Genevieve O'Reilly ended her time playing Mon Mothma right where she started. While the actress had played the famous Star War Senator in a cut scene in Revenge of the Sith, the character made its live-action debut in Rogue One, where she helped give the order on the suicide mission to retrieve the plans for the Death Star to a group that included Cassian Andor (Diego Luna). One of her final scenes in the Disney+ series Andor saw her at odds with the titular rebel, who brings intel on the Imperial super weapon. And, according to O'Reilly, she now has a completely new view on her character from the first time she stepped into the role a decade ago."I see it all very differently now," the actress exclusively tells Parade. "Andor has really informed so much for me, and has created Mon for me, and closed a circle for Mon for me in a way that I could only have hoped for."
? SIGN UP for Parade's Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox ? Interestingly, while that's one of O'Reilly's final scenes shown on Andor proper, it was not the last scene she filmed on the series. That was another quite literal full-circle moment in Mon's daughter's wedding. As O'Reilly tells Parade, the theme of circles is quite prevalent throughout the proceedings, from the layout of each traditional room on Chandrila to the dance floor at the reception. And it's the latter that leads to arguably Mon's most viral moment in all of Andor as, after marrying her daughter away out of pure politics and sending her childhood friend Tay (Ben Miles) off to his death, she takes to the center, spinning around with wild abandon."When the scripts arrived, the dance sequence was really an idea," O'Reilly says. "And I remember [series creator Tony Gilroy] had written, 'She spins and spins and spins like a whirling dervish.' The idea was that it was about somehow getting inside the chaos of her head." And the chaos was spilling out of her in multiple ways, as she later revealed that the immense amount of spinning had her having to excuse herself from the heat of the moment at one point to get sick off-set.Read on for our full interview with Genevieve O'Reilly, including her take on Mon Mothma's iconic speech to the Senate, and finally getting to share the screen with Cassian Andor.
Related: Mark Hamill, 73, Makes Bold Confession About His Return to ‘Star Wars’
Andor Season 2 adopted a unique structure to its timeline. Essentially, we checked in with Mon Mothma and the rest of the characters for a smidge of time every three episodes, then tooka yearlong break. How did that affect the way you approached things compared to Season 1?It's such an interesting structure. I'd never done anything like that before. Obviously, when you're filming, you always kind of drop into a moment. But with long-form television, you often take the character from one moment to the next. You're carrying the audience with you through a story. But it really felt like we were making four little films. Because you dropped in on a moment in a life, a cross-section of a life. So, [every] three episodes, there was, like you said, a year in between. And then you dive into a really specific moment in the character. So at first I thought it was going to be a real challenge. I was like, "Okay, you need to pay attention, you need to be aware." Actually, it was really liberating, because it allowed for a real specificity of character. You could take swings and jumps and moves because the negative space allowed it. I think what is so brilliant about Season 2 of Andor is [that] you learn so much because it jumps you. The character informs you where they are, what's going on and the drama of that moment.Did you ever consult with Tony Gilroy and the writers about what Mon was doing during that time between batches? It's interesting, for example, that when the hit is put out on Tay, his death happens entirely off-screen.Actually, the writers do a lot of the work for you. Because we end Season 1 where there is this proposal. And then we arrive in Season 2, and it's the wedding. So that doesn't take a great leap of imagination. Then we have Tay get taken off with Cinta in the car. And it's alluded to that she is the assassin, so you know she's going to kill him, and that Mon has been tacitly responsible for that death. The next time you see her is a year later in work mode. And what was interesting to me is actually, as humans, how we move, how we evolve, how we digest things. So that was going to come out later on, and you then see it much later, when she talks to Lutheran about the guilt she has carried her whole life. But I love that the piece doesn't dwell on that, that