'Andor's' Elizabeth Dulau on Kleya's 'heartbreaking' moment with Luthen

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This communicative contains spoilers for “Andor” Season 2, including Episodes 10 done 12.

When Elizabeth Dulau archetypal heard what showrunner Tony Gilroy had planned for her quality successful Season 2 of “Andor,” she burst retired laughing.

“I conscionable couldn’t judge what helium was saying,” says the actor, who portrays the aloof and steadfast rebel spy Kleya Marki successful the “Star Wars” series. “And past my archetypal thought was: I request to support this a concealed present for years. How connected Earth americium I going to bash that?”

Kleya plays a pivotal relation successful the last three-episode arc of “Andor.” After Imperial quality officers yet uncover Luthen Rael’s (Stellan Skarsgård) ties to the Rebellion, the antiques trader attempts to termination himself earlier helium tin beryllium captured and interrogated. When Luthen fails, it’s near to Kleya to necktie up his last escaped extremity and past present captious accusation to the rebels connected Yavin.

Dulau, who didn’t adjacent cognize if she would beryllium called backmost for Season 2, learned of Kleya’s storyline successful 2023 erstwhile Gilroy called to archer her helium wanted her to return.

“I’m gladsome helium told maine past due to the fact that it gave maine a agelong clip to truly ponder however to hole for that scene,” Dulau says. “He said, ‘We privation her to beryllium the 1 that kills him, and we privation it to beryllium additionally heartbreaking due to the fact that she doesn’t person clip to accidental goodbye.’”

“Andor’s” last episodes sees Kleya utilize the skills she’d honed arsenic Luthen’s closest and astir trusted subordinate arsenic she infiltrates a heavy guarded infirmary to scope him. But alternatively than breaking Luthen retired to prevention him, Kleya’s lone enactment is to unplug him from the machines that are keeping him alive. Then, she has to marque definite the accusation Luthen died for is delivered to the Rebellion.

“We bash not person a atrocious infinitesimal of movie of her successful our cutting room,” says Gilroy, comparing Dulau to Meryl Streep. “She’s unbelievable.”

a pistillate successful a formal posing successful a chair

“Andor” marks Dulau’s archetypal acting occupation aft graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art successful London. While the audition came to her arsenic a relation successful an “untitled Disney+ project,” she’d heard connected the down-low that it was for a “Star Wars” project. She has since been formed successful shows including “All the Light We Cannot See,” “Gentleman Jack” and the upcoming “House of Guinness.”

“The beauteous happening astir Kleya successful Season 1 is that she’s specified a mystery,” Dulau says. “You tin archer that she’s important, but she’s benignant of connected the peripheries. There’s truthful galore question marks, truthful it’s specified a delight that a batch of those questions get answered this season.”

That Kleya yet plays a relation successful helping the Rebel Alliance get the Death Star plans needed for them to yet decision the Empire besides “boggles my mind,” she says.

“It’s not mislaid connected maine that Tony has virtually written maine into Star Wars past with that storyline,” Dulau says. “That blows my caput due to the fact that it’s truthful iconic and I person a teeny, tiny small country of that now.”

Dulau, successful a speech edited for magnitude and clarity, discusses Kleya and Luthen’s relationship, her character’s committedness to the Rebellion and moving with Stellan Skarsgård.

There is truthful overmuch that happens successful Episode 10, but however did you attack that last infinitesimal wherever Kleya has to unplug Luthen from beingness support?

Tony made it precise wide to maine that helium didn’t privation her to wholly interruption down successful that scene. That breakdown, for Kleya, comes afterward due to the fact that she’s inactive successful enactment mode. In that scene, I truly wanted to link with each the emotion that had grown betwixt her and Luthen, against some of their amended judgment, but besides each the hate. When Luthen and immoderate squad of men came to the assemblage she lived successful and destroyed them erstwhile helium worked for the Empire, Kleya was not truthful young. She would retrieve her ma and dad. She would retrieve if she had siblings, immoderate champion friends. Luthen is not guiltless connected that day. He was brave capable to prevention Kleya, but we don’t cognize what happens extracurricular of his ship.

Then they walk the adjacent 15 years protecting each different and continuing to prevention each other. So against their amended judgment, emotion grows betwixt them. I deliberation they’re perpetually being pulled isolated by that. It’s excessively scary to admit the information that they’ve travel to truly attraction for each different due to the fact that this atrocious happening is there. I wanted to effort to condense that and marque it arsenic wide arsenic imaginable successful that country erstwhile I spell to termination him.

I spent a batch of clip starring up to shooting connected that time daydreaming. I usage daydreaming a batch successful my process. And I daydreamed astir that time — what happened, what Kleya saw and what she did not spot erstwhile Luther and his men came to destruct her people. I daydreamed wholly made-up scenes successful my head, similar the time erstwhile Luthen made Kleya laughter for the precise archetypal time, oregon blessed memories betwixt them. I imagined that those existent flashback scenes were memories of hers that conscionable were intrusive thoughts arsenic she was trying to absorption connected her mission.

a pistillate and antheral looking acrophobic

What was your archetypal instrumentality connected Kleya and Luthen’s dynamic?

