“r2- d2 was my friend!”

Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong’o is poetry in motion-capture...

Were you a Star Wars fan when you were a kid in Kenya?

R2-D2 was my friend! When I wasn’t in school, I was with him. [ laughs] Then in one of the episodes [Return Of The Jedi], one of the characters [ Nien Nunb] speaks in Kikuyu, which is a Kenyan language. And we were all like, “Oh my goodness! We are in Star Wars!”

What were the challenges of doing motioncapture work to form your character, Maz Kanata, in The Force Awakens?

You have the extra challenge, or the comfort or the luxury, of not having the costume and the makeup and the hair to make you feel like the character… Watching Andy Serkis in Lord Of The Rings, and then later in Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, I was so intrigued by motion-capture and what he was able to do with it. To have him on

Star Wars was invaluable.

What’s the best piece of advice Andy Serkis gave you?

That working on a motion-capture performance is first and foremost like working on any character. You have to know who you are and do the same character development and research that you would if you were physically in the role.

How did you find J.J. Abrams approach to directing a Star Wars film?

He’s able to make it look so easy, and yet you know he’s working so hard. Every day, he made that daunting set seem like home. To be able to do that is so important. Because we are all aware of what this film means to the world. But to leave that all aside – and say, “Hey, this is ours to make. Let’s do it!” – was really, really great.

It must have been a buzz working with the original cast?

My first day on set I was looking for a scented candle, and my assistant brought me this candle and said it was from Carrie Fisher. I was like, “Oh, wow! I haven’t even met her and I have her scented candle!” Then I met her and she was so sweet and so funny. I remember thinking, “Princess Leia’s really cool!” The fact that we have this opportunity to continue this story 30 years later and that we have Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill involved, and I get to be a small part of that is really a precious thing... I’m enjoying every minute of it. JMc