A Smiling Giancarlo Esposito Opens Up About Playing Notorious Villain Moff Gideon on ‘The Mandalorian’

Actor Giancarlo Esposito, who brilliantly played the multi-faceted role of Gustavo Fring in the sublime series Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, opened up about playing Moff Gideon in The Mandalorian, a different kind of villain in a completely different universe. A smiling Esposito explained that it was his dream to play a role in Star Wars and jumped at the opportunity when it was presented to him. He also shared how it was able to embrace the character while still making the role his own.

My first day of shooting, I came down in a TIE fighter and I landed. And then I’m ushered into what is a standoff with 300 stormtroopers. …And so that standoff was the beginning of me finding the balance of who this character is. For me, as an actor, I have to reflect the images that I see and feel that aren’t really in front of me so that you can see this world reflected through my vision. And you get a true sense of that. You see something else as it’s all built and put together but it has to start somewhere– the kernel, the seed has to start somewhere inside of Moff Gideon.

Esposito also appeared on Late Night with Seth Meyers to talk about the roles he’s played and his life in New Mexico.

Giancarlo Esposito shares what he loves the most about living in New Mexico, explains the difference between playing Gustavo in Breaking Bad and playing him in Better Call Saul, and talks about joining the Star Wars universe in The Mandalorian.

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.

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