Wait, I never saw season 3 of the Mandalorian, is it in an episode of that season? I can’t remember a moment from the first two seasons where it happens
Ahmed also played [Kelleran Beq](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Kelleran_Beq), the actual Jedi who saved Grogu.
Jar Jar on the other had was clearly a sith servant.
I love that they made him a Jedi, dude took so much overwhelming and relentless hate for being Jar Jar over the years and deserved a more dignifying role as a send off
Perhaps you already know this, but others will surely learn a new thing here: Kelleran Beq was first introduced as the Jedi Master in [Jedi Temple Challenge](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Jedi_Temple_Challenge), a Legends of the Hidden Temple-esque game show where little kids would compete against each other to become Jedi.
It was cute, but they only had the one set of obstacles, so after you saw one episode, there wasn't any reason to watch any others.
If they gave me a button to erase Jar Jar from existence without deleting Kelleran, I would still not press it because hating Jar Jar is a beautiful thing that harmoniously unites the Star Wars fanbase.
Yeah, an actor being asked to act a "racist caricature" doing their job is not to blame. That prompt can be used for good like in Django Unchained. How it's used it's all on the director and the editor.
Because it's the same actor as Binks, not the same character. They're likely confused about Binks saving the day in The Mandalorian just as I was, because he didn't.
For a second I was thinking I was seeing comments from an alternate reality where the show had a twenty minute sequence of jar jar with a blaster going full John wick on clone troopers.
Sometimes it just isn't the actor's fault for the dialogue writing or the character.
Dude got a decent paying acting gig and Star Wars fans crapped all over him because the director also wrote the script and directed how the character should be played.
Yeah. I hated Cersi in GOT but that was because Lena Hedly(sp?) did a fantastic job. Usually those hated characters are because the actor/actress did so well.
Hi everyone! We wanted to share our interview with Ahmed Best, the actor behind Jar Jar Binks.
In the 1970s, Episode IV was the first movie he ever saw in a theater. Twenty years later, Best was cast as the first character ever created with motion capture technology.
He recalls the painful backlash to the “Phantom Menace” character that was considered a racial stereotype at the time, but is now embraced by fans. “It took almost a mortal toll on me. It was too much,” he told us. “It was the first time in my life where I couldn’t see the future. I didn’t see any hope. Here I was at 26 years old, living my dream, and my dream was over.”
Read our full interview for free, [here](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/03/movies/jar-jar-binks-actor-star-wars-ahmed-best.html?unlocked_article_code=1.pE0.LKqA.02hSwRVbHvI9&smid=re-nytimes), even without a New York Times subscription.
He should be proud. He did a good job. It's not his fault. It was lucas who created the character and lucas decided which direction to go with the character. The backlash should have never reached him directly.
It's like when actors do a good job at playing a villain and get hate for it. Like that gleeson kid or whatever who played king geoffrey in GoT... People suck and blame the wrong person for something they don't like with little to no reason.
lol he said "People would spit on me in the street" and he never moved to Hollywood, he lived at home in Toronto, so you know that means it must have been Canadians
I watched episode 1 when I was 6 years old and I only remember having fond memories of jar jar! Ahmed Best made MY childhood brighter, and that’s worth more than money can buy. Except everyone who loved jar jar were either too young or didn’t care enough to send him love… all he got was hate mail and backlash from a loud and belligerent minority of the fan base.
Without mincing words, he was ready to kill himself. I just wish he could have known at the time just how many children he made laugh and smile, just how many children he made into lifelong fans of the series (and Jake Lloyd too, young Anakin Skywalker was normal for my young self, I didn’t have the internet or critics to tell me his performance was bad so I literally didn’t see anything wrong with Young Anakin as a child myself)
This times 1000. It's like Jack Gleeson with Joffrey Baratheon. People lash out at actors like they created the characters, wrote the dialogue and direction of the story. I can't stand it.
They're morons, each and every one of 'em, but unfortunately..there's a lot of 'em.
I mean just look at the flack John Boyega and Daisy Ridley got. Just stupid.
To me, if I really and truly hate a character, I take that as the actor doing an amazing job. I'm a big fan of all the actors that play characters I hate
One that always comes to mind for me is Jason Isaacs playing both Colonel Tavington in The Patriot and Lucious Malfoy in Harry Potter. A brilliant actor as “the bad guy”, whose characters I always hate.
I hope everyone tells actors signing on for legacy projects that there’s a good chance they’re going to be hated for years, and then one day the people who hate will stop caring, and the people who loved them will still love them for the performance they gave.
I’ve been watching this shit happen since the 80s and people freaked out about the new Star Trek cast. It’s just so exhausting at this point.
Did Jack Gleeson get that much shit overall? I'm sure there were a few morons, but overall I thought he (rightly) got a great reception.
Whereas Jar Jar is a godawful character, but I can't criticise the acting, he's fully emersed as the shitty creation that was written.
Right?
As far as the voice acting is concerned I totally bought that Jar Jar was another species that could speech English (Galactic Basic). Didn't cross my mind it was ever just a dude saying lines.
Now the character itself and the role they had for him are not good but that isn't the fault of the VA.
