Diana Lee Inosanto: Portraying the Magistrate in The Mandalorian

The Mandalorian Chapter 13: The Jedi was arguably one of the most pivotal episodes of the series and of Star Wars television as a whole—bringing fan favorite animated character Ahsoka Tano to live-action, revealing the Child’s name, Grogu, and introducing an incredibly fascinating new villain into the galaxy far, far away: The Magistrate, aka Morgan Elsbeth, played by Diana Lee Inosanto.

Daughter of Jeet Kune Do and Filipino martial arts legend Dan Inosanto and goddaughter of beloved global icon Bruce Lee, Diana Lee Inosanto grew up with Star Wars. Seeing the original 1977 movie in Aspen, Colorado after her family attended an international martial arts camp captured her imagination and allowed her to make a special connection with her father—the duel between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader inspired him to train her in martial arts using sticks and toy lightsabers. “I think of it as the precursor to me doing the fight scene with Rosario [Dawson] in The Mandalorian,” Diana Lee Inosanto shared.

Since experiencing Star Wars for the first time, Diana Lee Inosanto has had a lustrous career as a stunt performer (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Walker, Texas Ranger, Face/Off), later becoming a “Sensei to the Stars,” preparing the who’s who in Hollywood for their action roles, and finally writing, directing, and starring in her first indie film The Sensei. Diana Lee Inosanto shared, “When I look back, it’s interesting because people didn’t always know I was an actress, and then to survive in this business as a mom with a son who has autism was really hard. Back in the 90s they weren’t really interested in casting my type … I’m half European and half Asian Pacific Islander descent. So stunt work really was something that catered to my family’s needs. I used my time on the set with every show and movie I worked on as my training ground. I was trying to be the sponge that absorbed everything and that remarkably prepared me to direct The Sensei and then here I am now, enjoying the whole accolades with the Star Wars universe. It’s been amazing, you know.”

The actress recalled the moment she got the life-changing call from Lucasfilm about the mysterious role in an equally mysterious TV series: “I’m in my fifties, so when I got the call I actually thought it was a joke. I couldn’t get a talent agent at all because of my age; it was really a struggle. I thought my career really was done, so I didn’t realize this was the real thing until I was sent an NDA. I had three days to prepare and the script was so disguised you would never know in a million years that it was Star Wars. I went in and auditioned, then I had to meditate just to keep myself calm because I realized this was the real deal. You can imagine how stunned I was when I got a call three or four days later that I got the job, but I still didn’t know what the job was, what the character was.” Diana Lee Inosanto continued, “I had no idea until about a month later, and then they asked me to come in and to train with the stunt team, but little did I know it was really to meet Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni. I then found out that Dave came across a trailer of The Sensei. They were committed to finding a real martial artist who could hopefully act, and thank goodness because of my aunt I had the acting chops, and then of course the martial arts part of it comes from dad and my godfather. I’m very lucky that the stars and the planets aligned for me, and here we are.”

Diana Lee Inosanto brought such elegance and imposing presence to the character of the Magistrate. The actress revealed the inspiration behind her portrayal of the villain, studying world leaders while trying to embody Lady Eboshi of the Studio Ghibli masterpiece Princess Mononoke, which was part Dave Filoni’s influence for Chapter 13. “I kept examining her character, especially her ambition. She has her own agenda that she thinks makes sense to her. It’s the same thing with the Magistrate in many ways. That is what really helped me have some internal understanding of this character and where she might be,” Diana Lee Inosanto said.

The actress admitted that she had no idea at the time that the Magistrate was named Morgan Elsbeth: ”It stunned me on the night that it aired; everybody was making such a big deal about Grogu, but I’m over here ecstatic about learning my name [laughs]. I had no idea … kind of smart that Dave kept that a secret.”

The culmination of Chapter 13: The Jedi was undoubtedly the duel between Ahsoka Tano and Morgan Elsbeth—quickly becoming one of the most iconic moments in Star Wars history. Diana Lee Inosanto reflected upon the importance of the scene for the franchise: “I loved being a partner with Rosario because this was so important for the fans. I think it was in our hands to really make this fight scene something that the fans can really sink their teeth into.” She then delved into the developmental challenges of a scene of this caliber: “When I heard Lauren [Kim] was gonna be my double it made sense that she would be by my side and a part of this journey because she’s a really talented student under my father … It was like having my little sister next to me. When you’re doing a fight scene, it’s like being a boxer; you have to have the endurance and the choreography for a long time. I was on that set for 17 hours when that fight scene happened. I’m so happy that Lauren was there for me, you know what I mean? Same thing with Caitlin [Dechelle] for Rosario … this is really a team effort when you are putting out a fight scene of that kind of magnitude. [Stunt Coordinator Ryan Watson] was amazing. He was always open to new ideas. They really groomed the fight scene to my sensibilities.”

Diana Lee Inosanto was welcomed by the Star Wars fans with open arms—she was inducted into the 501st Golden Gate Garrison in Northern California and met other Garrisons at C2E2 in 2021. “Fans are the best because I can relate to their organic and endless enthusiasm for this universe. In a way I feel like I’m the fan that got really, really lucky and blessed to be a part of this franchise, and I still pinch myself every day. At C2E2 I met Timothy [Zahn], Giancarlo [Esposito], and Hayden [Christensen], but most importantly the fans. I was meeting so many families that were in the same walk as me, where they had special needs children. Some of the fans were people with autism … I feel this personal connection, you know, just knowing each other’s struggles. What can I say? I love the fans,” she said.

At the end of the episode, the Magistrate’s fate is unclear. Diana Lee Inosanto shared her hopes for the character moving forward: “I would love to see her definitely in books and comics for sure, more extensively part of the Star Wars universe. It would be great to see if there’s an unveiling of what her background is: Where did she come from? Who is she? What makes her feel vulnerable? What makes her mad even more? I think this is a woman that definitely holds a lot of secrets and doesn’t reveal everything that’s on her agenda. But we will see what will happen. My fingers are crossed.”

Diana Lee Inosanto’s love and appreciation for Morgan Elsbeth and Star Wars is inspirational, and we can’t wait to find out if she will return as the mysterious villain in future projects. In the meantime, make sure to follow her on Instagram.

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