The first actor to get to take their Star Wars character from animated to live-action form was Katee Sackhoff, who starred as Bo-Katan in The Clone Wars and Rebels before The Mandalorian.
Speaking to ClutchPoints about her new thriller Fight or Flight, which stars Trap lead Josh Hartnett, Sackhoff called it a “gift” that she was the first actor to make the leap from animated to live-action. “I think that the character was the first that had been done with the same actors,” she recalled. “So, it was very rare.”
Still, Hollywood is ever-changing, and Sackhoff was part of this change. She acknowledged that Hollywood is becoming more open to letting TV actors work on movies instead of recasting with a more familiar face. “I would hate to be recast with Scarlett Johansson or something,” she quipped.
“This industry is changing so much. It used to be that TV actors were TV actors, film actors were film actors,” she said. “So it was much more prevalent to see a voice actor replaced with somebody bigger for the screen.”
It helps that Sackhoff doesn't think Star Wars: Rebels creator Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau had to ” suspend their disbelief too much.” That could be due to her past sci-fi work, such as her leading role as Lieutenant Kara “Starbuck” Thrace in Battlestar Galactica.
“I've been playing characters in that zeitgeist for most of my career, but to have them believe that I had the ability to do that or that they would let me do that is wonderful,” Sackhoff praised.
Who does Katee Sackhoff play in Star Wars?
Sackhoff plays Bo-Katan Kryze in the Star Wars universe. She first debuted as the character in 2012 in The Clone Wars. She played the character in nine episodes of the series.
In 2017, Sackhoff would reprise the role in Rebels. Sackhoff would then have the opportunity to play the character in live-action form in 2020. She was introduced as the live-action form of the character in the second season of The Mandalorian.
Article Continues BelowAdditionally, the character has appeared in an episode of Tales of the Empire. Sackhoff voiced Bo-Katan in an episode titled “The Path of Hate.”
She remained tight-lipped when I mentioned her appearing in the Mandalorian & Grogu movie. However, she did smile, so perhaps Bo-Katan will make her big-screen debut soon in the upcoming Star Wars film.
Sackhoff is also known for her roles in Another Life, Longmire, and The Flash. She has appeared in movies such as Halloween: Resurrection, Riddick, and Don't Knock Twice.
She has voiced Poison Ivy in DC's animated projects like Batman: The Long Halloween and Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths — Part Three.
Currently, she is promoting Fight or Flight. She plays Katherine Brunt, the woman who recruits Lucas Reyes (Josh Hartnett) for a dangerous job on a plane.
Fight or Flight will be released on May 9.