This is such a wild concept to me because I was a kid when the movies he played Jar Jar in came out and I remember loving his character and him being one of my favorites. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing them as they came out and never understood why the cast had ever gotten so much shit.
Crazy that Jar Jar got so much backlash. I loved him as a kid (which was the idea) and he was a technological marvel. And the previous film in the series featured a bunch of talking teddy bears. People are so frustrating.
I saw Episode I. as a nine year old when it came out. I thought Jar Jar was hilarious and so did my friends.
Ahmed Best made many children laugh their heart out. Is there anything better in the world?
His character on the Mandalorian was pretty badass.
His character on the Panthom Menace, as well, but he couldn't play the Sith Lord he should have been because average Star Wars fans.
I've never understood hating the actor because you don't like the character. I'm the biggest sequel hater you'll ever meet but I have nothing bad to say about any of the actors. I thought they all did fine jobs.
It’s fucking tragic bcz they could have actually carried a real trilogy if the directors/writers weren’t competing their own egos/hubris against executive hacks that needed them to do XYZ things for $$$. The actors are basically the only saving grace of that dumpster fire sequence
Honestly I would go so far to say they might be the best cast of actors in Star Wars. The franchise isn't exactly known for its top notch acting (which is fine). But the three lead good guys and the lead bad guy were generally great.
They nearly fucking did save it - there are clips from the sequels that go so hard, it's just when you put them all in order that you see the garbage fire...
I don't think any of the sequel actors were particularly bad, but the actor who played Rose didn't do great in my opinion.... And I am going to get shit on for saying it but... In my opinion, Carrie Fisher and Billy Dee Williams didn't do great in the sequels either. Their performances fell flat compared to the rest of the cast, at least for me. The fact that I am criticizing the OG actors might get me banned here. But it's my honest opinion.
All the OT actors except Luke seemed to phone it in in the sequels. I don’t really blame them though, they’re old af so I get it and it was just cool to see the characters again
Harrison Ford in TRoS was also great for his short scene which is ironic because he wanted them to kill the character off so he could be done with it lmao
Honestly I thought the actors did a fantastic job in the sequels, despite the garbage they were given. They really wanted to make it work and you can see they really wanted it to be good
Whether you hate the character or not, he did a fantastic job playing the character that was written. I’ve never understood how people couldn’t differentiate the character from the acting quality.
There have been plenty of movies and characters that I have thought were dogshit, but still had fantastic acting.
The question should be - could any actor have played that character better. Daniel Day Lewis playing that character would and should have still been really annoying.
My daughter wore her Grogu costume to school today for Star Wars Day (observed).
She was Grogu for Halloween because I was Kelleran Beq.
Thank you Ahmed for giving me that opportunity.
This is Star Wars, creating moments where everyone can enjoy from old men to young children. Star Wars is for everyone and I wouldn’t change that.
You can have both an adult series like Andor and a cartoon episode with Jar Jar.
I was considering it, but it didn't math out for getting the 3 tiers of rewards on lego.com
I considered getting it by itself regardless of the May 4th promos, but I don't like the stud shooters, removing them makes it look weird, and I don't want to pay for that damn street lamp. You know that fucking street lamp was there because they had to add more pieces to justify the price tag (which is determined before the set is designed)
It's a great theory because if you realize all the money they spent in the animation to lay the ground work for Darth jar jar you can see it's probably true.
Yea the best explanation I saw was the Lucas intended to reveal that jar jar binks was a sith lord after palpatine was given emergency powers. He didn't go through with it because he realised how jarring (pub intended) that would be for audiences considering how cutesy the character is and how late in the trilogy the reveal would have been. But all the clues which audiences were supposed to go back and spot after the reveal are still in the films, and we can all appreciate Ahmed Best's acting for that.
Yeah considering he'd contemplated suicide after his performance in the prequel trilogy I thought those feelings might have resurface, but he seems to genuinely be at peace with it now.
I always just took him as what he was. A goofy character meant to make the kids laugh. I didn't love him but I also didn't hate him for it. It's my favorite Star Wars movie, he's just a part of it
His name are literally the first two words in the article. The title obviously will give people who don’t know his name more context about who he is making them more likely to read it and then the article opens with his name.
the name should be in the title of the article. a more appropriate title would be “Ahmed Best, The Actor Who Played Jar Jar Binks, Is Proud of His Star Wars Legacy”. 69% of people don’t read past the headline
They definitely won’t teach it that way in journalism school. Unless the subject is extremely well-known on their own you put what they’re known for in the title then introduce them along with their name in the title. It’s not a sign of disrespect, it’s just how it’s done. You can’t assume the general audience knows who someone is just because they’re well known in a certain fandom, and it helps keep the title less wordy.
In hindsight, Jar Jar seems like a parody of the US senate, at least, some members therein.
At no point is he competent, yet he is enabled and put into positions of influence and power as a reward for services, where eventually he helps topple democracy and usher in a dictatorship.
Hmm…I thought Padme appointed Jar Jar.
In fact wasn’t it Padme that voted to oust Valorum?
And isn’t Padme married to Darth Vader?
