Jar Jar Binks Actor Reveals Star Wars Backlash Was So Bad He Considered Taking Own Life
Next time you want to make fun of Jar Jar Binks, the strange-looking creature from the Star Wars franchise, you may want to think again. Ahmed Best, the actor who portrayed the Gungan, recently shared that the backlash and hatred from his role in the franchise made him consider taking his own life, according to Deadline.
Ahmed Best, the man behind Jar Jar Binks, has opened up about the mental and emotional problems he faced following the release of Star Wars Episde 1: The Phantom Menance.
Ahmed Best provided the voice and motion capture for Jar Jar Binks, an awkward and goofy Gungan who is meant to be a comedic relief and a representative of his people in the Star Wars franchise. The bug-eyed creature with long, wide ears and a full set of teeth left his home on Naboo to fight for his people in the Senate. He managed to climb his way up the ranks from a Junior Representative to become a full Senator.
At first, Ahmed Best was so excited to learn that he had been cast as Jar Jar Binks in 1999’s Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace. As a fan of the franchise, the up-and-coming actor felt like his dreams had finally come true. But after the movie premiered, things took a dark turn for Ahmed Best.
Unfortunately, fans and critics could not stand the creature and found him incredibly annoying rather than funny. In fact, Jar Jar Binks is one of the most hated characters in Star Wars and in any film in cinematic history.
With such strong backlash against his dream role, it’s no wonder that Ahmed Best was upset. However, many fans who despised Jar Jar Binks also criticized the actor behind the character. Some fans took their anger too far and began verbally attacking the actor, and even left death threats on his answering machine in New York City.
Jar Jar Binks is the favorite Star Wars character of George Lucas, which has resulted in Ahmed Best reprising his role over multiple films and shows.
After receiving so much hatred for his role, Ahmed Best could hardly leave his apartment. When he did, he found himself standing on the Brooklyn Bridge contemplating his life. He admitted that he thought about taking his own life in order to show the angry fans the pain they had caused him.
Despite all of the hatred towards Jar Jar Binks, Ahmed Best still portrayed the character in several more Star Wars films and TV shows. Perhaps that is because Jar Jar is somehow George Lucas’s favorite Star Wars character, despite being everyone else’s least favorite.
Outside of his role as Jar Jar Binks, Ahmed Best has been part of The Mandalorian as the Jedi Kelleran Beq.
Fans of Star Wars are likely very happy that they are no longer seeing Jar Jar Binks in the franchise. Even though his character has been sidelined, Ahmed Best is still involved in Star Wars projects. Most recently, he portrayed Kelleran Beq, a Jedi in the Disney+ series The Mandalorian.
Over the years, some fans have speculated that Jar Jar Binks was actually meant to be a villain in the Star Wars universe. Both Ahmed Best and director J. J. Abrams have come forward to mostly agree with the fan theory about the bumbling Gungan, arguing that he certainly could be evil. However, only George Lucas knows the real truth.
