Ben Mendelsohn is currently doing the rounds for his upcoming film Robin Hood, and sat down with the fine folks at The Hollywood Reporter. Not only did he talk about that film, but he reminisced on the making of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story as well.
“Playing Orson Krennic in Rogue One and being able to say that I built the Death Star, who else can say that? You can’t top it,” he says.
Rogue One also saw behind-the-scenes drama, with veteran screenwriter and director Tony Gilroy coming on board for extensive reshoots on the Gareth Edwards-directed film. Gilroy himself has said the production was in “terrible trouble” when he boarded.
I ask Mendelsohn if he felt nervous or relieved when with the addition of another creative late in the process.
“I wasn’t either of those, it was just a case, from my point of view, that they were going to be working multiple units. Gareth was writing and then he would come and film some things and Tony was shooting his material,” says Mendelsohn. “To me it’s a collaborative business, and this was just business as usual, and I’m so proud of that one.”
As his profile has grown, Mendelsohn has continued to work in smaller projects as well. Though perhaps working in major studio projects on the scale of Star Wars pays better than little indies, he says his lifestyle has not grown much since his compensation increase.
“I bought a fancy-pants truck which I love, but only because the last one got ran into,”Mendelsohn says. “Making sure my daughters are taken care of, that’s really my goal. I don’t need a great deal.”
About Rogue One: A Star Wars Story:
From Lucasfilm comes the first of the Star Wars standalone films, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, an all-new epic adventure. In a time of conflict, a group of unlikely heroes band together on a mission to steal the plans to the Death Star, the Empire’s ultimate weapon of destruction. This key event in the Star Wars timeline brings together ordinary people who choose to do extraordinary things, and in doing so, become part of something greater than themselves.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is directed by Gareth Edwards and stars Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Donnie Yen, Mads Mikkelsen, Alan Tudyk, Riz Ahmed, with Jiang Wen and Forest Whitaker. Kathleen Kennedy, Allison Shearmur and Simon Emanuel are producing, with John Knoll and Jason McGatlin serving as executive producers.
