Continuing with their “Solo: A Star Wars Story” coverage today, Entertainment Weekly has released a new interview with Donald Glover about playing a young Lando Calrissian, where he talks about getting advice from Billy Dee Williams, working with Phoebe Waller-Bridge, and of course, the Millennium Falcon!
You can check out a portion of Entertainment Weekly’s interview with Donald Glover below:
Entertainment Weekly: I’m interested in what you were able to discover from Billy Dee Williams when you met with him. What was it like with two Landos getting together?
Donald Glover: It was really, really relaxed. He was great. I mean, I had a lot of questions. And then he just told me, just be charming. [Laughs] And so, I was like, “Okay!” I just kind of did that. He said, “Just be interested in things.” Lando has, I wouldn’t say eccentric, but eclectic tastes. So I tried to work that into the role as much as possible.
Entertainment Weekly: What was it you were curious about, since you said you came in with a lot of questions?
Donald Glover: I just wanted to know, Star Wars was such a big deal and then they make the second one and you’re kind of the first and the almost only black guy in the universe at that point. I was like, How did you go into that? What were your thoughts? It’s always a big thing when you break a mold. What was the thought process of that? He gave some good advice about this, about being yourself as much as possible, making the character a real person, rather than the whole identity for a whole group of people.
Entertainment Weekly: In the film, you’re paired with Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s character, L3-37, how would you describe their relationship?
Donald Glover: I think they are both kind of self-made, and they get each other that way. It’s lovingly contentious. I don’t know if me and Phoebe were like this because I just love her. Being in a movie with her is kind of a blessing I didn’t even know I wanted. But she also is so smart she calls me out on it. It’s just cool to have somebody like that around, you know? Really funny and really honest.
Entertainment Weekly: We see the Millennium Falcon under Lando’s ownership and it is a very different looking ship. What do you think the Falcon reveals about who Lando is?
Donald Glover: He’s a very particular person with particular tastes and he likes the comforts of life. I would live in it right now, to be honest! [Laughs] In between takes, they’d be like, “Okay, we are going to set up for the next shot , so you can go sit in your chair or whatever,” and I’d be like, “Actually I’ll just stay in Lando’s room.” It was that nice! I would just lay in his bed and read a book or write something because it is very comfortable. I think he likes to be comfortable. He’s not a cowboy kind of guy.
Entertainment Weekly: You got guidance from Billy Dee, but how would you say you made Lando your own? What did you contribute to this galactic operator?
Donald Glover: I always like seeing younger characters when they are in younger times because it tells a lot about how they got to where they are. Like, when I was a teenager I felt like I knew a lot, but I didn’t. By the time we meet him in Empire Strikes Back, he owns the city already. [Laughs] So, I wanted to show the person he was before that was even possible. Like, I don’t even know if he thought that was possible at the time.
Entertainment Weekly: So he’s a little less together?
Donald Glover: I think he’s probably a little more over the top because he’s not old enough to be like, you don’t have to push so hard by the time you own the city. By then he’s like, I don’t need to prove anything to anybody, you know?
You can check out the full interview over at Entertainment Weekly.
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