Domhnall Gleeson Teases General Hux in Star Wars: The Force Awakens
By Kyle Warnke
At this point in the run-up to the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens on Dec. 18, it may feel like we already know everything we could possibly know about this movie. Fans have been saturated with comments from the cast and crew about what it was like working on the film and their expectations for it that it feels like there’s nothing left to say for anyone involved in the production.
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But there are several key members of the cast who we haven’t heard much from, although they’re starting to break their silence. Both Lupita Nyong’o, who plays space pirate Maz Kanata, and Gwendoline Christie, who plays Captain Phasma, have begun to speak out about the film. We still haven’t heard from Andy Serkis or Max Von Sydow (although we may know his character’s name), but there’s another actor who’s dishing on his role.
Domhnall Gleeson recently gave an interview to Total Film magazine (via GamesRadar) where he touched on his performance as General Hux, the First Order general who’s in charge of Starkiller Base. He doesn’t say too much, but he does drop that Hux is “merciless” and that he’s got an English accent, which, according to Gleeson, clues you in to the fact that he’s a bad guy.
The role marks a change of pace for Gleeson, who’s never really played a villain before and remarks as such.
"“Yeah, it’s fun to do different things. I hadn’t played anybody like that before. Star Wars is amazing, J.J. Abrams is amazing, but the thing to do was play something different. That’s what got me really excited.”"
It should be interesting to see if he can pull off an antagonistic portrayal, especially after seeing him play a somewhat timid, nervous computer programmer in Ex Machina this year.
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Meanwhile, although they make sense concerning his little-known background and stern appearance in promo images, Gleeson’s comments about his character being “merciless” do contrast a bit with his previous statements. He hinted to MTV News earlier this month that the character may not be all bad and perhaps even just a bit misguided.
In describing the First Order, he said, “They want everybody to be on the same page here. I don’t see what’s wrong with that. Sure they’re strict, but the best teachers are strict.”
It sounds like we can’t learn too much about Hux, or even any of the villains, at this point in time, likely because information about them could spoil the plot. Still, hopefully we’ll get to hear from the rest of the cast, like Serkis and Von Sydow, soon, or at least before the movie hits theaters.
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