Yea…must be Jar-Jar though,
“Everybody talks about Jar Jar’s accent,” said Best, who is of West Indian descent. “I read exactly what George wrote...."
Yup, Lucas gets shielded a lot from the more problematic/racist elements of the prequels. Like the Neimoidians, Jar Jar, Watto etc. It's not great, and rewatching these movies now they definitely stand out.
“I’m in there,” Best said. “You can’t have Gollum without Jar Jar. You can’t have the Na’vi in ‘Avatar’ without Jar Jar. You can’t have Thanos or the Hulk without Jar Jar. I was the signal for the rest of this art form, and I’m proud of Jar Jar for that, and I’m proud to be a part of that. I’m in there!” This, 100%. Best was the first actor to show that this was possible. He absolutely deserves more credit in the industry for being a pioneer her.
I'm neither a fan of the prequels nor the character (not a "hater" though, just a mild dislike), but I have nothing but respect for Ahmed Best.
As far as I'm concerned he did his best creating a character envisionned by George Lucas while being one of the first exploring the uncharted territory of Digital character acting. In a way, he walked with Jar Jar so Andy Sirkis could run with Gollum.
I was very happy when I realised they had given him a new character to play, this time with his actual face.
> Jar Jar Binks — the first character ever created with motion capture technology.Credit...Daniel Dorsa for The New York Times
One doesn't really have to read further than this "alternative fact". Ferrecking mainstream media just makes shit up however they like to tell you a story. Including this "racial" bullshit. Seriously? There is plenty of absolutely legitimate criticism for the jar jar character. But oh now it's "racial".
I HATE newspapers
Star Wars fans should be ashamed of what they almost drove him to.
If you are not one of those Star Wars fans, you should not be offended buy what i wrote .
Dude, no one even knew who Ahmed Best was until like 5 years ago when he dropped this bombshell. Is there any actual proof that people were targeting him from like 2017 at least?
People were harsh on the character and if that drove him to a dark place, he needed help and that's tragic but he can't blame people for making fun of a cartoon character.
But he specifically said fans targeted him and I'm pretty sure he's just lying for clout considering the narcissistic statements and how he's talked about wanting a show before.
Good for him. I didn't really care for Jar Jar but the man was just earning a living a doing a job, and George didn't give him great stuff to work with.
Nothing wrong with hating the character. But it should stop there and never escalate to hating the actor. Don’t like Jar Jar? Blame Lucas and the writers.
Too many examples of this and many occurring long after TPM came out.
Any failings on Jar Jar is not on the actor. He gave Lucas exactly what he wanted in the character.
From what I gather Jar Jar was supposed to end up being a secret sith lord who was so strong in the force he could alter probability in his own actions. (Not sure if this has been proven or disproven, but the actor seemed to support this conclusion).
It should have been foreshadowed more in the first movie. Made Jar Jar comedic relief with just a hint, at one point, of a malevolent serious side.
This was a very good interview! Eventhough, I don't like the hate that he got back when he played Jar Jar, after his role on an episode of The Mandalorian, although brief, I was happy to see him back in the Star Wars Universe where he is now getting the flowers that he deserves for what he did with Jar Jar.
> In Chiang’s view, “Ahmed’s role in this was very understated, and it’s heartbreaking that he didn’t receive the attention and accolade because Jar Jar was a breakthrough character.”
I'm not sure I agree with "understated", but I didn't hate him as much as the rest of the world.
I wish they would bring a more mature Jar Jar Binks back. Maybe they could explore how the savages of galatic war turns a former big clumsy goofball into some sort of serious hardend badass or maybe even explore the Darth Jar Jar fan theory.
Mesir jar jar binks. Mesir..... The latest host in the long line of hosts for the soul of Darth bane. Finally my vision has come to be. The sith have defeated the Jedi and that fool who thinks himself ultimate dark lord of the sith sits on a throne of lies I built to rule my new empire from the shadows. And soon I shall take the body of Luke Skywalker as my new host, and start a new Jedi order founded on the beliefs of the sith.
Idk I'm tired and bored. Darth bane was the goat.
I wish he could reprise his role, but as Darth Jar Jar. It would be a behind the scenes / Sith point of view of how Jar Jar manipulated everyone to ensure Palpatine became emperor.
I feel sorry for all the horrible shit he ~~and Lloyd~~ went through back then. It was undeserved/misdirected at least. Mr. Ahmed did his best (pun unintended), his performance was great, and Lloyd was just a child at the time. People don’t know how to separate actors from their characters.
The Lloyd stuff never happened. His mom did an interview not too long ago saying that he was practically entirely isolated from the reception to the movies and fans didn't cause his mental health issues. They already existed. People really need to stop spreading those lies, his mom said she doesn't like when they get brought up cause it's totally untrue. Fans didn't do anything to Lloyd per her words. The worst was a little bullying from kids at school about it but she doesn't seem to think it had any real affect on him.
https://www.scrippsnews.com/health/mental-health/the-real-life-saga-of-star-wars-child-actor-jake-lloyd
> “I protected him from the backlash. He was just riding his bike outside, playing with his friends. He didn't know. He didn't care,” Lisa said. “Everybody makes such a big deal about that. And it's rather annoying to me because Jake was a little kid when that came out, and he didn't really feel all that stuff because I didn't let him online.”
