The Mandalorian’s Katee Sackhoff Had Some Confusing Moments On Set, And They Involved Stormtroopers

Playing a character in the Star Wars universe honestly has to be one of the highest forms of playing make believe. Not only are you likely playing a unique role and sporting an outrageous (but incredibly cool) costume, but you’re also surrounded by incredible set pieces and impressive practical effects, like the adorable Baby Yoda. Katee Sackhoff, who recently made her live-action debut as Bo-Katan Kryze on The Mandalorian, is experiencing this very thing. While it seems as though she’s enjoying herself, she did admit that she had a few confusing run-ins that involved stormtroopers.

In a Star Wars project, there’s a very strong chance that there are going to be stormtroopers somewhere in the mix, meaning actors will get to mix it up with the Empire’s aim-challenged foot soldiers. However, the productions don’t always used actually people in costumes and at times, will opt to use dummies. This was also the case on The Mandalorian, and Katee Sackhoff recently explained that she may or may not have mistaken some for stunt performers, all while having some fun with co-star Mercedes Varnado (Sasha Banks):

Yeah. There are definitely moments when they've brought in dummy stormtroopers instead of the stunt guys and you think it's a real person for at least an hour and you're like, ‘Oh, snap. That's a dummy. Got it.’ It's funny. I think that Mercedes and I got really good at doing chest bumps. Yeah, we had some fun times. We had some fun times with armor.

You can’t really blame Katee Sackhoff for getting a bit turned around when it comes to stormtroopers, especially considering that she’s sometimes wearing a helmet. As Sackhoff further explained to Collider, wearing the cool head gear does take a bit of getting used to:

It's definitely got its own set of challenges but the vision is actually quite good in the helmet. You just can't look down and so that's the problem is that anyone laying on the ground, anything at your feet you don't see because you have to physically look down and that would look really weird if Mandalorians were walking looking down all the time.

Katee Sackhoff may have had some problems with stormtroopers and her helmet, but her ultimate performance proves that she was more than able to overcome any issues. She thoroughly enjoyed the experience of bringing her formerly animated character to life, even helping to translate her look for the live-action realm. Fans have also been showing her plenty of love, and she’s been very thankful for it.

At this point, it’s hard to say when we might see Katee Sackhoff’s Bo-Katan return to The Mandalorian, but it’s abundantly clear that there’s still more to do with the character. And this time around, Sackhoff shouldn’t have too many problems with stormtroopers.

New episodes of The Mandalorian premiere Fridays on Disney+.

Erik Swann
Senior Content Producer

Erik Swann is a Senior Content Producer at CinemaBlend. He began working with the publication in 2020 when he was hired as Weekend Editor. Today, he continues to write, edit and handle social media responsibilities over the weekend. On weekdays, he also writes TV and movie-related news and helps out with editing and social media as needed. He graduated from the University of Maryland, where he received a degree in Broadcast Journalism. After shifting into multi-platform journalism, he started working as a freelance writer and editor before joining CB. Covers superheroes, sci-fi, comedy, and almost anything else in film and TV. He eats more pizza than the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.