With Season 3 of The Mandalorian having wrapped up, our very

own Galaxy had a wonderful sit down with Bo-Katan herself: the talented KATEE SACKHOFF!

This Oregan-born athletic actor has graced both our big and small screens a myriad of times: With fantastic appearances, big and small, in hits like Longmire, Battlestar Galactica, Riddick, The Flash, and much more.

In this interview, Galaxy dives deep into our motorcycle riding guest as she talks going from Bo’s voice to full body immersion, her acting styles, raising the next generation of Star Wars lovers, the goals of the Mandalorian, and how she’s played Bo-Katan for so long that she’s even Bo in her dreams.

GALAXY:

Welcome KATEE

KATEE SACKHOFF:

Hi, thanks for having me Galaxy!

GALAXY:

There’s a lot to talk about. You have been extremely busy and successful with all the projects you have. But, The Mandalorian is the show that has gotten fans, and you probably feel it as well, just jumping up in the air.

KATEE SACKHOFF:

It’s been a whirlwind. But it’s such a strange thing. Because we finished filming a year ago. So it’s all that hurry up and wait and then sit there for a year and wait for it to get done and do our ADR and watch it slowly come together. And then, it finally comes out and it’s over in like five seconds. We worked so hard on this season, and I feel like it’s over way too soon.

GALAXY:

Fan reaction, how has that been with The Mandalorian?

KATEE SACKHOFF:

It’s great. I think that you’re never going to win everyone. And that can’t be your end goal. I think that we set out to make the show that we wanted to make this season and from the very beginning to what we accomplished with Bo’s story arc, I think we hit those moments. And I think that the fans are happy with that storyline, for sure.

GALAXY:

You’re phenomenal on the show. How does it feel knowing for the rest of your life you’re going to be known as BoKatan?

KATEE SACKHOFF:

I’ve had the serious good fortune of being able to play some pretty phenomenal characters in my life. And Bo is by far the one that I’ve played the longest. She has a soft spot in my heart for sure. I’ve loved every second of playing her and hopefully it won’t be over for a while.

GALAXY:

Was it hard for you to get into character? Did it take a lot to get yourself prepared for the live action roll? I know acting takes a toll on everyone and everyone prepares differently, but how was the journey for you to become Bo-Katan on screen?

KATEE SACKHOFF:

Having voiced the character for as long as I did, I knew so much of her backstory going into The Mandalorian. So, I didn’t feel like I needed to do any sort of thought work or backstory work for her. The lion’s share of the work for Bo came with the physicality. When I’m in the sound booth, I don’t have to worry about what my face looks like or what my body’s doing, any of those things, because it’s purely just about my voice. And for that reason, it becomes so much easier of a job because once I put the voice down, the work is done for me. Playing Bo in live-action, I really focused on the physicality, the questions we had or how does she actually move, how does she walk? How does she hold herself and carry herself and those were things that became the most difficult aspects you know. My acting style is much more raw. It is much more sort of fly by the seat of my pants, if you will. There’s always a plan in place of course, but I wear my heart on my sleeve as my characters. Bo is very different. She’s very still. She’s very stoic. She is very purposeful. And I have to think long and hard and be very, very specific with my movements as her and so, the biggest part of this season was me relaxing and staying as still as possible, which is really hard for me. And that became the hardest part to be honest.

GALAXY:

Physicality, you’re not lacking anywhere in that department. I saw you in Riddick and I thought: What a powerful actor. Every roll you have you take the roll by the helm, and then you drive it the way it’s supposed to go. Voicing the character for such a long time. Now live action! Such a great segue into it. Were you surprised that they had you come on? Or you just knew in your heart?

