The Star Wars saga is one of those franchises that will endure in popular culture for a long time. The work of George Lucas to bring a space adventure for all audiences was worthy of applause and was a true media earthquake for the film industry and the “fan” phenomenon. But his renown does not remain only in his works, but also in his way of working.
During an interview with Ahmed Best, who played the famous Jar Jar Binks in the prequels at the turn of the century, the American actor defines Lucas’s work in movies with one word: collaborative. According to Best account in the podcast The Redemption of Jar Jar Binksthe manager was open to receive proposals by the entire cast that worked on the film, giving them more freedom when creating their characters and a personal touch for each of them.
During the final auditions for The Phantom Menace, after giving the actor detailed instructions, Lucas told him to do whatever he wanted. It is here that Best changed the structure of the character, releasing flying kicks and doing somersaults all over the place. This was something that, according to him, found it surreal, since he made all these paraphernalia with total freedom in front of a legend like Lucas. To the actor’s surprise, George saw potential and was willing to change the role of the character to him.
Originally, it was supposed to Jar Jar Binks would be a very stooped, shrunken character and in general, someone very left; but Best’s lively and crazy performance convinced Lucas to offer him a totally different role. Unfortunately, this proposal from the New York actor did not completely convince the audience, since he received galore criticism and caused this endearing Gungan to become one of the most hated characters in the saga.
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