Katy O’Brian: Portraying Elia Kane in The Mandalorian

With just three episodes aired so far, the third season of The Mandalorian has already brought an incredible amount of excitement around the lore of the Mandalorians and especially the Clan of Two. However, much like in The Book of Boba Fett Chapters 5 and 6, The Mandalorian spins off a (very Andoresque) standalone story in the middle of Chapter 19—providing some insight into Dr. Pershing’s redemption path with the New Republic, accompanied by an unexpected new friend(?): an Imperial Comms Officer that was stationed aboard Moff Gideon’s ship. Portrayed by Katy O’Brian, the former Imperial, now New Republic Amnesty Officer G68, or as we learn later in the episode, Elia Kane has already become one of the most cerebral characters in Star Wars. The actress shared the journey that led her to portray the character in The Mandalorian: “I was on this really interesting career move at the time because I had just come off of filming Westworld. That was my first guest star role since I was a series regular [in Z Nation]. I booked Black Lightning for DC and then got this two line audition for a secret show. I delivered a couple of lines, and then I found out I booked it but they wouldn’t tell me what the part was. All I knew was that it was for the role of a Comms Officer; I didn’t know if that was a code or what. So I showed up to my wardrobe fitting and then saw that it’s a classic Imperial uniform. So I was like, ‘Okay, I know where I stand [laughs].’ I don’t think I was supposed to have more than two or three lines, but then they just kept kind of building it a little bit.”

Katy O’Brian genuinely believed her character was dead by the end of The Mandalorian Season Two, but then the showrunners surprised her with a new script for the Comms Officer, which was about to take on a larger role in the story. She said, “When I got the script, I was blown away. I couldn’t believe that they were basically giving me a whole episode and had that much confidence and faith in me to do that. It’s something that I really love and appreciate about Jon Favreau—he really invests in everyone’s career from all parts of the cast and crew. I was so excited to work with Lee Isaac Chung. It’s wild.”

From the beginning to the end of The Mandalorian Chapter 19: The Convert, the audience experiences a range of emotions—a sense of camaraderie, an exhilarating feeling of rebellion and desire, and finally betrayal and shock as Elia Kane reveals her true nature, the latter is still a big question mark. Katy O’Brian delved into Kane’s intriguing character development: “I think it’s kind of complicated because there’s still so much I don’t know. So it’s me just making choices and filling in blanks and then hoping that it works out. [Lucasfilm] is so secretive that they’re even keeping all of it from me. So, in my mind I’m kind of like, ‘Well, I can keep some secrets from you then too [jokes].’ I think that really plays for the character because at the end of the day, if you are loyal to the New Republic or you’re loyal to the Empire, these are still very structured systems, so how loyal exactly are you? Are you really there for yourself? So in my mind I was just like, ‘I’m gonna take this character and just be on a very surface level in the moment and then the second that [Dr. Pershing] turns his back or the camera moves away I give little glimpses of maybe something else, and it’s not necessarily duplicitousness or evil, it’s just maybe like a second thought. So we never know what page I’m on.” O’Brian added, “When you’re working on a project like this, you have so many other things that really help change the tone or build the moment. I was listening to the score, and there’s so many little subtleties that make you feel uneasy … then this jovial upbeat that makes you feel like you’re losing your mind. It was also strongly present in the lighting and the camera work. There’s the scene where we’re on the ship getting the supplies, and when Dr. Pershing asks Elia Kane about her childhood, you see her just take a step back and she is shrouded in darkness all of a sudden. It’s all these amazing filmmakers coming together and coming up with these little tiny moments that just changed everything for the audience and for the actors as well.”

