Alden Ehrenreich on the Effect Playing Young Han Solo Had on His Career

Alden Ehrenreich is back with a vengeance this year, starring in three feature films, including the near-billion-dollar hit Oppenheimer. The actor recently spoke candidly with Vanity Fair (hat tip to TheWrap) about his busy year and his struggle to land certain roles following his turn as young Han Solo in the 2018 Star Wars film.



With over five years in between now and the release of the film, Ehrenreich feels more comfortable discussing how that process affected his early years in Hollywood, as well as the changes from what Phil Lord and Chris Miller originally intended to do, and what the film ultimately became. He said:

After Solo, Ehrenreich played one of the main characters on the short-lived series Brave New World before the COVID-19 pandemic put his plans, like those of countless others, on pause. Even once the film and television industries started back up as the pandemic receded, the actor still had some trouble getting cast in new projects:

Ehrenreich may have encountered some setbacks over the past several years, but he's had nothing but success in 2023. Netflix acquired Fair Play at Sundance in a whopping $20M deal, and once it premiered on the platform in October, it played fairly well. He was also part of the star-studded ensemble of Elizabeth Banks' Cocaine Bear, which earned mostly positive reviews though didn't blow up the box office like they probably hoped. He also wrote, directed, and starred in the short film Shadow Brother Sunday.



Still, it's Ehrenreich's role in Oppenheimer that really stole the show for him this year:

Now that the audience and the industry have seen him in a substantial role outside the cockpit of the Millenium Falcon, perhaps he'll have the chance to pursue more of those roles he really wants. Next up, he has a key role in the upcoming Marvel Studios series Ironheart, which still has no release date on Disney Plus.



Will he eventually return as Han Solo to a galaxy far, far away for Donald Glover's Lando film? Only time will tell. Check out the full interview with Alden Ehrenreich on Vanity Fair.



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