Jecki Lon, Qimir and Yord Fandar Actors Look Back at That Shocking ‘The Acolyte’ Episode
Now that their time on The Acolyte is over, Dafne Keen and Charlie Barnett took some time to talk about what it was like portraying Jecki Lon and Yord Fandar, respectively, while Manny Jacinto also had something to say about Qimir’s villainous turn in the fifth episode.
Speaking to StarWars.com, Dafne and Charlie touched on what it was like signing on to a project where they knew they would die relatively early on, and what it was like working with Leslye Headland.
Dafne Keen was actually excited by the prospect of getting killed off early. It was how she was pitched the role.
“The first thing [Leslye] said to me was ‘You’re going to die,’. And that was something that really drew me to the character. As a viewer, I love a tragic death and Jecki’s death is so unfair. She’s fighting very well and she seems like she’s winning. And then [The Stranger] pulls out a dagger, which is completely cheating.
“There was something so beautiful about how Leslye wrote [Jecki’s] death. I really tried to play the moment of shock — ‘Oh my God, I’m dying.’ —and also, as a Jedi, I’m going to let go. That’s what life had in store for [Jecki]. And there was something so beautiful about that.
“The weight of death is something that I really appreciate when I watch a film or a show, when you really feel death, like you would feel it in life. And, selfishly as a Star Wars fan, I know how much all the Jedi deaths broke my heart — like when Qui-Gon dies, I know how much that affected me.
“It’s such a huge part of Star Wars. And getting to bring that legacy to life and even begin to scratch the heartbreak that those characters gave us was something really exciting to take on.”
Dafne Keen training for her role as Jecki in #TheAcolyte pic.twitter.com/xf2bmupe5g
— Star Wars Facts (@sw_tweets) June 27, 2024
Charlie Barnett agreed with that last point, comparing Jecki Lon and Yord Fandar’s deaths to Rogue One: “We all knew it was coming, and I was broken.” He also appreciated being told from the beginning that his character would only last five episodes, though he had one regret that his character didn’t get to try and save Jecki before she died.
“I so damn appreciate that. Leslye gave us the respect and the confidence in our performances to tell us from the very beginning and then collaborated with us on the whole process.
“I’m still mad that I don’t get to save [Jecki] or try to.”
Manny Jacinto (The Stranger) training for #TheAcolyte EP 5 🔥 pic.twitter.com/M0ec7opnes
— Star Wars Only (@StarWars0nly) June 27, 2024
Manny Jacinto also spoke a little about the duality of his role as Qimir/The Stranger in a social media post.
“I joke that I don’t know if I’d be able to top this role ever, and maybe I should retire. Initially learning about the duality of Qimir and The Stranger, I was ecstatic. It honestly is a dream role for any actor to be able to tackle because of the complexities of both characters, and you get to show a spectrum of different personality traits and characteristics, and it was such a fulfilling thing to do.
“Playing Qimir, it was very much a Jack Sparrow energy. And going into The Stranger, it was very much just about honing into the stillness and not really moving too much. Mainly using the projection of my voice to have that power and stillness, and then letting the action speak for itself.”
Back to Jecki Lon and Yord Fandar, Dafne and Charlie have complete reverence for showrunner Leslye Headland, and Dafne elaborates on what it was like working with her.
“Leslye’s truly one of the best people I’ve ever worked with. She’s such a generous director, and she’s so good at just learning how to listen and knowing when to assert herself and when to open her mind and take in other people’s ideas. She’s like an orchestra director. She has an eye on everything very calmly from above, navigating with such kindness and grace.
“And because she’s such a passionate, creative person, she has such love for every single craft on set. She was always so excited and she had so much respect for everyone. And that’s really rare.
“This is a really silly thing, but it’s so huge: She’s really good at giving positive reinforcement. A lot of people who are high up are very good at telling you when you’ve done wrong, but not when you’ve done well.”
Charlie had already worked with Leslye Headland on the Netflix series Russian Doll, so he already knew what it was like working with her, but he expressed his admiration for her storytelling talent.
“The way that she can create characters and storyline is above and beyond. It’s evident in just telling 50 things in someone’s backstory — about their future, their past, and where they are at the moment — in a line, in a look. That is really, really talented.”
Members of the Yord Horde will have been particularly devastated by the events of this week’s episode, and Charlie Barnett had some kind words for fans of Yord Fandar.
🙁 sorry, #YordHorde#TheAcolyte is all-new Tuesdays on @DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/qNLKlrq4vF
— Star Wars (@starwars) June 27, 2024
I love all of the kindness, appreciation, humor, pride, and joy that you have been investing into this. I cannot thank you enough for taking the time to notice me and notice this performance. And to notice the Yords of the world, the people who are trying to do what’s best and might have blinders on, but have the biggest and fullest heart.”
Perhaps one day we’ll get to see more Yord Fandar and Jecki Lon stories in another medium, but for now we can sit back and watch more of Manny Jacinto as The Stranger in the final three episodes of The Acolyte.
Josh is a huge Star Wars fan, who has spent far too much time wondering if any Star Wars character could defeat Thanos with all the Infinity Stones.