we see the working animal that is Mon Mothma focused on gathering votes, and then you only learn later that this has been living and breathing inside her. And so he does a lot of the work for you. He creates layers, and that allows for an actor to actually be really in the moment. "What am I doing right now? What is the specificity of right now?" It was really liberating.That's very well put. It's the irony that, despite how confining it is for these three episodes to only be a slice of an entire year, it gives you the freedom to fill in so many of the blanks.And Mon Mothma in particular, because, in any given moment, she has to hold so much and so she has to be many different things to many different people. You see her work those rooms. You see her wear the face of the Empire. You see her wear the face ofher culture. In Episodes 1, 2 and 3, when you see her in her family, within that very orthodox culture, you see her able to manage that, able to hold that. So she is a very present character, if that makes sense. She's very devoted to how she can be useful and brilliant in any given moment.You talk about Mon Mothma holding onto a lot. Let's talk about a moment where she let loose. What were your thoughts when you first saw that dance scene at the wedding?It was extraordinary. I remember receiving those scripts and, with Tony and the writers and how they work, some of the scenes will be there from the very beginning, completely written, and some of them will be just a title of a scene that they're then continually working on. And Tony will talk to me about, and we'll kind of, they take a tiny bit longer. The genesis is there, but they take a bit longer before they are fully felt. And so when the scripts arrived, the dance sequence was really an idea. And I remember he had written, "She spins and spins and spins like a whirling dervish." The idea was that it was about somehow getting inside the chaos of her head, because, of course, she has agreed to Tay being murdered at that point by Luthen. I think she's dancing and moving and to stop herself from screaming. And what was really interesting to me as an actor was to make sure we had never, ever seen this woman do anything like this before, that we could see a version of Mon Mothma that was revealing in a brand new way. And so we did lots of work with a choreographer who was also doing all that, all the wedding sequence. There was that very traditional dance, and then there was his big kind of youth culture moment. And they were also working within the other scenes of the weddings. From earlier on, you might remember that a lot of it included circles. The idea of circles within orthodoxy. And actually, a lot of those rooms were circular. So when we came to really work on those dance pieces, our extraordinary, gifted director, Ari Kleiman and Christoph, who was our DP, got inside.So all the supporting artists were working in concentric circles around me. And we had this idea that she could move in and out. And the closer she gets to the center, the more she lets go, the more it becomes something carnal, or something very dark. She's such a cerebral character. She's so dexterous with how she works cerebrally. And to just strip that away and to get her to just absolutely lose it. I had so much fun, Mike.Was there a song they played on set to get you in the dancing mood?We were using Nicholas Britell's theme. Because, of course, that piece of music had been in Season 1, in, I think, the brothel scene, and in one of Mon's parties, actually, I think. So we had that. And then they kind of rejigged it and created this huge dance hit, and we played it. And we had hundreds of those supporting artists in all those magnificent costumes by Michael Wilkinson. And it was very hot. We were filming it in, I think maybe July or something. And then, actually, I've just remembered we cut it because the strike was called. And then we came back. So you're in Ibiza, and there's this huge heat...And I can imagine coming back after such a long time off felt cathartic in and of itself. Something to dance about!Actually, that was my last day on Andor. Because we had the wedding, the way we filmed it, Episodes 1, 2 and 3 were actually the final pieces we shot. And so they were the ones where the strike broke, so that, when we came back, it was that big wedding set piece. And so my final day on Andor was eventually getting to do that huge, huge dance piece. And we spent hours and hours. And at one point, I had to go outside and throw up because there was so much turning and spinning. I remember Tony coming in, and I said, "I'm so sorry. I've got to go." [Laughs.]
