The Star Wars actor that played Jar Jar Binks says fans’ negative reaction hurt him: “when your work is criticized negatively, you feel a hit.”
So many people hate the Star Wars prequels because of Jar Jar Binks. But people often forget that their was an actual actor under that CGI costume and his name was Ahmed Best and he’s spent over a decade dealing with Jar Jar’s reputation with many people arguing it ruined his acting career forever.
A new interview with Ahmed Best conducted by Jamie Stangroom for a new YouTube series called These Are The Actors You’re Looking For, where he hunts down D list actors who appeared in movies and asks them questions.
“Star Wars was my first ‘most hated’ title in anything really. It was painful.”
Most of the people he’s interviewed have been happy to discuss their connection with the biggest franchise in history. however, the ten-minute conversation with Ahmed Best is pretty miserable. In fact, a majority of the interview discusses how fans have bashed the actor for playing Jar Jar Binks in the prequel movies. “Star Wars was my first ‘most hated’ title in anything really. It was painful. One of the biggest reasons I took it was because of the challenge of it—there was no Andy Serkis and Gollum, Navi from Avatar, Martians, John Carter.” He adds, “I was to be the template for this, so I was kinda working with George to pioneer this new character form of acting and storytelling. On set we were all just so focused on the challenge of it and having so much fun that the post-Star Wars stuff was a surprise. Even though you play characters, you put a lot of your own personality into it, you get emotionally and personally invested in the work that you do, it’s your work and you take pride in it. So when your work is criticized negatively, you feel a hit.”
I was kinda working with George to pioneer this new character form of acting and storytelling. On set we were all just so focused on the challenge of it and having so much fun that the post-Star Wars stuff was a surprise.
It wasn’t only the fan reaction that affected Best. It was the merchandising behind some of the products surrounding Jar Jar Binks. Apparently, one particular item was so bad that the marketers apologized to him. “The worst one was a lollipop dispenser, that was ridiculous, I saw that thing and ran. That was bad, the head of marketing actually called me to apologize for that one,” Best said.
“…it’s your work and you take pride in it. So when your work is criticized negatively, you feel a hit.”
Watching the interview you cannot help but feel really bad for the guy. Especially when JJ Abrams admitted he wanted to kill off the character in the latest Star Wars: The Force Awakens movie. During his interview with Vanity Fair for the magazine’s Star Wars cover story, Abrams pointed to a framed still from The Force Awakens and said: “I have a thought about putting Jar Jar Binks’s bones in the desert there. I’m serious! Only three people will notice, but they’ll love it.”
For those Star Wars fans that still hate Jar Jar Binks, Best said he will never reprise his role in a Disney remake of the Star Wars series.