In Season 1, what truly fascinated maine was that helium sets a batch of value to Kleya’s words. He truly listens to her and trusts her and allows himself to beryllium seen by her successful a mode that helium doesn’t fto himself beryllium seen by anyone else. So what’s the powerfulness dynamic? It’s not the classical father-daughter thing. It’s not similar he’s the brag and she’s conscionable the assistant. There’s a existent equality, and that’s rather rare, I think, to spot betwixt an older antheral and a younger woman. I was conscionable fascinated by that and had a batch of amusive successful Season 1 trying to quadrate up to Stellan Skarsgård and archer him what to do. That was intimidating, but truly fun.

Then erstwhile I recovered retired their backstory, truthful overmuch astir Kleya made sense. It conscionable truly broke my heart. In different life, Luthen would person conscionable been this antiques nerd. In hardening himself to what helium has to do, helium besides hardens this young girl, Kleya. It helped maine recognize that underneath each that hard exterior, astatine the precise halfway of who Kleya is, really is thing highly tender and highly loving. That’s wherefore she is truthful pugnacious connected the extracurricular due to the fact that there’s thing precise achy that she’s protecting heavy down. She doesn’t fto herself person immoderate friends oregon autumn successful emotion oregon immoderate of that. She makes herself arsenic lethal a limb arsenic possible. But against her champion judgment, emotion grows for Luthen, attraction grows betwixt them, and each of that is what they person to lose. But neither of them are ever consenting to admit that.

So overmuch of “Andor” is astir the sacrifice everybody makes. But for Kleya, we spot that her sacrifice has been ongoing.

Yes. “I don’t person lately, I person always,” she says. She has stripped her beingness of thing that makes her vulnerable. Joy and emotion and relationship are immoderate of the the astir worthwhile things that a quality being tin person successful their life, but it besides makes you vulnerable, successful a way. And Kleya conscionable cannot spend to beryllium vulnerable. She tells herself, “I person thing to lose. Everything is for the Rebellion.” [But] she’s lying to herself. She doesn’t truly cognize until Episode 10 that, actually, Luthen is the happening that she has to lose. And she’s consenting to bash it. She’s consenting to sacrifice.

It seems similar the closest Kleya has to a frenemy of sorts is Vel, but however bash you spot their dynamic?

Vel truly gets nether her skin. Even though Vel is specified a pugnacious quality arsenic well, she has those relationships. She allows herself to person that narration with Mon Mothma, her cousin, and with Cinta. She allows herself to autumn successful emotion and Kleya conscionable cannot wrapper her caput astir it. How could you fto yourself beryllium this vulnerable? But also, possibly for Kleya, there’s a spot of jealousy determination arsenic good that Vel has those things.

How did you spot Kleya’s travel to Yavin and seeing what she and Luthen had been moving for? Because things aren’t rather implicit for her yet.

I ever thought she sees it arsenic her last job, getting the accusation astir the Death Star to Cassian and conscionable getting that accusation to Yavin. Because you spot Cassian person to person her to travel with him to Yavin. She doesn’t privation to spell there. I don’t cognize however overmuch she feels she has near to springiness astatine that point. She is overwhelmed by grief for Luthen and that grief makes her recognize conscionable however overmuch really she’s travel to emotion him. So she’s successful this spot of this immensely achy realization astir the antheral who did this atrocious happening and wiped retired her people. How does anyone reckon with that? That’s the abstraction that she’s successful erstwhile she’s trying desperately to person Cassian to spell without her to Yavin.

Then, erstwhile she’s connected Yavin and she sees Vel, that tiny small speech with her, arsenic abbreviated arsenic it was, it’s monumental for Kleya due to the fact that it helps displacement her position capable that she possibly starts to spot a aboriginal for herself determination amongst that community.

That last changeable really is her looking astatine the radical of Yavin doing their greeting routines and seeing the culmination of each of her and Luthen’s enactment for each those years. I deliberation it’s a feeling of immense restitution and sadness that they pulled it off, but besides that he’ll ne'er spot it.

What was it similar moving with Stellan Skarsgård?

My last audition really was with Stellan. I retrieve my cause calling maine to say, “Your callback went well. The enactment is, for your last audition, conscionable effort not to beryllium excessively nervous. Walk into that country similar you’ve been doing this for years.” Then she said, “Your last audition is going to beryllium astatine Pinewood Studios. You’re going to beryllium speechmaking other Stellan Skarsgård. But don’t fto that marque you nervous.” And I conscionable burst retired laughing. Like, this isn’t real. This isn’t happening.

He met with maine for java 10 minutes earlier the audition due to the fact that it was a chemistry work and helium wanted to not bash it cold. Stellan has this fantastic magic to him that aft 10 minutes of chatting with him for the archetypal clip ever, I truly felt similar I was walking into the country with a person and that I had idiosyncratic successful my country that was rooting for me.

Stellan has had specified a agelong and affluent career, truthful I don’t cognize what this occupation is for him, but this is specified a immense occupation for maine and Stellan has been specified a immense portion of that. I ever looked guardant to having different country with Stellan. It was similar going location again, having different country with him, due to the fact that helium was my anchor passim the full thing. He knew that it was my archetypal job, truthful I could inquire him each the questions astir what was happening, acting techniques for screen, each of that stuff. I could person those conversations with him and helium was ever truthful consenting to speech astir it. He truly took maine nether his wings large clip and I volition ever beryllium truthful grateful to him for that.

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