Rory Ross: Becoming the Mandalorian Covert Commander

The Star Wars journey of actor Rory Ross has been one of destiny, faith, and inspiration. Having now portrayed several characters in the Mandoverse, from a Tusken Raider in The Book of Boba Fett, then putting on the plastoid armor of a stormtrooper in Obi-Wan Kenobi, and finally becoming a Mandalorian Covert Commander in Season Three of The Mandalorian—Ross looks back at his challenging childhood and what has catapulted him into the galaxy far, far away.

Rory Ross grew up on a farm in Lockridge, Iowa. When he was about six years old, he contracted a rare fungus on the back of his head that led him through a difficult journey at Iowa City Children’s Hospital, where amid all the uncertainties he found hope through Luke Skywalker: “My mom could see that I was definitely not in a good head space … I was scared. So she went to the media library and she brought A New Hope. That was my first time seeing Star Wars. Just seeing Luke’s journey, being able to resonate with him being on a farm, and then obviously seeing his journey as he continues on and takes out the Death Star, the most insurmountable obstacle known in that universe, it was a huge thing. It gave me that sort of vision of whatever was happening to me, I can do the same thing and get through that,” Ross added, “I just remember being scared but still holding on to that hope. And then finally, they found a way to stop it, but when I left, I was like, ‘I don’t know what I’m doing with my life.’ You know, I’m six years old, but I wanted to bring that same hope and inspiration to people like Luke did for me. That was something that permeated throughout my life.”

Years later, Rory Ross left the farm like Luke did in A New Hope, and pursued his dream of becoming an actor while still finding ways to contribute to charitable causes, giving a certain amount of his proceeds from each job. Little did he know that the stars would align, and in February of 2021 he received a call that forever changed his career. Ross reflected, “I was on set with Tamera Mowry from Sister, Sister talking about dreams manifesting. An hour after that conversation, that’s when I got the call that I was going to be a Tusken Raider, and I lost it! Is this real; is this really happening?” And indeed it was true, all of it.

Taking over the role of a Tusken Raider for Greg Kufera, Ross vividly remembers his first day stepping onto the Tatooine set of The Book of Boba Fett, an experience that to this day still has him in shock. He said, “When I finally put on the layers of the costume, which was decently heavy, and came out onto the set, I just remember seeing our little camp and looking up … I could see one sun, but it really felt like I saw two, and I’m like, ‘I’m on Tatooine.’ It was surreal, and I can never be thankful enough for the opportunity to have even just been on that one show.”

Then Obi-Wan Kenobi began production, and Rory Ross had yet another chance to step into his favorite universe, this time as a stormtrooper in every episode of the show. The actor confessed shooting Kenobi felt like it went really fast, but he clearly remembered one particular funny memory: “I almost got to film on my birthday, but I definitely got to film on May the Fourth. I wore my Jedi outfit (made by a friend of mine) to work because I was like, this is Star Wars Day. I changed into my stormtrooper gear and left my Jedi outfit with personal things … and then at the end of the night I came back and it was all gone. Apparently, the costume department had thought it was Ewan [McGregor]’s Obi-Wan costume that got misplaced. And so they took it and put it on the truck. I’m sitting here waiting; I have no clothes to leave the set. As soon as I’m out of my stormtrooper armor, I need my clothes [laughs]. So I had to wait for a bit in my stormtrooper outfit. That was also kind of a nice compliment of being like, it looks pretty screen accurate.”

The best was yet to come for Rory Ross. Season Three of The Mandalorian has been a celebration of Mandalorian characters, expanding the covert with a rich diversity of beskar armor and strong performances. “I was shooting as a Nikto pirate, and I remember at the end of the day getting fitted for the Mandalorian Covert Commander. I knew there were going to be more Mandos but then to be the only one that had the pauldron distinguishing rank, I was like, ‘This is crazy; this is awesome.’” The Mandalorian Covert Commander soon became an iconic background character, being in virtually every crucial scene of the season—from training with other Mandalorians to welcoming Bo-Katan Kryze to the tribe and finally chanting alongside Koska Reeves and Axe Woves “For Mandalore!” during the lighting of the Great Forge in The Mandalorian Season Three Finale.

Although there was no specific direction for him in terms of physicality of background story, Ross recalls being creative with the character: “I kind of put on my own story. I’m Paz Vizsla‘s right hand man. Usually when you see Paz with other Mandos, I’m right there. I remember on the day we shout, ‘This is the Way’ [during the first scene of Chapter 17: The Apostate], I have a very boisterous voice, and I’m also a big nerd. So like when those big moments happen, I would really get into it. I remember some people would be laughing from the camera side because I’m really going for it, and they’re like, ‘Well, we’re gonna have to dub this a little bit’.” Ross also added that “when Bo appears the first time, I’m like, she’s an apostate. I don’t want anything to do with her kind. But then as soon as the Armorer gives the OK, I’m the guy that’s right there, welcoming her. But then Bo comes back walking both worlds, and her helmet is off again when she and the Armorer go down into the Old Forge on Nevarro. I was like, ‘Ok, I’m back to not trusting you.’ And so then when we are doing the scene at night when it’s all of us, the Armorer, Paz, Mando, Axe, Koska I’m right there and Bo is doing her plea of going back to Mandalore … I’m not down with this. Why would we go back to Mandalore? It’s freaking cursed. [Lucasfilm] kept at least some of the physicality of it in the final cut, but yeah, they didn’t give direction in terms of how you should feel per se. That was more of just something that I kind of conveyed for myself and added that physicality. In the finale, knowing how it all ends and being with Koska and Axe, I’m just as excited as the other Mandalorians to know that we are united as one on our home planet. So that was a really cool, cool moment.”

Rory Ross feels an immense sense of gratitude for being able to portray the Mandalorian Covert Commander, especially how the fans and the people who made the armor have resonated with his performance and the character. He wanted to end the interview sharing a piece of advice for readers who dream of stepping into the galaxy far, far away: “I think the biggest thing I would say is that if it’s something you really wanna do, manifest that; put it out there, and then at the same time, do preparation or the work. Manifesting is a huge thing, and oftentimes I will say the universe has bigger plans than sometimes you even dare to dream.”

If you’d like to follow Rory Ross’ Star Wars journey and become involved in his charity work, then make sure to check out his Instagram page.

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