Ahmed Best Delves Deep Into Kelleran Beq and His Star Wars Return

Ahmed Best is best known among Star Wars fans as the man who played Jar Jar Binks in the prequel trilogy. He recently made his grand live-action return to a galaxy far, far away in The Mandalorian as Jedi Master Kelleran Beq, a surprise reveal that no one saw coming and was widely praised. He has now opened up about his experience in an interview with StarWars.com.



Best returned a few times to voice Jar Jar in The Clone Wars animated series, but after all the hate and abuse he received about the character over the years, he was understandably nervous to return to the galaxy. Thankfully, Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni convinced him it was for the best (no pun intended).

The actor also had a message for Star Wars fans in a social media post, thanking everyone for the kind words and support over his return in The Mandalorian. Watch it below:



https://twitter.com/starwars/status/1640428420025729044



While some fans may recognize Kelleran Beq from his role hosting the Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge game show, Best reveals that he came up with the name himself. The interview reveals that the surname was actually taken from his own cameo in Attack of the Clones, where he pops up as Achk-Med Beq in the Coruscant night club.

Best put a great deal of thought into the character, shedding some light on how Beq experiences the Force. It provides a lot of insight that should inform how we see him when rewatching the episode.

The interview also notes that Best developed his own fighting style for Beq, having studied martial arts himself for 40 years. It was heavily inspired by Bruce Lee and 'the style of the unknown', which allows Beq to adapt to any situation; an important quality for a Jedi known as 'The Sabered Hand'.

Kelleran Beq was introduced in Jedi Temple Challenge as a Jedi with the responsibility of supporting the Padawans' training and guiding them through their trials. Best delved into this idea more in the interview:

The interview took place before the actual episode aired, so Ahmed Best didn't know at the time how the character would be received. As mentioned up top, he was understandably nervous about his reception:

Best signed off the interview by discussing Jar Jar and his role in impacting modern cinema, making a lot of good points about how technologically groundbreaking the character was at the time:

Hopefully, we'll get to see Ahmed Best and Kelleran Beq again in the future.



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