5 interesting facts about Alden Ehrenreich in Star Wars

Here are five little-known facts about Solo: A Star Wars Story’s Alden Ehrenreich.

Alden Ehrenreich is best known to Star Wars fans for playing the younger Han Solo, the smuggler-turned-rebel that Harrison Ford made famous in the original Star Wars trilogy. The film Solo: A Star Wars Story, released in 2018. It told the origin of this titular character and his faithful Wookie co-pilot Chewbacca.

Below we uncover five interesting facts pertaining to his role as this iconic character.

1. The role that every guy wants to play

Ehrenreich was the first actor to audition for the role of Han Solo. However, as you might imagine, he was met with some stiff competition as nearly 3,000 actors auditioned for the much-coveted role. Out of the 2,500 actors that competed in this “audition pentathlon” some of the most well-known of them included: Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kick-Ass), Miles Teller (Fantastic Four), Charlie Cox (Netflix’s Daredevil), Taron Egerton (Kingsmen), Scott Eastwood (Pacific Rim 2), and even the Star-Lord himself, Chris Pratt.

2. An unconventional audition

Star Wars films are among those Hollywood projects that have to keep the utmost secrecy from prying eyes that would expose its secrets over the internet. Therefore, precautions had to be taken to keep the nature of the project under wraps. Solo: A Star Wars Story had a particularly odd audition as Ehrenreich shared in some interviews.

According to him, he had to do a scene with a dog puppet that had pre-recorded dog sounds that would play in their dialogue exchanges. The puppet itself was a stand-in for his films Wookie co-star, Chewbacca. Ehrenreich jokingly added that this puppet actually performed very well.

Bonus Fact: The secret name used for the Solo production was Project: Red Cup. This was a reference to the Solo manufacturing company, known for their famous red cups sold at grocery stores worldwide.

3. Let’s consult the manual

Ehrenreich is said to have brought along a copy of his Millennium Falcon Owner’s Workshop Manual to help with understanding the controls of the ship. The actor, who is a true fanboy, also owns a collection of old Han Solo action figures.

4. Attention to detail

Filmmakers had such a strong desire for a smooth transition between Harrison Ford’s portrayal of Han Solo and Ehrenreich’s younger version that they had make-up artists recreate the original actor’s chin scar.

5. I don’t know kid, you seem a little short

Harrison Ford is 6′ 1″ while Alden Ehrenreich is 5′ 9″, making him actually four inches shorter than the original Han Solo! I guess size matters not, after all.

That concludes our list of interesting facts about Alden Ehrenreich’s role as Han Solo. The actor still has a contract with Disney to star in two more films as this character, so we may see him reprising his role again in the future. With interest in Boba Fett going up since his return in The Mandalorian season 2, they might explore the famous rivalry between these two characters or expand on his history with Jabba the Hutt. What would y’all like to see? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below or on our Facebook page.

In the meantime, for more Alden Ehrenreich, check out this video of the actor speaking about his role as Han Solo.

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