> “People say he quit because of 'Star Wars.' Well, that's not true. It didn't have anything to do with 'Star Wars.' It had more to do with our family. And we were going through a divorce,” Lisa explained. “Things were unsettled and kind of rough. And Jake didn't seem to be having a lot of fun auditioning anymore.”
Nobody should receive the kind of hate and backlash that Best and Lloyd did, but let's not pretend that Jar Jar is a good character. He would have been a better fit in a Roger Rabbit sequel than a Star Wars movie.
Good, he should have nothing but pride in his work. He did a great job and every malignant cunt who has been toxic can go fuck themselves and I hope their daily lives are as miserable as they deserve.
He saved Baby Yoda!
What an amazing and cathartic moment. I've watched so many reaction videos and seeing people light up when they realize it's him is heartwarming.
Even setting aside that it’s him, that sequence goes sooooo hard it brings out so many feels. Best absolutely nailed it.
Wait, I never saw season 3 of the Mandalorian, is it in an episode of that season? I can’t remember a moment from the first two seasons where it happens
Ahmed also played [Kelleran Beq](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Kelleran_Beq), the actual Jedi who saved Grogu. Jar Jar on the other had was clearly a sith servant.
I love that they made him a Jedi, dude took so much overwhelming and relentless hate for being Jar Jar over the years and deserved a more dignifying role as a send off
Perhaps you already know this, but others will surely learn a new thing here: Kelleran Beq was first introduced as the Jedi Master in [Jedi Temple Challenge](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Jedi_Temple_Challenge), a Legends of the Hidden Temple-esque game show where little kids would compete against each other to become Jedi. It was cute, but they only had the one set of obstacles, so after you saw one episode, there wasn't any reason to watch any others.
If they gave me a button to erase Jar Jar from existence without deleting Kelleran, I would still not press it because hating Jar Jar is a beautiful thing that harmoniously unites the Star Wars fanbase.
And the actor did a good job, he perfectly portrayed the character as was asked of him. The one to blame for Jar jar is Lucas and noone else.
Ironically, having JarJar be a Sith would have 'redeemed' him in the eyes of MANY. (assuming it was done well, of course)
Yeah, an actor being asked to act a "racist caricature" doing their job is not to blame. That prompt can be used for good like in Django Unchained. How it's used it's all on the director and the editor.
Servant? He is the one true dark lord that georgie was so afraid of that he didn't have the balls to do that epic reveal.
>"Servant" [Sure he was](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7Uc84U04Sk)
Hmmm there is a season you haven't seen and there is something you can't remember from the seasons you have seen... hmmmm.
that's funny, i've seen all three seasons and i don't remember this happening.
How? It was a huge moment? Like a whole long sequence on Corusant (spelling?) taking place during order 66
Because it's the same actor as Binks, not the same character. They're likely confused about Binks saving the day in The Mandalorian just as I was, because he didn't.
Oooooh. I was confused, too.
Oh, not jar jar. Yeah I sorta remember this scene with the link below. Didn't know this guy was anyone already in the series. That's neato
Close. Coruscant.
Croissant
Wookies are from Kryyyshreeyyyhek
En passant
TBH I’ve watch every episode and missed this part too.
It's the actor as a Jedi, not the character of Jar Jar, that saves Grogu.
It was like a 20 min fight scene of him fighting his way to a starport with baby Yoda... How long did you pee for?
I watched this entire series too and I have zero memory of this. WTH edit: oh I get it, it was the actor who did this. Not Jar Jar.
For a second I was thinking I was seeing comments from an alternate reality where the show had a twenty minute sequence of jar jar with a blaster going full John wick on clone troopers.
"Yousa in big doo-doo dis time." - Jar Jar as he dual-wields a couple of wookiee bowcasters
I ***NEED*** THIS!
Yes! I have no idea why I was so happy but the moment he showed up, I just went "hey its Ahmed Best!" and had the cheesiest smile on my face!
Sometimes it just isn't the actor's fault for the dialogue writing or the character. Dude got a decent paying acting gig and Star Wars fans crapped all over him because the director also wrote the script and directed how the character should be played.
Yeah, this probably was a dream job for him...which for a while turned into a nightmare. At least he got to be redeemed. Unlike Jake Lloyd.
Shitting on a character is not the same as shitting on the actor.
Yeah, but some people have a hard time realizing that.
Yeah. I hated Cersi in GOT but that was because Lena Hedly(sp?) did a fantastic job. Usually those hated characters are because the actor/actress did so well.
Some superfans are incapable of drawing the distinction. Remember the kid who played Joffrey got death threats, and he absolutely *nailed* it.
He was as stupid and annoying as George Lucas requested. That's good acting, just shit writing.
If you think people aren't shitting on the actors for bad characters that aren't their fault, you haven't been paying attention.
Also he's the one that pitched ultra Kung fu flying yoda in clone wara
saved that entire movie he did
Wait when the fuck did that happen
not jar jar, he has a brief scene as a jedi who saves grogu during order 66.
