Lars Mikkelson tweaked his portrayal of Thrawn for Ahsoka to best fit live-action

When Ahsoka releases later this summer, we will see the long-awaited debut of the legendary Grand Admiral Thrawn in live-action.

The character first appeared in Timothy Zahn’s 1991 novel Heir to the Empire and ever since has been a fan favorite. He was later brought to the screen with the animated series Star Wars Rebels, voiced by Lars Mikkelson, and now Mikkelson will be playing the character in live-action as the Grand Admiral re-emerges onto the galactic scene as the big villain behind The Mandalorian era of stories.

Mikkelson was the obvious choice to play the character in live-action, particularly since his portrayal of Thrawn in Rebels was so terrific. His calm, chilling vocal performance was perfect, and now he’ll be doing more than just the voice. And as a result, he’ll be tweaking the voice and his performance in order to best fit the live-action medium. Mikkelson recently spoke to Empire Magazine about adapting the character from animation to live-action. Collider has the quote:

“I’m not losing the voice, but I am tweaking it into live-action. When you do an animated character, there’s a whole melodious approach. When you’re there as a real person, that would be just slightly too much. I love the way he rises through the Empire, and the way he carries himself in that environment to become somebody. And then of course, how can you not like a very clever villain? Thrawn takes the time to understand his opponent’s culture, and what they’re about. It’s lovely to be playing that.”

It’s always fascinating to hear actors talk about their craft and the decisions they make to best fit the medium, and Mikkelson has a unique challenge that not many people face: voicing a character in animation and then later returning to portray the same character in live-action. While Star Wars has recently been bringing many animated characters into live-action for the first time, it’s mostly happened through re-casting the role. But when it comes to Thrawn, and Bo-Katan Kryze (played by Katee Sackhoff), the voice actor is coming back.

I’m thrilled that Lars Mikkelson is still Thrawn, and I absolutely can’t wait to see him in live-action for the first time.