One of Jane Austen’s most notorious cads.
The son of the leader of the Soviet Union.
Everyone’s favorite cloned assassin.
Where else might you have seen the actor who plays the Grand Inquisitor in the “Obi-Wan
Kenobi” series?
Keep watching to find out what this mean mug looks like under the makeup.
"Stay hidden."
"Don't cross the streams" might be sound advice in the "Ghostbusters" universe, but it no
longer applies to the various "Star Wars" series on Disney+.
Thanks to "The Mandalorian" and "The Book of Boba Fett," characters who were once exclusive
to the animated TV shows "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" and "Star Wars Rebels" have begun to
make their way over into live-action.
“I don’t care what happens to him, so long as he surrenders to me.”
That trend will continue with "Obi-Wan Kenobi," a series that picks up with everyone's favorite
bearded Jedi 10 years after the rise of the Galactic Empire in "Revenge of the Sith."
But before Obi-Wan faces off with his former padawan-turned agent of evil on the series,
he will have to battle a different threat in the form of the Inquisitors.
A group of Dark Side force users recruited by the Empire to hunt down any Jedi who survived
Order 66, these nefarious Imperials were introduced in "Star Wars Rebels," and have since appeared
in multiple comic books and novels.
They're led by the Grand Inquisitor, a fellow who's easy to recognize thanks to his ashen
white complexion and red facial markings.
Although he may look like a human, the Grand Inquisitor is actually a member of the Pau'an
species from the planet Utapau seen in "Revenge of the Sith."
He was voiced on "Star Wars Rebels" by Jason Isaacs, himself no stranger to villain roles
after playing Lucius Malfoy in the "Harry Potter" movies and portraying Captain Hook
in 2003's live-action "Peter Pan" film.
“Who knew?”
In "Obi-Wan Kenobi," however, the character will be brought to life by Rupert Friend,
an actor who's accustomed to playing hairless killers who prefer to dress in black.
Rupert Friend made his film acting debut in 2004's "The Libertine" as Billy Downs, the
youngest member of the "Merry Gang" led by Johnny Depp's debaucherous poet John Wilmot.
A year after, he would go on to play Mr. Wickham in Joe Wright's critically-acclaimed 2005
movie adaptation of "Pride & Prejudice."
Friend is also known for starring on the Showtime series "Homeland" as Peter Quinn, a black
ops officer who has a complicated relationship with Claire Danes' CIA agent Carrie Mathison.
“You owe me!”
“And why is that?”
“Because you made me this way!”
Indeed, whether they're a really bad boyfriend or expert hitman, Friend tends to specialize
in playing characters with an edge.
In fact, he portrayed one of the more infamous assassins in pop culture, Agent 47, in the
2015 movie adaptation of the "Hitman" video games.
Then he followed that up by playing the son of Joseph Stalin, Vasily Stalin, in the acclaimed
2017 satire "The Death of Stalin."
Friend has continued to keep things on the darker side with his roles since then.
Besides co-starring in the 2018 comedy-thriller "A Simple Favor," the actor headlined the
2021 horror film "Separation" and had a small part in Wes Anderson's dramedy "The French
Dispatch."
“And in sixteen years, I’ll get my pension.
… Well, that's your bedtime story, ladies – lights out!”
He's since played another rake in "Anatomy of a Scandal," the 2022 miniseries in which
he portrays a British Member of Parliament who has an affair that goes public and leads
to him being put on trial after he's accused of sexual assault.
"Obi-Wan Kenobi" isn't the first live-action "Star Wars" series to recast a character who
was introduced in an animated project.
"The Mandalorian" did as much when it had Rosario Dawson play Ahsoka Tano, a role initially
voiced by Ashley Eckstein in the animated film "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" and the subsequent
"Clone Wars" TV show.
As different as the two obviously look, Eckstein does seem to have provided some inspiration
for Ahsoka's expressions and mannerisms in animation.
With the Grand Inquisitor on "Star Wars Rebels," the character was seemingly modeled after
Jason Isaacs, so far as his nose shape and facial structure goes.
This is partly why Rupert Friend had to undergo such an extensive makeup process for "Obi-Wan
Kenobi," making him look far less like his usual self — the character's alien features
aside.
Friend also lowered his voice and made it growlier and more menacing for the role, so
as to better emulate the way Isaacs voiced the animated iteration of the villain.
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