Oscar Isaac & Lupita Nyong’o Star Wars Interview – The Force Awakens

I had an exclusive interview with Oscar Issac and Lupita Nyong’o from Star Wars during last week’s Global Press Junket! Oscar plays a character named Poe and Lupita plays Maz Kanata which is a CGI character in the movie.  During our interview Lupita showed her sophistication while Oscar had his moments where he has us all laughing!  We didn’t know much about their characters when interviewing them, nor were we able to share!

Oscar Isaac & Lupita Nyong’o Star Wars Interview

Question: What can you tell us about your characters?

Lupita Nyong: I can tell you that my character’s name is Maz Kanata and she is a pirate and owns a bar.

Oscar Isaac: Ican say that Poe Dameron is a pilot, not a pirate and he is committed to the resistance and to defeating the first order. He believes in the force and he can be a little reckless in wanting to prove that he is, he is a leader and a hero and I think he also has that swagger and confidence that comes from people that can soar above everyone else and do all these things at once like, like fighting a fighter jet and getting into these dog fights and be so close to the edge of death and that definitely influences how he operates in the world.

Question: What’s it like stepping into and becoming part of the most iconic series probably of all times? Did you grow up with the Star Wars movies?

Lupita: I was born into Star Wars. I feel it was a very normal part of my childhood. It would come on public holidays on the national television. We only had two channels so Star Wars was on and everybody watched it and everybody was familiar with it because it was all there was to watch on TV. We all loved it and so it was just a very normal comfortable, cozy part of my imaginative folklore…It wasn’t until being cast in it that I realized what it meant on a meta level to the world and how big the fanbase is–how dedicated, how enthusiastic people are about this world that George Lucas created. And I mean I felt it dawned on me for the first time I think stepping onto the actual set that I was a part of it because I looked around these and these were these very expansive sets and there was so much detail taken into the creation of every single thing, the textures, the colors. You really did feel like you were on another planet and I think that was the time when I realized wow, I’m a part of something that has and will continue to go down in history.

Oscar: The first movie I ever saw in the theatre was Return of the Jedi, amazingly. It’s pretty crazy so now that I’ve done this one I’m gonna stop doing movies now ‘cause I feel like I’m really into a symmetry…it definitely changed my, my mind, my life. It kind of blew my little kid brain. Yeah I was a huge fan ever since and my family were very big fans and every time a new film would come out we’d throw themed parties and memorize the fight scenes to a T and terrorize my family with them. …It’s not just a film. It’s a cultural phenomenon and it’s just hard to process.

What was the first thing that you did when you found out that you actually got the part?

Lupita: Time to pack. Yeah. No, I literally found out like two days before I needed to be in London so I had to pack…

Oscar: I was in a hotel room in London so I just blasted the Star Wars theme and I grabbed the shampoo bottle and started using it like an x wing. That’s what I did.

Question: What was it like to see your character for the first time?

Oscar: It’s strange. It’s difficult to process. It’s a lot of mixed emotions because you’re seeing it as a fan. You’re seeing the new thing. You’re exhilarated by that. You’re understanding what the world is because it’s one thing to see it all put together. So you’re being — I was being affected as a viewer and then also the memories of what shooting was like and what takes were used and what takes were not used and what was moved to another place and how it affects the thing. So there’s so much, so much going on that it’s a very trippy moment.

Lupita: When I signed on to play Maz she was still going through a lot. They were still developing the character and her role in the film and what she was going to look like and all that and they welcomed me into that conversation which was really cool to see we’re at the stage…she’s CGI they’ve been working on her for a long, a long time. And then to finally see the film and to see what became of her and somehow I’m — it’s me but it’s definitely not me it’s bizarre….My take away from seeing the film was that it is a seamless. It felt to me like a seamless continuation of the Star Wars saga and because what they’ve done is they have kept the integrity of the world that George Lucas created and somehow they have managed to integrate all this new technology and these new storylines and they’ve just, they work, they work effortlessly together and, uh, it’s, it’s, it’s a, a beautiful, visual experience and a moving story and I think the fans that the, the franchise already has will be very happy and I think the new fans will be equally thrilled by this amazingly creative world.

Question: What is next for you?

Oscar: I have to finish filming a movie called The Promise that I’m doing. Shooting it in Spain. The film takes place in the beginning of World War One in Turkey and I play an Armenian doctor in it.

Lupita: I just finished a play called Eclipse that is by Dania Gurira who is an actress on the Walking Dead. She plays Michonee and we just finished that at the Public Theatre in New York and we’re moving to Broadway in February so very excited about that. It’s gonna be the first play on Broadway that is written by a woman, directed by a woman and starring just women. So that’s a great milestone. And then I have the Jungle Book coming out in April and Queen of Katwe coming out soon.

Walt Disney – D23

Be sure to check them BOTH OUR in Star Wars: The Force Awakens!  I am excited to find out about they characters since they are both new and they both mentioned how during filming their characters were both being developed.

Buy your tickets now! Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be in theaters December 18, 2015! Purchase your Fandango tickets today! When tickets were released it about broke the internet!  So cities have opened up more screenings!