Elia Kane’s mysterious and manipulative characterization would not be effective without Dr. Pershing’s determination to resume his cloning research. In Chapter 19, the two establish this chemistry that captivated the audience in an unexpected way—and that must be credited to not only the director’s vision but also the outstanding performances of Katy O’Brian and Omid Abtahi. The actress humbly shared her experience working with Abtahi: “Omid had already set the tone in the previous seasons as Dr. Pershing, so I already knew how he was gonna perform it. Isaac and Jon wanted us to be very platonic, so no over the top flirtiness or like longing, loving looks, that kind of thing, but more of a friend adventure heist in a way. Omid is an amazing actor and does the work beautifully, so it really was just kind of like effortlessly knowing to manipulate him essentially, or who’s to say if it was manipulation … maybe he just really wanted to do that all along, and I’m just his hype man, right? They really trusted us to bring what we thought our characters were to the table, and it was just really easy when somebody has an authentic character down … it’s easy to act against.”

It seems like between Andor and now The Mandalorian, Star Wars fans are getting to see more and more of Coruscant, the vibrant heart and capital of the galaxy. O’Brian reflected upon her experience working in the Volume—its immersiveness and challenges: “It’s kind of surreal. They still have some kind of practical stuff going on, and they had a bunch of extras there that day running around, lots of kids, magicians, so you do get to pick up on things that are very physical and present. But during my first day shooting this episode, we were in the Amnesty Housing area and the other actors were like, ‘Do you think we’re gonna work in the Volume?’ We’re in this environment, you know, thinking that we’re looking at buildings and everything around us, and all of a sudden the lights go off and there’s nothing there. It really does look three dimensional, depending on the setting and where you are in the Volume. It feels like you’re on, for the most part, a practical set.” Katy O’Brian added, “I will say, it does make shooting a little more difficult. You don’t have a lot of space to cover compared to a practical set, so for our walk and talk, while we were enjoying the ice cream we had to walk a bit then start back at the beginning and then continue the conversation as if we’re somewhere else as they have to shift everything. You’re very limited when doing the reverse shots. I appreciate the Volume but there’s almost nothing better than a live, physical set.”

Elia Kane gets a change in wardrobe more than most characters in Star Wars. Katy O’Brian shared what it felt like putting on these beautifully tailored costumes and stepping onto the set of The Mandalorian: “Shawna [Trpcic], the Costume Designer is unbelievable. When I first put on the Amnesty costume, I felt like I was in a cult or even an airline having not read the script. It really did set this feeling of being in this kind of pastel world, it’s just so strange. But it also felt brighter than the Imperial uniform … you already feel a different way. But when I got to wear something that was a little more like the Rebels—it was just refreshing, fun, and obviously really comfortable (I did however split my pants three times). They were really all open to the idea of just being super relaxed in a t-shirt, which makes it more to me like off putting and friendly, and also kind of humanizes you. You feel who you are when you’re in the right outfit, you know.”

The interview could not end without mentioning the infamous Imperial yellow travel biscuits. O’Brian said that her Amnesty uniform was the only one with pockets to hold the galactic snack, which she confessed was not as tasty as it seemed on camera. “I was filming Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania while we were filming this. They knew that I was on a pretty strict diet, so they came up with this vegan, gluten free, ultra healthy snack. It had a heavy, heavy coconut oil flavor. I just assumed they didn’t have a lot (they had so many), so I was like, ‘I’ll just not try a bite until my first take.’ I bit it, crumbs exploded and it expanded in my mouth. I’m trying to do this last scene, but I broke and started laughing! Everyone was laughing, and then I spit it out … so yeah, I’m not the biggest fan. I kept a few. I don’t know if I should eat them anymore, but I’m gonna watch the episode with Omid … we’ll share a travel biscuit. We just agreed to get food poisoning and move on,” she shared.

Elia Kane and Dr. Pershing’s storyline still has many unanswered questions. If or when we will get more of these fascinating characters, we are guaranteed to get yet another incredible performance by Katy O’Brian and Omid Abtahi. In the meantime, make sure to follow her on Instagram to stay up to date with her projects and to share your love for Elia Kane.

DISCLAIMER: This interview was originally published by Fabio Fiori on TatooineTimes.com.