrilling turn as Venom's Carlton Drake slash Riot, though
03:49that was more down to some uninspired writing than his commitment it has to be said, was
03:53his rather forgettable showing alongside fellow rebels Felicity Jones and Diego Luna in 2016's
03:58Rogue Warner.
03:59Again, it's not that Ahmed was terrible by any means, still proving his worth in former
04:03Empire pilot Bodhi Rook's few moments in the spotlight, whilst being tortured by Borgulid
04:08for example, but it's hard to escape the feeling that an actor of Ahmed's pedigree
04:11was a little bit wasted here, in the bit part of exposition spalter and eventual casualty
04:16of war.
04:176.
04:18Samuel L. Jackson Coming into George Lucas' highly-anticipated
04:22return to his galaxy far, far away that was 1999's The Phantom Menace, you'd have been
04:26hard-pressed to find another actor as in-demand as Jurassic Park, Pulp Fiction and Jackie
04:31Brown icon Samuel L. Jackson was, upon officially agreeing to join the Jedi Order around the
04:36time.
04:37And with said turn showcasing the sort of undeniable charisma that only Jackson seemed
04:41able to conjure up in front of a movie camera, it was assumed that the captivating actor
04:45would once again steal the show with his work as Mace Windu from episode one onwards.
04:49As you're likely more than aware of by now though, that most certainly was not the case,
04:53with the baddest mother-effort in the galaxy instead being handcuffed by uninspired dialogue
04:58and an all-round bland personality when donning the robes of the all-powerful Jedi Master
05:02throughout the prequels.
05:03And while the Elise boasted arguably the coolest lightsaber in the game, the fact his only
05:07real highlights came when his mouth was entirely shut tells the story of a usually riveting
05:12performer utterly underutilised to say the least.
05:155.
05:16Natalie Portman And sticking with some of the 90's most
05:19talented faces not exactly being served up the chance to really bring their true capabilities
05:24to the intergalactic table, Leon the Professional's Natalie Portman's casting in the role of
05:29Luke and Leia's eventual mother Padme Amidala was the sort of no-brainer that felt like
05:33a can't-miss opportunity to add yet more unquestionable acting pedigree to an already
05:37stacked roster of prequel players.
05:39However, like Samuel L. Jackson, Portman was largely restricted during her Star Wars spell,
05:44and became increasingly sidelined as the films went on.
05:48Simply put, a quick glance at Padme's overall arc from episode one to three doesn't make
05:52for the most thrilling analysis.
05:54With Amidala going from the ruler of a planet to a lovesick puppy of sorts before dying
05:58in childbirth of a broken heart, and with Portman herself remarking how the films negatively
06:03impacted her career for a spell in the wake of their disappointing release, confessing
06:07everyone thought I was a horrible actress after their arrival, it's clear the Oscar
06:11nominee is in agreement with the masses when it comes to the prequels not taking full advantage
06:15of her remarkable talent.
06:174.
06:18Emilia Clarke Another star seemingly joining up with the
06:22various eclectic faces occupying this corner of the galaxy at the peak of her powers, Game
06:26of Thrones standout Emilia Clarke also learned the hard way that simply signing up to appear
06:31opposite Han Solo isn't enough to guarantee a meaty Star Wars meal to get her teeth sunk
06:36into.
06:37Taking up the spot of Solo's first real love interest by the name of Kira, Clarke's
06:40Crimson Dawn lieutenant definitely housed the potential to be another significant strong
06:45and layered female presence within a live-action galaxy often lacking in that department.
06:50But despite undoubtedly acting as one of Solo a Star Wars story's few glimmers of hope,
06:54and setting the stage for further interactions with fan-favourite presence more later on,
06:59the film's poor box office performance eventually left Kira in limbo shortly after.
07:03And though Clarke has gone on record to state how the character has unfinished business,
07:07and that she's even written out a ton of her backstory and future plans already, there's
07:11still no signs of life when it pertains to giving Kira the returning arc an actor of
07:15this dedication and ability evidently merits.
