50 Roles for 50 Actors: Dream casting the Star Wars saga

Recasting the Star Wars saga: Jim Broadbent as Sio Bibble

Sio Bibble is the Governor of Naboo and an adviser to Queen Amidala during The Phantom Menace. As such, his job is to look stately, appear concerned over the worsening diplomatic situation, and be flustered when the Federation descends on the planet and takes him prisoner. Now, who wants the role?

In the prequel trilogy (Bibble also makes brief appearances in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith), that job fell to veteran English actor Oliver Ford Davies, who did a great job of playing a certain type of upper-crust authority figure. He also rocked a nice beard.

English actor Jim Broadbent, whose highest-profile role is probably Professor Horace Slughorn in the final few Harry Potter movies, doesn’t have quite the same track record when it comes to facial hair, but he’s played plenty of strong-willed authority figures (e.g. the judge in Vera Drake, Boss Tweed in Gangs of New York). He’s a seasoned character actor and he looks the part. He’ll be able to bring all the gravitas the role requires. At the end of the day, Sio Bibble isn’t a very important character, but a guy like Jim Broadbent will make the most of it.

Next: Filling the droid void