KATEE SACKHOFF:

Yeah, as soon as I knew of the show,

The Mandalorian I sort of was at Celebration in 2018. And I walked up to Dave Filoni and I say I cornered him, but I really didn’t. I was just standing there talking to him. And you know, I basically like pitched him, Bo-Katan is still alive! She could work in this show. And, according to him, he’d already had it in his mind that it was going to happen, but I like to think that I forced him into it. And the next thing I knew, I got a phone call that I was going to go and sit down with John. And so, I don’t know if they ever, you know, looked outside of me for an actor for this role. I’m sure they did, you know, but at the end of the day, I do believe that I was considered for the role because these are the type of characters I’ve been playing for my entire career. You know, it’s not like I had been out doing romantic comedies or period dramas with a corset on. These are, and characters very similar to this on paper, are the characters that I’ve made a career out of. So, I think it was a pretty seamless transition.

GALAXY:

We leaked out to fans that you were coming on my show and they went, well, you know! Wild… The questions started pouring in. Most asked question, is the first order rising?

KATEE SACKHOFF:

Ah, um, you know, ha ha, there’s nothing I’m gonna say that’s like, spoiler-esque or anything. I sort of tried to keep my mouth shut as much as possible.

GALAXY:

Do you feel this season it got very royal?

KATEE SACKHOFF:

I think that the goal set out for us this season was to provide backstory and context of the Mandalorian people, for the audience that maybe have not seen Clone Wars and Rebels and needed to have a little bit of this backstory moving forward. And, I think that when you think of the Mandalorians as a people, it makes sense to have Bo-Katan down there. Because this is a people who have rulers and they’re not elected. It absolutely is a people that are led by, you know, if Bo is considered, sort of a monarchy, if you will. And so it makes sense for them to understand that. And we also know going into it that these three shows really go together. And you’ve got Mandalorian, Boba Fett, and Ahsoka. And I think that this season, if you look at them in the context that these shows go together, this season exists for a reason. And if it exists for a reason, then it was for people to understand the Mandalorians more.

GALAXY:

Wow, that’s great. Everyone’s asked us about Grogu. “Have you held Grogu?”

KATEE SACKHOFF:

Yeah, I’ve obviously held him.

We’ve been in many, many scenes together. And there are different versions of Grogu, depending on what the scene calls for. And there are different levels of sort of like animatronics in the sense that at the very minimum, he’s a doll. And at the very heights of him, he is filled with wires, and he’s very heavy, and he is making facial movements, and he is the character you see on screen. And so the skin texture changes depending on if he’s the hero doll or not. Or hero puppet, rather, and starts to feel more latex and skin-like as he gets more advanced, as far as the puppeteering is concerned. And so like if there’s a scene where he’s getting thrown around, it is not going to be the animatronic version with tons of wires and things because, obviously, you can’t hide those. So, yeah.

GALAXY:

Only in this universe does this type of thing work. Like, if you would take dolls and puppets in such a serious context in any other show, we would say whatever, but the Star Wars universe set it up so well. Are the sets mostly green screen? Are the sets massive? Did you say wow when you went there?

KATEE SACKHOFF:

Um, so there’s a mixture on our show, for sure. You know, there’s a mixture of blue screens and there’s a mixture of the Volume, which if anyone doesn’t know what I’m referring to, you should go watch the making of The Mandalorian. And you’ll get a glimpse at that. There’s a backlot as well with huge, huge, sort of, like horizon shots. And then, there’s practical as well. And so, it’s a mixture of all those things. If you see actors touching something, then it exists. And so, I think, for me, like the biggest thing that sort of caught me off guard was in a scene where it was literally like, a 32nd scene in episode eight, I think, the underwater waterfall fountain, like the underground gardens, on Mandalore. That was all practical. They built the entire thing. There was like a fountain or a waterfall on set. It was absolutely crazy and gorgeous. And, you know, so sometimes you’ll think that something is the Volume or or blue screen, and it’s actually completely practical. And then, other times you’re like, “Oh well, that must have been practical”, and it’ll actually be the Volume, which is crazy. So, it’s our job to make sure you can’t tell.

