Omid Abtahi: Portraying Dr. Pershing in The Mandalorian

There is a gray area in Star Wars where neither heroes nor villains lie, where ambiguity and mystery drive characterization and storytelling in a way that intrigues the audience in a powerful way. Doctor Penn Pershing is one of those characters in The Mandalorian—a scientist first and foremost whose cloning expertise has unethically benefitted the Empire, more specifically Moff Gideon’s personal power gain. The man of science eventually finds a way out of the Imperial iron fist, embracing the New Republic era through the Amnesty Program to hopefully find a way to continue his research but is eventually betrayed by his ambitions—ultimately forced to go through mental recalibration by means of a mind flayer. Actor Omid Abtahi reflected upon his journey portraying Dr. Pershing, from his foray into The Mandalorian to exploring the various aspects of his character’s fascinating development all the way to Season Three.

Since 2004, Omid Abtahi has had a steady career as a working actor on film and television, from The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 to American Gods—and while working on the latter he received a call from his agent that would bring a role of a lifetime: an offer for a role in an untitled Star Wars project by Jon Favreau, which would then become The Mandalorian, with the actor playing the iconic role of Dr. Pershing. “I can count on one hand how many times I’ve been offered a role, and the fact that one of them is Star Wars is unbelievable. That’s how I entered the world, and it’s been one of the greatest experiences of my life,” Abtahi shared.

The actor revealed what it’s like to literally step into the boots of Dr. Pershing—from wearing perfectly tailored uniforms to putting on the rounded spectacles that make this character truly iconic: “As I put on the pieces of my costume, I start to feel like Dr. Pershing more and more. It’s very tight so my posture starts to get corrected … I’m just a casual dude in real life. I felt like I was Omid in a really nice costume until I would switch out my glasses with Dr. Pershing’s. Originally, the glasses were not connected in the middle but went around the ears, and every time I tried to put them on they would fall … it wasn’t practical. So I picked a pair from a selection of glasses that spoke to me, and it turns out those were from the sixties, no modification except for the prescription so I could see. It’s like putting on a mask. I immediately stopped being Omid and started becoming Dr. Pershing. And it’s a quick transition, I was able to slip into and out of the character as easily as putting on and off the glasses. My body started feeling the anxiety of Dr. Pershing coming together physically. If you asked me to act the scene without those glasses, I don’t know if I could do it … I would feel naked [laughs]. It’s like poker; all of a sudden you start filling in the blanks because you can’t see his eyes; you can’t read him. Is he a good guy, or is he a bad guy? I think that helped play into the ambiguity of the character.”

In the first two seasons of The Mandalorian, Abtahi confessed that he didn’t know very much about Dr. Pershing from the scripts, but interestingly what informed his traits was the lines that came from the actors who portrayed the characters around him. “Please excuse his lack of decorum. His enthusiasm outweighs his discretion,” the Client (Werner Herzog) said as Dr. Pershing makes his first appearance in the Mandoverse. The actor said, “This is a guy who loves science above all else, and so that was the energy I had to walk into that room. Then he also had a scene where he stood up to the Client, disagreeing about the termination of the asset. He doesn’t want to kill the Child. In fact, when Mando came back to rescue him, Dr. Pershing got in front of him ready to get shot. ‘Please don’t hurt him. It’s just a child,’ and then, ‘I protected him. I protected him.’ All those lines really informed me that Dr. Pershing, even though he’s wearing an Imperial outfit, puts science above all else. I don’t think he loves Grogu, he’s in love with the idea of what this being can mean to science.” He added, “Star Wars tends to be very black and white, you know, Rebels, Imperials, etc. I felt like Pershing was able to play that morally gray area. There were scenes where I had to do it twice, one in a traditional Imperial energy and then one where they would allow me to play with the colors I wanted to play with. I’m very grateful to the filmmakers for deciding to keep the performances that were a little bit more textured. I think that led to Season Three where you learn more about this character. He switches out his uniform, he’s wearing New Republic now, and he’s happy about it. But what happens? Science takes precedence, and he starts making choices that are a risk for him. Whatever uniform he wears, I think science is what drove him and that’s what really attracted me to him, to the way I wanted to play him.”

The Mandalorian Chapter 19: The Convert was Dr. Pershing’s redemption story gone wrong. Omid Abtahi reflected upon returning to Season Three in such a large way, this time as the lead actor in a one of a kind episode for the show where he was able to really dive deep into Dr. Pershing’s persona: “I would not change a single thing about the episode, except maybe getting mind flayered. When I got the script and realized my portion was pretty much the whole thing, I immediately got excited, nervous, and anxious all at once. Then I just started working together with [Chapter 19’s Director] Lee Isaac Chung, bouncing off ideas and not being afraid to try them. It was a very collaborative process. And when Katy [O’Brian, who played Elia Kane] joined, it was all good vibes. We were all very hungry and very passionate, and we loved the story. Also, working with Noah Kloor who helped write the episode was just fantastic. Without a doubt, it was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had, not just as an actor, but as a human being. And the cherry on the cake was bringing my son on set to be part of the episode in the background.”

The episode also showcased Pershing’s peculiar snack obsession: Imperial travel biscuits. Both Abtahi and O’Brian revealed their honest thoughts about the galactic snacks, and whereas the latter was not very fond of them, Omid Abtahi was as obsessed with the biscuits as his character. He said, “They were coconut heavy, and I loved them! Even when the camera wasn’t on me, I was snacking on them [laughs]. I still have one in the freezer, kept as a souvenir of our time there. Honestly, anything beat the popsicle … that was one of the worst tasting things I’ve ever had in my mouth. It tasted like a piece of metal or wood, so hard and nasty. It couldn’t melt since otherwise it wouldn’t be practical, and obviously it didn’t glow.”

Omid Abtahi ended the interview sharing his hopes and wishes for Dr. Pershing to return (did he survive the mind flayer?): “It would break my heart if that’s the ending for Pershing because I feel like he has so much potential in how he affects the overall story in the universe. But that being said, it won’t change the fact that I’m forever indebted and grateful, and I have that memory no matter what happens next. I felt like I really got to know him in that third season, and what I want more than anything, if he does come back, is for him to have a spine and stop being so meek, to finally take ownership of how freaking intelligent and capable he is.”

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