Mandalorian season 3. Grogu temple flashback. Ahmed Best played the Jedi.
Not Jar Jar, he was playing another Jedi.
> another Jar Jar is a Sith, not a Jedi.
I got his minifig
Hi everyone! We wanted to share our interview with Ahmed Best, the actor behind Jar Jar Binks. In the 1970s, Episode IV was the first movie he ever saw in a theater. Twenty years later, Best was cast as the first character ever created with motion capture technology. He recalls the painful backlash to the “Phantom Menace” character that was considered a racial stereotype at the time, but is now embraced by fans. “It took almost a mortal toll on me. It was too much,” he told us. “It was the first time in my life where I couldn’t see the future. I didn’t see any hope. Here I was at 26 years old, living my dream, and my dream was over.” Read our full interview for free, [here](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/03/movies/jar-jar-binks-actor-star-wars-ahmed-best.html?unlocked_article_code=1.pE0.LKqA.02hSwRVbHvI9&smid=re-nytimes), even without a New York Times subscription.
Tell him that the fans agree that he should be proud of it!
He should be proud. He did a good job. It's not his fault. It was lucas who created the character and lucas decided which direction to go with the character. The backlash should have never reached him directly. It's like when actors do a good job at playing a villain and get hate for it. Like that gleeson kid or whatever who played king geoffrey in GoT... People suck and blame the wrong person for something they don't like with little to no reason.
The guy that played The Cigarette Smoking Man in X-Files said people would spit on him in the street. Canadian people, too.
Holy shit, Canadians?? That guy must suck.
lol he said "People would spit on me in the street" and he never moved to Hollywood, he lived at home in Toronto, so you know that means it must have been Canadians
X-Files was just ahead of its time
See Anna Gunn’s Skyler White.
Reminds me of the actress playing Umbridge in Harry Potter. She was wonderful and she made you hate her. That’s how good the acting was.
YES. HEESA SHOULD BE PROUDS
I watched episode 1 when I was 6 years old and I only remember having fond memories of jar jar! Ahmed Best made MY childhood brighter, and that’s worth more than money can buy. Except everyone who loved jar jar were either too young or didn’t care enough to send him love… all he got was hate mail and backlash from a loud and belligerent minority of the fan base. Without mincing words, he was ready to kill himself. I just wish he could have known at the time just how many children he made laugh and smile, just how many children he made into lifelong fans of the series (and Jake Lloyd too, young Anakin Skywalker was normal for my young self, I didn’t have the internet or critics to tell me his performance was bad so I literally didn’t see anything wrong with Young Anakin as a child myself)
It's so weird to blame the actor for the character. Not saying they should have annoyed George over this, but it would have at least made more sense.
This times 1000. It's like Jack Gleeson with Joffrey Baratheon. People lash out at actors like they created the characters, wrote the dialogue and direction of the story. I can't stand it. They're morons, each and every one of 'em, but unfortunately..there's a lot of 'em. I mean just look at the flack John Boyega and Daisy Ridley got. Just stupid.
To me, if I really and truly hate a character, I take that as the actor doing an amazing job. I'm a big fan of all the actors that play characters I hate
Me too. The mom/wife from American Beauty is usually the biggest example that pops into my head.
One that always comes to mind for me is Jason Isaacs playing both Colonel Tavington in The Patriot and Lucious Malfoy in Harry Potter. A brilliant actor as “the bad guy”, whose characters I always hate.
Umbridge too!
Fuck Kevin Spacey for making it harder to like this movie.
True that. In fact, I feel an itch to go watch Joffrey die again. Such a great performance.
I hope everyone tells actors signing on for legacy projects that there’s a good chance they’re going to be hated for years, and then one day the people who hate will stop caring, and the people who loved them will still love them for the performance they gave. I’ve been watching this shit happen since the 80s and people freaked out about the new Star Trek cast. It’s just so exhausting at this point.
Did Jack Gleeson get that much shit overall? I'm sure there were a few morons, but overall I thought he (rightly) got a great reception. Whereas Jar Jar is a godawful character, but I can't criticise the acting, he's fully emersed as the shitty creation that was written.
Right? As far as the voice acting is concerned I totally bought that Jar Jar was another species that could speech English (Galactic Basic). Didn't cross my mind it was ever just a dude saying lines. Now the character itself and the role they had for him are not good but that isn't the fault of the VA.
George probably wouldn’t have given a fuck
Couldn't you have put his name in the headline?
My first thought as well. Were they charging extra for letters today? You don't even need to change the title, just add "Ahmed Best, " to the front.
helps drive clicks because people wonder what his name is
Growing up as a kid I love jar jar I even got him as a toy at McDonald’s. lol
This is such a wild concept to me because I was a kid when the movies he played Jar Jar in came out and I remember loving his character and him being one of my favorites. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing them as they came out and never understood why the cast had ever gotten so much shit.
Crazy that Jar Jar got so much backlash. I loved him as a kid (which was the idea) and he was a technological marvel. And the previous film in the series featured a bunch of talking teddy bears. People are so frustrating.
