Actors who have played two (or more) different characters in Star Wars

This season, on The Mandalorian, among the many surprise appearances we got to see Jedi Master Kelleran Beq, the Jedi who was responsible for Grogu being saved from Order 66 and the siege of the Jedi Temple. Kelleran Beq first debuted in the game show series Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge, but this is the first time the character has appeared in an actual Star Wars story. The appearance of Keleran Beq marks the second Star Wars character played by actor Ahmed Best. Best first appeared in Star Wars over twenty years ago, portraying Jar Jar Binks in the prequel trilogy. While Best has played two different characters in Star Wars, he’s hardly the first actor to do so.

Andy Serkis

When we were introduced to Supreme Leader Snoke in The Force Awakens it wasn’t a big surprise that the character was being portrayed by Andy Serkis. Serkis has become famous for his motion capture performances, playing roles like Golumn in Lord of the Rings, and Ceasar in the Planet of the Apes trilogy. So when it was decided that the Supreme Leader would be created through motion capture, it was no surprise that Serkis was the right actor for the job. However, as time has gone on, Serkis has begun to appear in more and more roles showing his own face without the motion capture. Serkis played Alfred in the latest Batman movie, and the villain Ulysses Klaue in the MCU. In Andor, Serkis got a chance to play another character in the Star Wars universe, this time getting to show his face. Serkis played Kino Loy in three episodes of Andor last year.

Sam Witwer

Sam Witwer first appeared in Star Wars in the video game The Force Unleashed playing the game’s lead character Starkiller. The character of Starkiller was also physically modeled after the actor, so for some people Starkiller is the character that they still most closely identify with the actor. However, he has since gone on to become the main voice of Darth Maul when the character came back in The Clone Wars. Sam Witwer became so identified with the voice of Darth Maul, that when the character was brought back to live action in Solo, Witwar was the one voicing the character instead of Peter Serafinowicz who originally voiced the live action version of the character. Witwar has even gone on to voice other characters in Star Wars in both TV shows and video games, including taking over the voicing of Emperor Palpatine from Tim Curry in Rebels.

Temuera Morrison

This one can look like a bit of a cheat, as Temuera Morrison has played literally hundreds, if not thousands of characters in Star Wars, as he was the actor who played every member of the Clone Army. But he was best known for his role as Jango Fett, the father of Boba Fett, who first appeared in Attack of the Clones. Years later, Morrison was able to portray his character’s own son, when Boba Fett reappeared in The Mandalorian. The age of Boba Fett at that point in the Star Wars timeline lined up with Morrison’s actual age, allowing the actor to take on the role that inspired the role that he had started with, twenty years earlier.

Dee Bradley Baker

Like Temuera Morrison, Dee Bradley Baker feels like a bit of a cheat, as he is responsible for voicing each member of the clone army in the animated Star Wars projects. However, anybody who has watched, even a little bit of The Clone Wars or The Bad Batch would agree that Baker is able to create unique characters and personalities for each of the clones that he voices. Even so, Baker’s Star Wars work hasn’t just been Clone related. He has also voiced Boba Fett in several video games as well as providing the voices of Unkar Plutt and the bounty hunter Bossk in video games as well. Plus, he will be voicing the character Nubs in the upcoming Young Jedi Adventures.

Joonas Suotamo

This is one of the most recent announcements of an actor getting to take on a second role in Star Wars. Joonas Suotamo is the actor who took over the role of Chewbacca from Peter Mayhew. The two actors shared the role in The Force Awakens depending on what each scene called for, before Suotamo took over the role for the remainder of the sequel trilogy. At Celebration 2023, it was announced that Suotamo would be a part of the cast of the upcoming series The Acolyte. He will be playing Kelnacca, a Jedi Wookie from the High Republic era, making this both his second Star Wars character, as well as his second Wookie on his list of acting credits.

While this list features plenty of actors who have appeared in Star Wars as multiple characters, it’s far from a comprehensive list. Because Star Wars features so many characters that require heavy makeup, or wearing helmets all the time, or are animated, there are plenty of actors who have been able to show up multiple times across the saga, virtually unrecognizable. It would take much longer to try and point out every single actor who’s played two or more Star Wars characters, but it’s always fun to try and find the Easter eggs of someone familiar popping up again in a new role.