The Best Star Wars Performance Shouldn’t Even Exist
From Harrison Ford’s Han Solo to Diego Luna’s Cassian Andor, the Star Wars films and shows have had some amazing performances. Most recently, Genevieve O’Reilly has been crushing it as Mon Mothma on the hit series Andor, and it’s shocking to think this killer performance shouldn’t even exist. That’s because her ambitious introduction as the future Rebel leader in Revenge of the Sith was almost entirely removed, leaving some crucial moments audiences can now only view as deleted scenes.
In the third Star Wars prequel, Genevieve O’Reilly played Mon Mothma, and she shot some fairly juicy scenes for the film. This included a scene where she met with Bail Organa and Padme Amidala to dish about Chancellor Palpatine’s growing fascism and the need for a rebellion. Sadly, this and other significant scenes were cut, leaving her character with a real “blink and you’ll miss her” appearance in the film.
Given that her best material was exiled to deleted scenes only a few fans had watched, you might think future Star Wars films wouldn’t feature O’Reilly. However, more than a decade after her prequel appearance, the actor was just as surprised as the fans when she got the invite to return as Mon Mothma in Star Wars: Rogue One. Still, it made plenty of sense: why try to find a slightly older Mon Mothma actor when you can bring back your last one who has aged perfectly for the role?
Genevieve O’Reilly had no way of knowing it (she’s not a Jedi, after all), but she had just taken her first step back into a major world. She had barely finished recording her scenes for Rogue One when she got a phone call inviting her to reprise her role as Mon Mothma on Star Wars Rebels. She only voiced the charactger in five episodes, but this work helped cement her as the definitive choice to play Mon Mothma in Disney’s Star Wars productions.
Following the success of her appearances in Star Wars: Rogue One and Star Wars Rebels, O’Reilly appeared in Andor. The show takes place five years before Rogue One, and O’Reilly’s scenes let fans see more of Mon Mothma than ever before. Mon Mothma is now playing a dangerous game of cloak and vibro blade as she works on establishing a Rebellion right under the noses of the Imperial Security Bureau.
Fortunately, Genevieve O’Reilly rose to the occasion: she has become the very best actor on Star Wars: Andor, which is that much more impressive because that show is filled with the most talented actors to ever appear in a galaxy far, far away. Thanks to her fan-favorite performance, she has already appeared in Ahsoka, and we’re confident we’ll continue to see her Mon Mothma character appear in future Star Wars movies and shows.
But none of that could have ever happened if Disney hadn’t watched her deleted scenes from Revenge of the Sith and realized that one of the best actors in Star Wars history had been hiding in the DVD special features for over a decade. Good luck? Nope…we’re willing to chalk this one up to the will of The Force.