GALAXY:

Absolutely! You’re doing a phenomenal job. One question that many fans have asked is about wearing the helmet. Is it easy? How does it feel? Do you feel claustrophobic?

KATEE SACKHOFF:

It’s totally okay with me. I mean,

I ride a motorcycle, though. So, I’m used to being in a helmet and sort of fully functioning and that being said, my helmet on my motorcycle has a lot more visual context. It’s very rare that I can see my feet on The Mandalorian. And my peripheral vision is not that great. So, you really have to walk through your surroundings when you’re in a suit and make sure that you know where you’re going. And there have been a few times where I have fallen over a stormtrooper or something and season two, I, like, was running down the bridge and just, like, launched over a stormtrooper because I didn’t see him and like, flew across there. The good news is that the armor works. But you know, a lot of the men’s helmets actually have less vision than the women because the eyes on our helmets are actually at an angle down. And so, what that does is it actually provides us with a little bit more visual of the floor. Whereas, you know, Mando can’t see anything.

GALAXY:

The fans are probably getting really excited right about now. We learn something new everyday. I know a lot of people wonder how you walk with the helmet on? The queues, there’s probably a lot of blooper videos out there that we probably won’t ever get to see. But, how wonderful it must feel playing the character for over a decade and being in a live action role, you know, such a great situation. The show has become a phenomenon! And now going into season four. Can you share anything about season four? Is there anything that you’re allowed to share? Any little tidbits, little crumbs?

KATEE SACKHOFF:

Um, no. No, I mean, this is a show that is so closely guarded. They didn’t even print any of his dolls or any merchandise at all until the show had aired. That’s important. It basically tells you you’re not going to know anything until the show airs. So it’ll be over a year.

GALAXY:

Ha ha, I guess everybody is going to have to wait.

KATEE SACKHOFF: You have Ashoka in August.

GALAXY: Yes! And do you think there’s going to be a crossover?

KATEE SACKHOFF: They’ve made sure to make sure that people know that the shows go together. I think that everything is in the realm of possibility.

GALAXY: Gotcha. All right. Well, you know, this is all for the fans. Katee, you know! It’s not for me. Ha ha. Even though I’m a big Star Wars fan. It’s for them. Ha ha. Having the opportunity of speaking with so many amazing talent, like yourself through the years, you get to know the cues of what question to ask and what not to, but sometimes it’s good to push a bit. We do get lucky sometimes. So, moving on, how much of yourself do you put into the character? Do you connect in certain ways?

KATEE SACKHOFF:

Yeah, I’ve been playing the character for so long. And Dave and I have talked about her backstory and who she is as a person for so many years that I know her so well now at this point, you know. Selfishly, one of the most fun things that I have is that sometimes I dream of her, as her and the show may be over for you guys, but for me, it’s still in my head. So I go to sleep sometimes and have these fantastic dreams as her, and it’s really glorious. So I know there’s more to tell. And so, I definitely connect with her on a deeper level at this point.

GALAXY: These dreams, can you share? Are they vivid? Are you in outer space? Or are you walking to Starbucks? And you are in your costume? Do you ever dream like that?

KATEE SACKHOFF:

Yeah, no, I think it’s a little bit of everything. I’ve dreamt a lot about Bo as a child, and sort of like, you know, what makes her tick as an individual. And her relationship with her father. I’ve daydreamed and dreamt a lot about that. So partially because Dave has told me that there is an entire story that he’s already created in that timeline. So I definitely know that there’s something there. And so, I think I’m, I’m just curious and always trying to figure out what it is.

GALAXY:

When you finish from the set, and your home, does any of the character ever just, you know, come to you and you’re like, “Okay, I have to chill for a second because I just feel too much of her energy at this moment.”

KATEE SACKHOFF:

Sometimes, I will come home from work, and I definitely need to take a good 10 to 15 minutes to relax before I can dive into momming for sure. But for the most part this character is nothing too tragic/ physically tragic has played out in her this season, so it’s not like Battlestar Galactica. I used to come home and have a really hard time letting go because of all of the things that had transpired on set that day. This character is a little different than that, in that it feels a little bit more rooted in fantasy than reality.

