You Made Jar Jar Binks Feel Bad!
I bet you didn’t think you were going to read that today did you? In a great Skype interview, the actor who played Jar Jar Binks spent 10 minutes answering questions. Of course we all remember him as one of the more irritating aspects of the prequel Star Wars films but after watching the above interview…I suddenly feel bad. Argh! Oh, and apparently Michael Jackson wanted to be Jar Jar…so I guess we really dodged a bullet on that one though it would have been really amazing to see a Gungan moon-walk. Yeah!
When asked where he came up with the voice, Amhed Best said he used to read to his nieces and nephews and that was one of the voices he used. Unfortunately, he also thinks that was one of the reasons why fans reacted so poorly to the character. “When [fans] see a character that’s purely comical, and purely for the children, they felt probably a bit condescended to. And I can understand how they wanted more a more serious story. But on the same token, the children really liked it.”
What about if he would ever return to the role? I mean, there is that fan theory floating around that Jar Jar really is a monster Sith Lord. He was instrumental in pushing Palpaltine into the Emperor, right? Anywho, Best responded, “No, I think I’ve done my damage. Yeah. I’m good with where I stand in the Star Wars universe. I don’t need to do that. I’m not really interested in coming back. I did what I did, I thought it was great, I thought it was fun, and now it’s time to move on.”
Changing tone, the interviewer then asked Best what it was like to jump on Liam Neeson; you know that scene in Phantom Menace where he hops on his back? “Jumping on Liam Neeson is like jumping on the strongest person ever”. I do love a good soft ball question from time to time! Finally, Best was asked on how he felt after all of the negative reactions. “Even though you still play characters you put a lot of your own personality into it. You get emotionally invested into it…so yeah, I felt a little bit of a hit”. Truth be told, the above interview is pretty entertaining and you can definitely hear a little bit of Jar Jar in Ahmed Best. I suddenly want to watch the Phantom Menace…I guess that’s a pretty strong guilt response!