07:183.
07:19Raid Stars
07:20In what should have been the biggest open goal in Star Wars casting history in the lead-up
07:25to J.J.
07:26Abrams' sequel starting The Force Awakens back in 2015, the announcement of some of
07:30the most talented and untouchable action stars currently walking the face of the Earth being
07:34brought aboard should have paved the way for a wave of out-of-this-world combat sequences
07:39within the director's section of the galaxy.
07:41Shooting stormtroopers from pillar to post, wielding lightsabers in a way that made the
07:45prequel's freakishly athletic showings seem pedestrian in comparison, the possibilities
07:50for the likes of the Raids, Ico-Yue, Yaya-Ru-Haiyan, and Sasepa-Reef-Rahman in this intergalactic
07:55setting.
07:56Yet instead of blasting them into numerous high-tech combat sequences, the trio were
08:00reduced to little more than a throwaway cameo midway through the adventure, forming part
08:04of the crime gang Kanja Club trying to get their mitts on Han Solo.
08:07The group spend more time retreating from Raftars than handing Star Wars personalities
08:11their asses in the runtime, so what a damn waste that was.
08:152.
08:16Forest Whitaker
08:17With news of Oscar-winning icon Forest Whitaker reportedly being in line for another live-action
08:21stab at the all-round partisan badass that is Saw Gerrera, in this year's Andal will
08:26be music to most Star Wars fans' ears, in the wake of his other depressingly fleeting
08:30showings in the role to date.
08:32After being very much present in much of the marketing material in the lead-up to the release
08:36of Rogue One, Whitaker's actual involvement in the original trilogy prequel flick boiled
08:40down to little more than a few flickers of madness, before being blasted to oblivion
08:44on Jedha.
08:46Fortunately, Whitaker's showings in the likes of the Jedi Fallen Order video game
08:49and Rebel's animated series as the controversial Resistance leader helped salvage his otherwise
08:53underwhelming first appearance as Gerrera back in 2016.
08:57But the record still shows that he's been largely underutilised on the live-action Star
09:00Wars stage thus far, with many hoping that his rumoured Andor appearance will finally
09:05give the acting titan some meaty material to get stuck into during these early days
09:09of the Rebellion.
09:111.
09:12John Boyega
09:13Taking his place as one of the sequel trilogy's new set of principal players spearheading
09:17the next chapter of the Skywalker saga, the reveal of John Boyega's former Stormtrooper
09:21Finn joining the good fight throughout The Force Awakens felt like the sort of refreshing
09:25development needed to catapult the franchise into exciting new territory.
09:29Only instead of doubling down on FN-2187, the story largely sidelined the wisecracking
09:34one-time First Order member in the wake of that first Episode VII outing, with Finn often
09:38being sent on pointless side missions and being reduced to little more than comedic
09:42relief for the most part.
09:43Boyega himself was also quick to note how he felt Finn was pushed to the side later
09:47down the road, admitting that Disney gave all the nuance to the likes of Adam Driver
09:51and Daisy Ridley, and I'm the only cast member who had their own unique experience
09:55of that franchise based on their race, when talking to GQ about his time in the galaxy
09:59far far away.
10:00And when assessing how each of the main feature characters' arcs progressed over the course
10:04of said sequels, it's hard to argue with Boyega being completely short-changed on the
10:09compelling and detailed character fronts in comparison to his contemporaries.
10:12And that's our list of any other actors completely wasted in Star Wars.
10:16Let us know all about them in the comments section right down below and do not forget
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10:22Also if you like this kind of thing then head on over to whatculture.com and find some more
10:25awesome articles just like the one this video you are watching right now is based on.
10:29I have been Gareth from What Culture Star Wars, may the force be with you, thank you
10:33for clicking on this video today, and hopefully I will see your faces very, very soon.
10:37Bye!