The Acolyte star Lee Jung-jae has detailed his preparation for the role of Sol, revealing that he imagined that an iconic Jedi Master was his character’s Padawan.
The upcoming Disney+ series and Star Wars spin-off will focus on Sol, a Jedi Master, and his former Padawan learner Osha (Amandla Stenberg), with the pair teaming up to solve a series of crimes.
Ahead of the show’s launch on Tuesday (June 4), Lee spoke exclusively with Digital Spy about his role, revealing that he envisaged his character being trained by Liam Neeson's Qui-Gon Jinn when preparing for his part.
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“In terms of preparing for the role I went and watched a lot of Star Wars shows and films of the past, studying the actors who have given great performances as Jedi masters,” he recalled. “Of all the performances, I especially got inspiration from Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn.
“I think it was very important to represent that the Jedi philosophy maintains through all these different ages, so I almost imagined Qui-Gon as Master Sol’s Padawan, forming that connection between the two of them and maintaining that Jedi philosophy between generations.”
Lee, who shot to international fame for his role on Squid Game, also teased details of Sol’s character, explaining that the character’s compassion for members of his community makes the Jedi Master “unique.”
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“He is someone who sacrifices a lot to maintain peace and harmony within his community,” remarked Lee. “I think this type of person is very rare to meet in real life. Of course you hear about them in the news, but I think this is what makes Master Sol unique.”
The Acolyte, which has been created by Leslye Headland, sees Jung-jae join Amandla Stenberg, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jodie Turner-Smith, Manny Jacinto and Dafne Keen.
The Acolyte is streaming exclusively on Disney+ from June 5.
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Reporter, Digital Spy George is a freelance writer who specialises in Movies and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media. His film tastes vary from blockbusters like Mission: Impossible and John Wick to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.
Ali is Hearst UK's deputy social strategy director. He has been covering TV and movies for more than six years, all while wrangling Digital Spy's social media and video channels - for which he received a PPA 30 Under 30 award. He specializes in writing about anime, LGBTQ+ representation, science fiction, and comic book adaptations. Recently he's begun collecting Star Wars interviews like Infinity Stones and has spoken with The Mandalorian's Pedro Pascal, Andor showrunner Tony Gilroy and the creative team behind The Bad Batch. Dave Filoni, you're next.
