Julian Glover's Incredible Star Wars Story!

Julian Glover's Incredible Star Wars Story!
#starwars

Star Wars actor Julian Glover reveals the nonchalant way that he was cast as General Veers. Glover played Maximilian Veers aka General Veers in The Empire Strikes Back. While Veers is referenced in other Star Wars materials, The Empire Strikes Back is the only live-action film wherein the character appears on screen.

Though he may not be a household name, Glover is no stranger to roles in big franchises like Star Wars. Now 87 years old, Glover has been acting for over six decades. Before The Empire Strikes Back, he acted in Doctor Who in the late 70s. Since his Star Wars role, Glover has also been in huge films and TV series such as Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and most recently as Grand Maester Pycelle in Game of Thrones. In all of these titles, Glover has been immersed in fantasy, sci-fi, and/or action packed worlds, playing both villains and side characters in the pieces.

Though General Veers is a critical character in The Empire Strikes Back, Glover reveals that he got the role in a quite unconventional manner. In a recent interview with The Guardian, the film’s executive director, Robert Watts, was his neighbor at the time. One day, Watts and Glover saw each other across their garden fence and Watts told Glover that he and the Star Wars creative team had a Star Wars sequel in the works. To Glover’s surprise, Watts casually asked Glover if he wanted to be in it, and sure enough, Glover ended up being cast in the film. Glover describes the full story below:

"Did I ever tell you how I got that role in Star Wars? The executive director on the film was a man called Robert Watts, and he lives right next door to me, here in Barnes. We were just good friends across the garden fence, and one day he said, ‘We’re setting up a second Star Wars film.’ And I said, ‘Oh wonderful, the first one was so terrific’ – even though I did laugh, at first, about ‘the force’. And he said, ‘Do you want to be in it?’ We couldn’t do that now of course... Too much foliage.”

Glover’s backyard Star Wars casting may be shocking to those who follow the Star Wars franchise now. Back then, Watts offered Glover a role seemingly as an amicable neighborly favor to the actor. Now, a role in a Star Wars film is such a coveted position, and casting details regarding upcoming cast are kept hugely under wraps until Disney is ready to reveal them. The likes the Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, and Oscar Isaac were certainly not very likely brought onto set after a chat in J.J. Abrams’ backyard garden.

Even with his unconventional casting, Glover’s General Veers remains one of the most crucial characters in The Empire Strikes Back. It is hard to imagine this Star Wars film without him and his interactions with the infamous Darth Vader. As upcoming Star Wars projects continue development, such as Taika Waititi’s Star Wars film, more casting information will be revealed. Although unlikely, perhaps some of the Star Wars casting stories just might be as wacky as Glover’s General Veers casting offer.