Genevieve O'Reilly in 'Andor'[Laughs.] Well, let's go from dancing the dance to talking the talk. In Episode 9, you deliver Mon's biggest moment, if not the biggest moment overall, of the series in the speech to the Senate, officially declaring the Emperor an enemy. Talk to me about how you approached that speech. Did you study any particular orators in anticipation of filming it?Yes to all of that. First of all, thanks for acknowledging it. It was such an important scene to me. It was for me, it's the fulcrum of who Mon Mothma is and everything that we were striving for. All the history, the wedding, all the work that's done in the Senate beforehand, leads up to a moment where this extraordinary woman uses her voiceas a weapon. And I had looked at different female leaders. But I thought what was very interesting, and what's so extraordinary about Mom, is that she's part of a rebellion. So she's not just a politician. She's someone who's been holding these ideas tight for so long. So it has been this cage of secrets that she's been living in. And so there's a moment before she gives the speech within the piece that you'll probably remember where you see her doubt and her fear. And that was really important to me. Because in life, when we have to be courageous, when we have to be brave, what it actually takes is vulnerability. We don't know we're being courageous in a moment. We just know that we're usually frightened and we feel vulnerable and we access a different part of ourselves. And it's only after the event that we know that it's courageous. So I wanted you to be able to feel that it was going to cost something. Not only that she was setting fire to her life and that she was risking everything, but that inside her, the courage it takes to be that brave.And while Mon does lose a lot in that moment, you were able to finally gain some screentime with Cassian Andor himself! What was it like to finally work with Diego Luna, especially since you have been so largely separated from all the on-the-ground rebellion stories that he's experienced?You're right. She's such an isolated character, really, a lot of the way. And Diego and I were like, "When are we going to get together? When's this happening?" And Tony is such an architect of story. And so he was very sure that it was going to be the escape from the Senate, that these two very different worlds of rebellion collide. And so I remember that day very well. I remember both Diego and I looking at each other and saying, "Here we are! Here we are together." And what was also wonderful, and that's also in Tony's writing, is that they don't know each other. They don't really care for each other. So it feels quite human in that collision. And he has to convince her. She doesn't know who he is. And what an extraordinary gift to be able to give two actors who understand the weight of Cassian deeply, and for her to be able to just walk past him and say, "Sorry, I don't have time for you today. I've just said a few very dangerous words. I have to get out of here, dude." And it was that's also within the ideas of trust and distrust, and where and how you get around it. And there's that scene in the lift where he brings up Vel and makes an emotional connection. But then what happens afterwards is that shootout in the lobby. And you see this woman who has been so big and bold and brave with her voice be useless in a physical situation. And you see the soldier that is Cassian. I had such a beautiful juxtaposition of two characters there, and how they can be vitally different and yet both equally vital to the rebellion.And we see that juxtaposition in the finale. Mon and the rebellion leaders are brought the information about the Death Star, which was provided by Luthen prior to his death. In the moment, Mon is skeptical of the intel, given Luthen's nature of operating in the shadows. What was your take on the finale, especially given that the next time we see her is giving the orders to get the Death Star plans in Rogue One?Yes, and she sends Cassian to his death. Really, I understand that a lot more now, after playing Mon. I thought that what was very helpful for me, because she's not in that last three episodes very much. Because, of course, that's Luthen and Kleya's story, and Tony does that so well. It's like a big orchestra where you have different instruments rise at different times. But I thought what was great in that final episode, when you do see Mon on Yavin, you see the messiness of rebellion. You see her try to wrangle with Saw. I think she says to Bail at one point, "That makes the Senate look easy, doesn't it?" Because there's no structure, there's no history. So it's still wildly trying to be effective to make something work. And then Cassian comes in, and she has such a complicated history with him, because, of course, it's Luthen and it's Cassian. He saved her. He took her from that place. So I felt hers was much more nuanced. I think Bail was quite crystal-clear about him being a rule-breaker. I think with Mon, there was much more nuance in regard to the value of him and the value of Luthen. And I don't know where she goes. She's there in Rogue One, and I see it all very differently now. Andor has really informed so much for me, and has created Mon for me, and closed a circle for Mon for me in a way that I could only have hoped for.
Related: Ewan McGregor Says He's 'So Much Closer' to the 'Star Wars' Franchise Now More Than Ever (Exclusive)
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( 'Andor' Star Genevieve O'Reilly Goes Behind the Scenes of Her Viral Dance Scene: 'I Had to Go Throw Up' (Exclusive) )
Also on site :
- Why Steve Sarkisian and oddsmakers are exactly right about the new era of the SEC
- Boy who lost nine siblings in Israeli attack arrives in Italy for treatment
- New federal Covid-19 vaccine policies are already keeping some people from getting shots