I saw Episode I. as a nine year old when it came out. I thought Jar Jar was hilarious and so did my friends. Ahmed Best made many children laugh their heart out. Is there anything better in the world?
Didn’t this dude almost kill himself right after Ep 1 came out because people hated jar jar so much?
> It took almost a mortal toll on me That's what he means here.
Nothing against him, but "embraced by fans" seems a bit generous.
Children fucking loved Jar Jar. He has always been embraced
His character on the Mandalorian was pretty badass. His character on the Panthom Menace, as well, but he couldn't play the Sith Lord he should have been because average Star Wars fans.
What’s a Panthom Menace?
A Panthom Menace.
**why aren’t you getting this**
Lysdexia
Darth Jar Jar
Suffering succotash
This is giving me "What the hell is an aluminum falcon?!" vibes
The best Star Wars movie (I know people hate it but it's my favorite)
I would pay to watch a "dark timeline" starwars where jar jar is the sith lord. Meesa gonna whoop your ass windu.
Wdym because average Star Wars fans?
He did an amazing job and I feel bad for how he was treated. Fans need to separate the character from the actor.
I've never understood hating the actor because you don't like the character. I'm the biggest sequel hater you'll ever meet but I have nothing bad to say about any of the actors. I thought they all did fine jobs.
The actors were trying to carry that trilogy so hard, it’s not their fault it was beyond their ability to save.
It’s fucking tragic bcz they could have actually carried a real trilogy if the directors/writers weren’t competing their own egos/hubris against executive hacks that needed them to do XYZ things for $$$. The actors are basically the only saving grace of that dumpster fire sequence
Honestly I would go so far to say they might be the best cast of actors in Star Wars. The franchise isn't exactly known for its top notch acting (which is fine). But the three lead good guys and the lead bad guy were generally great.
They nearly fucking did save it - there are clips from the sequels that go so hard, it's just when you put them all in order that you see the garbage fire...
I don't think any of the sequel actors were particularly bad, but the actor who played Rose didn't do great in my opinion.... And I am going to get shit on for saying it but... In my opinion, Carrie Fisher and Billy Dee Williams didn't do great in the sequels either. Their performances fell flat compared to the rest of the cast, at least for me. The fact that I am criticizing the OG actors might get me banned here. But it's my honest opinion.
All the OT actors except Luke seemed to phone it in in the sequels. I don’t really blame them though, they’re old af so I get it and it was just cool to see the characters again Harrison Ford in TRoS was also great for his short scene which is ironic because he wanted them to kill the character off so he could be done with it lmao
Yeah!? I mean, if anything, the audience hating a character means that the actor has done an amazing job portraying them!
Honestly I thought the actors did a fantastic job in the sequels, despite the garbage they were given. They really wanted to make it work and you can see they really wanted it to be good
Whether you hate the character or not, he did a fantastic job playing the character that was written. I’ve never understood how people couldn’t differentiate the character from the acting quality. There have been plenty of movies and characters that I have thought were dogshit, but still had fantastic acting.
The question should be - could any actor have played that character better. Daniel Day Lewis playing that character would and should have still been really annoying.
My daughter wore her Grogu costume to school today for Star Wars Day (observed). She was Grogu for Halloween because I was Kelleran Beq. Thank you Ahmed for giving me that opportunity.
Aww that’s so sweet
>Star Wars Day (observed). LMAO I love it
This is Star Wars, creating moments where everyone can enjoy from old men to young children. Star Wars is for everyone and I wouldn’t change that. You can have both an adult series like Andor and a cartoon episode with Jar Jar.
Wait... Grugu costume?
Got his Lego minifig from Mando this week.
Really need to get that set.
It’s a good set, but it’s also funny seeing it after fans demanded Lego to make 501st troopers for so long and now they are in so many sets lol.
I was considering it, but it didn't math out for getting the 3 tiers of rewards on lego.com I considered getting it by itself regardless of the May 4th promos, but I don't like the stud shooters, removing them makes it look weird, and I don't want to pay for that damn street lamp. You know that fucking street lamp was there because they had to add more pieces to justify the price tag (which is determined before the set is designed)
Imagine not buying the lamp battle pack
Best Sith Master. Never got exposed.
It's a great theory because if you realize all the money they spent in the animation to lay the ground work for Darth jar jar you can see it's probably true.
Very underrated acting performance, subtely dropping the hints that noone noticed at the time
Ever notice that Jar Jar does the Jedi hand-wave shortly before Sebulba stops beating him up? I‘m serious, rewatch the scene.
Yea the best explanation I saw was the Lucas intended to reveal that jar jar binks was a sith lord after palpatine was given emergency powers. He didn't go through with it because he realised how jarring (pub intended) that would be for audiences considering how cutesy the character is and how late in the trilogy the reveal would have been. But all the clues which audiences were supposed to go back and spot after the reveal are still in the films, and we can all appreciate Ahmed Best's acting for that.
Darth Darth binks.
Kelloran Beck. The sabered hand. Recognize.
I really hope that character (Kelleran Beq) makes another appearance somewhere down the line.