GALAXY:

Are you excited to share your character with your kids? If not now, one day?

KATEE SACKHOFF:

My daughter is still quite young. 16 months old, but she’s talking up a storm and she is so funny. But she picks up like dolls of Bo-Katan now and goes, “mommy.” And it could be anything from a sticker to a pin. Like, you know, like, I’m staring at a table right now of all these things that I got at celebration this year. And one’s Bo and she wants to put mommy in her backpack and she knows that that’s me. And it’s so funny and surreal. It’s just so strange. When she watches the show, or when she walks with she obviously can’t pay attention to it too much. She’s got like a 15 minute attention span, but she walks by the TV and if she sees it on, she always stops and goes mommy. So it’s very funny.

GALAXY:

That’s wonderful. I know she’s young, but one day she will understand. Such an exciting thing to hopefully share. They’ll for sure be a Star Wars fan. Katee, if you could share one thing with the fans around the globe, what would you share with them?

KATEE SACKHOFF:

Um, oh gosh, I think that it’s just been such an incredible blessing to play this character. It’s a dream come true. You know, I grew up a Star Wars fan. And so, for me to be a part of this world as much as I have been, it still just blows my mind. And I think that largely this character has been just incredibly well received, and the fans have just really embraced her, and that’s really special. And I’m just incredibly thankful.

GALAXY: Before we wrap up this wonderful chat, I want to take a moment and ask some more questions sent to use by our lovely listeners and readers. What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream?

KATEE SACKHOFF:

Anything bold and interesting. I don’t do Vanilla

GALAXY: What was your favorite episode on The Mandalorian?

KATEE SACKHOFF: All of them to be honest, but if I had to choose, I’d say episode 7 from season 3.

GALAXY: Would you change anything about Bo-Katans outfit?

KATEE SACKHOFF:

Aesthetically speaking, no. I adore her suit. She looks so badass! Comfortability speaking, yes. I’d try to take pressure off my shoulders somehow, but that’s nitpicking.

GALAXY: What’s your favorite weapon?

KATEE SACKHOFF: I did love my Darksaber Lol.

GALAXY: Favorite scene with Grogu?

KATEE SACKHOFF: From episode 2 when Bo and Grogu are walking through the caves having a real conversation. When she said she knew Jedi. I loved that interchange.

GALAXY: What’s your favorite interaction on The Mandalorian with Pedro Pascal?

KATEE SACKHOFF: I’m a big fan of episode 6 when we see Mando and Bo start to have a shorthand and work well together. We see what their relationship could be in the future. She’s starting to enjoy his company.

GALAXY: Would you want to live in the future?

KATEE SACKHOFF: Only if it was that the life I have now could last longer. I feel so blessed to have the people I do in my life. I’d love to see my daughter grow old and have her own children. Meet my great grandchildren. If you’re talking in a technological way then, no! I don’t even like my phone. We’re too connected as a society and lacking any real connection. I’m not a fan.

GALAXY: Is there anything you would change about your character Bo-Kat?

KATEE SACKHOFF: No. I like and appreciate where she is and who she has become.

GALAXY: Funniest moment on set?

KATEE SACKHOFF: Any moment with Emily Swollow. She cracks me up.

GALAXY:

Would you ever want to travel to outer space?

KATEE SACKHOFF:

I hate flying so that’s probably a big fat no. Unless, I can take a few dozen Xanax for the trip. Kidding.

GALAXY:

That is wonderful. And if you can make one wish for everyone in the world, what wish would that be?

KATEE SACKHOFF: Humility, yeah. And a little bit more acceptance these days.

GALAXY:

There you go. Such a perfect answer! I cannot thank you enough for taking the time to chat with me. Good Morning, Good Afternoon, and Good Evening!

BY MATTHEW TIMPANELLI