The actress behind Babu Frik in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, learned to puppeteer to bring the character to life along with her vocal performance.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker certainly nailed its comedic moments and one of the most amusing characters in the film was one of the saga’s new additions, the creature Babu Frik.
The tiny droidsmith has proved rather popular with fans and now we have some details on how actress Shirley Henderson brought the puppet to life. Speaking to THR, sound editor Matthew Wood revealed that Henderson used more than her voice in her performance. She also learned how to operate the puppet herself “so she could improv and actually move the character’s mouth.”
Wood also added: “She was puppeteering while she was doing the improv for the character. She came up with that language and performed it that way. We preserved all of her production sounds, and that was entirely shot on set, live, with her own movement.”
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Star Wars, of course, has a big history with utilising puppets to bring beloved characters to life, most famously with Jedi Master Yoda and also recently the adored Baby Yoda in The Mandalorian. Babu Frik is certainly in good company!
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker sees J.J. Abrams (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) directing a cast that includes Star Wars veterans Daisy Ridley (Rey), Adam Driver (Kylo Ren), John Boyega (Finn), Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron), Lupita Nyong’o (Maz Kanata), Domhnall Gleeson (General Hux), Kelly Marie Tran (Rose Tico), Joonas Suotamo (Chewbacca), Billie Lourd (Lieutenant Connix), Greg Grunberg (Snap Wexley), Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian), Ian McDiarmid (Emperor Palpatine) and Carrie Fisher (Leia Organa) as well as new additions Naomi Ackie (Lady Macbeth), Richard E. Grant (Logan), Dominic Monaghan (Lost), and Keri Russell (The Americans).