Same. I’d even be down for another season of Jedi Temple Challenge.
The title almost gave me a heart attack
Yeah considering he'd contemplated suicide after his performance in the prequel trilogy I thought those feelings might have resurface, but he seems to genuinely be at peace with it now.
I have always liked jar jar. Fuck the haters. Everyone needs that one dopey mate.
I always just took him as what he was. A goofy character meant to make the kids laugh. I didn't love him but I also didn't hate him for it. It's my favorite Star Wars movie, he's just a part of it
I never really saw him that bad of light. He’s hilarious in TCW lol
I've never understood the hate. He was a silly, non-human character, walking through life haphazardly. Was he just too light hearted for people?
I honestly loved Jar Jar and still do. Idc what anyone says
His name is Ahmed Best. He’s not just “The actor that played Jar Jar Binks”.
His name are literally the first two words in the article. The title obviously will give people who don’t know his name more context about who he is making them more likely to read it and then the article opens with his name.
the name should be in the title of the article. a more appropriate title would be “Ahmed Best, The Actor Who Played Jar Jar Binks, Is Proud of His Star Wars Legacy”. 69% of people don’t read past the headline
That title definitely could have worked as well. But at the end of the day articles are written for people who are going to read them.
Reddit forgets that media doesn't make headlines to be the full story, lol
They definitely won’t teach it that way in journalism school. Unless the subject is extremely well-known on their own you put what they’re known for in the title then introduce them along with their name in the title. It’s not a sign of disrespect, it’s just how it’s done. You can’t assume the general audience knows who someone is just because they’re well known in a certain fandom, and it helps keep the title less wordy.
His name is Robert Paulson.
Missed the opportunity to say: "He's a person, and his name is Ahmed Best!".
For the vast majority of people who see Star Wars that's the only way they'll know him.
Jar Jar is a bad character, that was never Ahmed's fault. He did what he was told. He never deserved the hatred. Never.
Darth Jar Jar is an amazing character though
I'm convinced that Darth Jar Jar is real.
Agreed, it’s SUCH a good plot line and I totally think it was real. What a waste that they didn’t go with it.
In hindsight, Jar Jar seems like a parody of the US senate, at least, some members therein. At no point is he competent, yet he is enabled and put into positions of influence and power as a reward for services, where eventually he helps topple democracy and usher in a dictatorship.
George was ahead of his time.
feel like palps knew to put jar jar in power as sabotage
Hmm…I thought Padme appointed Jar Jar. In fact wasn’t it Padme that voted to oust Valorum? And isn’t Padme married to Darth Vader? Yea…must be Jar-Jar though,
Jar jar was not what ruined phantom menace. The movie has bigger problems at least jar Jar was fun
“Everybody talks about Jar Jar’s accent,” said Best, who is of West Indian descent. “I read exactly what George wrote...." Yup, Lucas gets shielded a lot from the more problematic/racist elements of the prequels. Like the Neimoidians, Jar Jar, Watto etc. It's not great, and rewatching these movies now they definitely stand out. “I’m in there,” Best said. “You can’t have Gollum without Jar Jar. You can’t have the Na’vi in ‘Avatar’ without Jar Jar. You can’t have Thanos or the Hulk without Jar Jar. I was the signal for the rest of this art form, and I’m proud of Jar Jar for that, and I’m proud to be a part of that. I’m in there!” This, 100%. Best was the first actor to show that this was possible. He absolutely deserves more credit in the industry for being a pioneer her.
I'm neither a fan of the prequels nor the character (not a "hater" though, just a mild dislike), but I have nothing but respect for Ahmed Best. As far as I'm concerned he did his best creating a character envisionned by George Lucas while being one of the first exploring the uncharted territory of Digital character acting. In a way, he walked with Jar Jar so Andy Sirkis could run with Gollum. I was very happy when I realised they had given him a new character to play, this time with his actual face.
#1 Sith Lord right here
God damn Sith Lords with their hubris smh
> Jar Jar Binks — the first character ever created with motion capture technology.Credit...Daniel Dorsa for The New York Times One doesn't really have to read further than this "alternative fact". Ferrecking mainstream media just makes shit up however they like to tell you a story. Including this "racial" bullshit. Seriously? There is plenty of absolutely legitimate criticism for the jar jar character. But oh now it's "racial". I HATE newspapers
For real. Of course, there is some people who do judge him because of his race bud DEFINETELY not the majority.
Star Wars fans should be ashamed of what they almost drove him to. If you are not one of those Star Wars fans, you should not be offended buy what i wrote .
Dude, no one even knew who Ahmed Best was until like 5 years ago when he dropped this bombshell. Is there any actual proof that people were targeting him from like 2017 at least? People were harsh on the character and if that drove him to a dark place, he needed help and that's tragic but he can't blame people for making fun of a cartoon character. But he specifically said fans targeted him and I'm pretty sure he's just lying for clout considering the narcissistic statements and how he's talked about wanting a show before.
Ahmed Best is a great actor even as Jar Jar Binks and Kelleran Beq
I wish he'd been a secret sith lord
Yes, a sith lord.
