50 Roles for 50 Actors: Dream casting the Star Wars saga
By Dan Selcke
Dream casting the Star Wars saga: Paul Bettany as Tiaan Jerjerrod
It’s the last time we get to cast an Imperial officer! I’m a little sad.
Again, this character is British, and again, he’s uncomfortably uptight. Tiaan Jerjerrod doesn’t suffer the same fate as some of his forebears, which is to say Vader never Force-chokes him to death but judging from his scene near the beginning of Return of the Jedi, he lives in constant fear of that happening. Look for the tremble in his voice when Darth Vader announces that the Emperor will be paying a visit to the Death Star. “The Emperor’s coming here?” he asks. That’s right, Jerjerrod. Be afraid.
Paul Bettany (A Beautiful Mind, WandaVision) is a charming actor with an easygoing demeanor. Jerjerrod is a little more sympathetic than some of this Imperial coworkers (he was featured in a handful of deleted scenes from Return of the Jedi in which he struggled with the Emperor’s order to blow up the moon of Endor), so a likable guy like Bettany in the role help it land. Also, Bettany bears a passing resemblance to Michael Pennington, the actor who originally played Jerjerrod. It never hurts to preserve visual continuity when you can.
Next: Grand-Matron of the Rebel Alliance