‘The Acolyte’ Star Charlie Barnett Reacts to Yord’s Big Moment

Warning: this article contains spoilers Star Wars: The Sidekick episode 5.

It wasn’t supposed to happen this way. After an unmasked Sith Lord brutally killed young padawan Jecki Lon (Dafne Keen) in the fifth episode of The Acolyte and revealed himself to be none other than the misfit apothecary Qimir (Manny Jacinto), a hero who arrived to save the day. That hero was none other than Yord Fandor (Charlie Barnett), who flew into frame and attacked the Stranger with his own fearsome helmet.

But moments later, the tables were turned and the Stranger snapped Yord’s neck, adding another victim to the season’s pile of bodies. It was a stunning display of violence and a shocking end to the Jedi Knight’s life. But it turns out that the death scene rehearsals were much less traumatic…and even somewhat calming. This is according to Barnett, who spoke to Weekly Entertainment as part of our new cover story on the groundbreaking fifth installment of the Star Wars series. It also broke down a lot of the character’s backstory, which helps explain those final moments. So, in the words of Barnett himself, let’s be guided!

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How did creator Leslye Headland tell you that Yord wouldn’t be staying in this galaxy for long?

CHARLIE BARNETT: I walked the day we were filming it… No, just kidding! Leslye was very frank from the start. No one ever wants to be excluded from a show, but when you know that going into it, from a performance standpoint, it gave me a bookend and an itinerary to plan and play the role a little more roller coaster, showing the ups and downs and showing how he ends up in this position. When you play a character that you know is going to die, it’s a little more fun. If it’s a surprise to you and your job disappears next week, that sucks, but when you know what you’re getting into, you have a little more control over it. And I tried to find the lemonade through the lemons.

Did you and Dafne bond following your untimely passing, knowing that you were also going to date at the same time?

They asked me if I wanted to go see Dafne die, and I said, “No, are you kidding me? I love it. I don’t want to see her die four times. It’s just visceral and disgusting and sad. No, I don’t need all that. I’ll save this for sitting on my couch, in my comfort of tissue boxes and tears. »

What was it like filming your big death scene?

Let’s just say it: Manny, in addition to being an extremely handsome gentleman, is one of the nicest people ever. And in repeating it, we must move slowly. So the whole time I’m just being held by Manny, and he’s just holding my head and saying, “Oh, Charlie, does it hurt when I break your neck like that?” And I’m like, “No, man. You kill me. It’s absolutely fine. You can break my neck, however you’re going to break it. I’m going to be dead. But it was actually very comforting and peaceful. And he’s so sweet and so gentle that it was like I was being slowly killed until we were like, “Okay, let’s speed this baby up.” And then I died on the ground. It was a beautiful death. It was luxurious.

You have two big fight scenes with Manny. I know you’re working on it solo and then you’re coming together, so tell me about this dance with him.

Manny is an incredible dancer. Manny comes from a breakdancing and hip hop background. I know a lot of dance forms – a lot less than Manny, but I’ve done ballet, I’ve done jazz, I’ve done tap, I’ve done more of the musical theater kind of thing. I came in there thinking how this dance knowledge was really going to apply to learning fight choreography, but it’s a different type of movement. This is a different type of attack.

I thought I would be quick to pick up the pieces, but you have to exploit the fear of hitting or hurting someone. There is this fear: there is another person at the end, and we are doing a piece together which is a tango in which I cannot touch her. It’s all these weird, very tiny little protections that you then have to think about in your mind. I don’t want to touch number two on our call list because I could literally get fired. You know what I mean? As I hold up this pipe, it’s supposed to be a lit lightsaber! You then have to learn to dance and be a safety monitor at the same time. But it was so funny. I wanted to have a lot more. Honestly, I was upset that I couldn’t spend four more months doing more.

I actually started thinking, “Okay, why isn’t Yord fighting as much?” He can’t wait to get out that lightsaber. He obviously has it and knows he can and will kill someone if he needs to at any time. He’s excited for that. And that’s why I think part of my character structure became the fact that I was really bad at using the Force. I wasn’t as used to using the Force. Fighting became my safety mechanism. And so now, in my world, I’m trying to let go of the fight because it’s become an attachment to a certain feeling of, “This is how I’m a Jedi.” That’s how I’m connected to it. I need to focus more on my work with the Force and my connections to the Force. So I try to stop pulling out the lightsaber, stop fighting. And that’s the story I created… I mean, it’s all bullshit…

No, they’re not bullshit at all. I think it’s fascinating.

It feeds my character. This fuels the reasoning that I don’t have more fights and why I wanted them.

Let me ask you something: why does everyone always make fun of Yord? Jecki and Osha always seem to be laughing at his expense.

It doesn’t bother him. I can tell you he has no qualms, because at the end of the day, he’s a knight. Both are actively trying to become knights. Even though I’ve been there longer, they both wanted to be where I am, and I was the one who succeeded. And the reason behind these snickers, these laughs, these jokes or anything like that… behind the scenes that I see, is the reason why they are not knights. So, deep down, every time they make a joke like that, I’ve won. And I’m kind of like, “Damn, it’s good, y’all!” Let’s see it. I don’t give a damn about Yords. I am a knight. THANKS. Bow down. I have my own Padawan. It doesn’t bother him. Additionally, which Jedi would be affected by the words? I am a Jedi. This Padawan and this civilian can say whatever they want.

Sign up for Entertainment Weekly’s free daily newsletter to receive breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars and more.

What do you ultimately think about Yord’s disappearance?

When Osha convinces me that Jecki is in danger, I know my duty is to get this civilian to the ship and get out of here as quickly as possible, but my heart breaks and this is the first time my compassion takes over. And all the responsibility for what you have to respect goes out the window. And yes, unfortunately, it doesn’t survive and benefit from that kind of energy. I think it’s a bit of a fault for not having lived in this place for more of his life. He was too confined, and you see his disappearance. These are all reasons why he loses much of what he knows he is good at, which is fighting, because his attachments and emotional connection speak louder in that moment .

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.