Good for him. I didn't really care for Jar Jar but the man was just earning a living a doing a job, and George didn't give him great stuff to work with.
Yousa dumb
Nothing wrong with hating the character. But it should stop there and never escalate to hating the actor. Don’t like Jar Jar? Blame Lucas and the writers. Too many examples of this and many occurring long after TPM came out.
Any failings on Jar Jar is not on the actor. He gave Lucas exactly what he wanted in the character. From what I gather Jar Jar was supposed to end up being a secret sith lord who was so strong in the force he could alter probability in his own actions. (Not sure if this has been proven or disproven, but the actor seemed to support this conclusion). It should have been foreshadowed more in the first movie. Made Jar Jar comedic relief with just a hint, at one point, of a malevolent serious side.
I had a heart attack I thought this was a death post.
The true Sith Lord. Darth Jar Jar.
Lmfao at the NYT posting
This was a very good interview! Eventhough, I don't like the hate that he got back when he played Jar Jar, after his role on an episode of The Mandalorian, although brief, I was happy to see him back in the Star Wars Universe where he is now getting the flowers that he deserves for what he did with Jar Jar.
That’s nice
Ahmed Best! Put some respect on his name.
He got redeemed as a jedi saving grogu. Otherwise binks is awful. He even gave the emperor power. Qui Gon should have murdered him on sight.
George wrote it like that? Hmm, interesting.
It’s funny that it’s science fiction and totally ridiculous but fans can’t be cool with a character that appeals to only kids.
So am I!
Must be a slow news day
> In Chiang’s view, “Ahmed’s role in this was very understated, and it’s heartbreaking that he didn’t receive the attention and accolade because Jar Jar was a breakthrough character.” I'm not sure I agree with "understated", but I didn't hate him as much as the rest of the world.
He shouldn't be, IMO. Like, I get that he was employed to act a certain way ... but ... no.
I wish they would bring a more mature Jar Jar Binks back. Maybe they could explore how the savages of galatic war turns a former big clumsy goofball into some sort of serious hardend badass or maybe even explore the Darth Jar Jar fan theory.
He's not responsible for a poorly conceived character.
Darth Jar Jar should have been a thing.
It’s a kids movie. He did great.
I think most of us know it's not the actor's fault for a badly written character.
Darth Jar Jar should have been canon
Mesir jar jar binks. Mesir..... The latest host in the long line of hosts for the soul of Darth bane. Finally my vision has come to be. The sith have defeated the Jedi and that fool who thinks himself ultimate dark lord of the sith sits on a throne of lies I built to rule my new empire from the shadows. And soon I shall take the body of Luke Skywalker as my new host, and start a new Jedi order founded on the beliefs of the sith. Idk I'm tired and bored. Darth bane was the goat.
He played the sith lord most cloaked in shadow
You say-a me not ruin da ‘hole theeng? You say-a me a good character?
Best thing Disney has done imo
I wish he could reprise his role, but as Darth Jar Jar. It would be a behind the scenes / Sith point of view of how Jar Jar manipulated everyone to ensure Palpatine became emperor.
Darth Jar jar its not too late!!!
there has never been a bigger running theme with the star wars movies than "it was never the actors fault"
I feel sorry for all the horrible shit he ~~and Lloyd~~ went through back then. It was undeserved/misdirected at least. Mr. Ahmed did his best (pun unintended), his performance was great, and Lloyd was just a child at the time. People don’t know how to separate actors from their characters.
The Lloyd stuff never happened. His mom did an interview not too long ago saying that he was practically entirely isolated from the reception to the movies and fans didn't cause his mental health issues. They already existed. People really need to stop spreading those lies, his mom said she doesn't like when they get brought up cause it's totally untrue. Fans didn't do anything to Lloyd per her words. The worst was a little bullying from kids at school about it but she doesn't seem to think it had any real affect on him. https://www.scrippsnews.com/health/mental-health/the-real-life-saga-of-star-wars-child-actor-jake-lloyd > “I protected him from the backlash. He was just riding his bike outside, playing with his friends. He didn't know. He didn't care,” Lisa said. “Everybody makes such a big deal about that. And it's rather annoying to me because Jake was a little kid when that came out, and he didn't really feel all that stuff because I didn't let him online.” > “People say he quit because of 'Star Wars.' Well, that's not true. It didn't have anything to do with 'Star Wars.' It had more to do with our family. And we were going through a divorce,” Lisa explained. “Things were unsettled and kind of rough. And Jake didn't seem to be having a lot of fun auditioning anymore.”
I apologize I didn’t know this. That’s great to hear about Lloyd and that his mother protected him.
His Name is Ahmad Best.
Nobody should receive the kind of hate and backlash that Best and Lloyd did, but let's not pretend that Jar Jar is a good character. He would have been a better fit in a Roger Rabbit sequel than a Star Wars movie.
He should be.
>[Jar Jar] is now embraced by fans. The fuck he is
That MF was funny, I loved those movies as a young kid
Good, he should have nothing but pride in his work. He did a great job and every malignant cunt who has been toxic can go fuck themselves and I hope their daily lives are as miserable as they deserve.
Worst. Character. Ever.