Today’s story from Entertainment Weekly’s “Rogue One” coverage in the lead up to the new trailer focuses on Riz Ahmed’s character in the film. The imperial turned rebel Bodhi Rook.
In Entertainment Weekly’s story, we learn a little bit more of why the former imperial cargo ship pilot decides to join the rebels to help them steal the Death Star plans, and why he decides to sill wear his imperial uniform. Here is some of what actor Riz Ahmed and Kathleen Kennedy told Entertainment Weekly about the character of Bodhi Rook:
Kathleen Kennedy:
“He tends to be a little tense, a little volatile, but everybody in the group really relies on his technical skills.”
Riz Ahmed:
“A character like Bodhi is not born into the life of a soldier. He’s a pilot working for the Empire, doing his job, getting on with it. But when you put ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances, it can freak them out. It can inspire deep passions. So I’m gonna defend Bodhi.”
“Bodhi is a cargo pilot. In our world, Bodhi would be a truck driver. A long-distance truck driver.”
“Everyone in this Star Wars movie has got quite a complex past. They have a lot of baggage and history to it. That’s part of what makes it an interesting, nuanced movie,” Ahmed says. “It’s taking characters with interesting backgrounds, whether it’s warrior monks, or ex-assassins, or long-distance truck drivers, and you’re assembling this pack of misfits.”
And as for why Bodhi still wears his imperial uniform: “I think it’s to remind you of where you’re coming from, remind you where your debts are. Do you know what I mean? For me personally, every day, looking at that, it reminds you of what you’ve done.”
While I previously said on the podcast that Bodhi Rook is probably the character out of the main group that I had the least amount of interest in, the more I hear about him and how he doesn’t want to forget his time with the Empire, the more curious I am to see how his character gets along with the rest of the rebel crew, and how someone who was in the Empire views the rebels and how they operate.
For more from Riz Ahmed on his character, be sure to check out the full article over at Entertainment Weekly.
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