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Paul Bettany has been a Star Wars fan for ages
Actor Paul Bettany says that his parents thought he was crazy because of his fascination with the Star Wars franchise.
“I can say I became an actor because of (Hollywood pioneer) John Cassavetes’ movies, but I’d really be lying. For me, it happened when I saw Star Wars around 1978. And my life changed. I went to see it every day for a week. My parents thought I was crazy,” Bettany says.
In the sci-fi/ superhero genre, the actor is known for playing Vision in the Avengers series and for voicing the cyber-entity J.A.R.V.I.S., the assistant of Tony Stark/Iron Man, in that standalone series. In Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Bettany played both of these roles together.
Now, Bettany will be seen as the bad guy Dryden Vos in Solo: A Star Wars Story, the second spin-off in the franchise, and the origin story of ace pilot Han Solo. He says, “I have never asked anybody for a job ever, but the truth of how I got this job is that I texted (Solo director) Ron Howard, saying, ‘Hey, Ron, have you ever spent long wintery evenings wondering why you’re not in the Star Wars movies?’ And my old mate, with whom I’ve worked before, came through for me. About a week later, he said to come and play Star Wars with him. It’s been just brilliant. It’s been a real dream come true.”
Even better for the actor, he got to play with his teenage son, too. “Being able to bring over my 14-year-old son, take him on the (spaceship) Millennium Falcon was really something. I was like a kid. We were both like, ‘Oh, that’s the chess table.’ For the pair of us, it was really special. It’s been a special time,” he says.
Solo: A Star Wars Story tells the story of how Han Solo met his future co-pilot, the giant Wookiee named Chewbacca, before the events in the original 1977 Star Wars. The film is the second spin-off after Rogue One (2016).
About his Solo co-star Emilia Clarke, Bettany says, “She is so lovely. She went to the same drama school as me, which is the Drama Centre London. So, she and I have a very similar education in drama and acting, and we work in very similar ways. It was really nice to be able to talk about the school and the methods that we were taught.”
Bettany also says that he loves these “offshoot movies”. He says, “While it’s still a hero’s journey, it is a heist caper with more humour in it than a lot of Star Wars movies have been afforded time for in their stories. I think these stories are a really a good addition. While still being a part of the Star Wars world, they are their own thing. It’s quite unique,” he adds. The film is out on May 25.