During Andor's stellar and critically acclaimed run, it featured a number of award-level performances from the main characters to even the supporting cast. One performance in particular was a breakout, making this character become an instant fan-favorite.
Elizabeth Dulau's Kleya Marki, the assistant to Stellan Skarsgård's Luthen Rael, was a powerhouse performance the moment she stepped onto the Star Wars stage. From her little quips to her superspy infiltration of a hospital under Imperial lockdown, Dulau crafted a role of a lifetime that any veteran actor would wish they had.
Which is why I was shocked to find out that Andor was Elizabeth Dulau's first acting role.
Andor's Kleya Marki was Elizabeth Dulau's first job out of drama school
Alongside show creator Tony Gilroy, Dulau was interviewed by EW's Dalton Ross and was asked about the infamous hospital infiltration scene in Season 2's 3-episode finale. Here, she revealed this stunning news, saying, "I will say a lot of the things I encountered on this job was the first time I've encountered them because I graduated drama school and then got this job. So I was learning a lot as I went."
She also stated that, being her first job, she learned a lot on the set, sharing some examples. She said, "Watching the feedback on the monitors was actually really useful to me. So for that sequence of moving through the hospital, I did that a lot because I would spot a little tension in my shoulders or something that I didn't realize was there. And so I thought, 'Something about that was distracting.' It would take away from the image, which told the story. So I approached it in that way a lot. I would be constantly watching the feed back and then adjusting.
Dulau got to live out a dream role, noting that her kid self would have had the best time playing Kleya, sharing, "But I also just tried to have so much fun with it because, as you say, it is like a James Bond film. It's so cool! And whipping out the blaster and literally shooting these guys and having pyrotechnics fly out the back of them — that was my favorite moment to shoot throughout the whole thing. This was pure seven-year-old Elizabeth living her best life. It was unbelievable and the best fun I've ever had."
Again, I was so stunned to see this was Elizabeth Dulau's first official role (there were a few short films prior to Andor according to her IMDb, but this was the first professional production). She not only tackled Kleya like a pro but she held her own against Skarsgård, considered one of the great veteran actors of today. It was a masterful performance, and I can't wait to see what she does next.