Summary

  • Ray Stevenson's passing before the airing of Ahsoka deeply affected both the audience and Hollywood, leading to heartfelt tributes from his co-stars.
  • Stevenson was adored by the rest of the cast, who expressed warmth and gratitude for the opportunity to work with him.
  • Diana Lee Inosanto, who played a villain alongside Stevenson, described him as an extraordinary mentor and an incredible talent who was excited for fans to experience his character.

The recent passing of legendary actor and Ahsoka star Ray Stevenson before the show began airing sent ripples through the newfound audience as well as Hollywood in general. As expected for someone so well-loved in the industry, it didn't take long for his co-stars to begin sharing their own tributes to their friend. Now, one of the series' prominent actors has some new details to share about her time on set with him.

Not only has he been widely considered one of the best parts of the series so far, but the unanimous opinion of him among the rest of the cast tended to radiate nothing but warmth and gratitude for being able to share a production with him. The first episode of Ahsoka featured a heartfelt dedication to Stevenson. As nice as that was by itself, it was just the tip of the massive amounts of love being shared by those who knew him and worked with him in his final months. After waves of emotional tributes from those involved, one co-star has recently shared not just her love for the late actor, but also a bit of how Stevenson himself was on set.

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Entertainment Weekly's Star Wars-focused podcast Dagobah Dispatch (via Star Wars News Net) recently released an episode featuring an interview with Diana Lee Inosanto, who plays Ahsoka's current main antagonist Morgan Elsbeth. While the interview was conducted prior to the start of the SAG-AFTRA strike in Hollywood, it was still rather timely regarding how far the series had gotten by the time it was revealed on the podcast. Inosanto spoke about a number of topics, not the least of which being Stevenson himself. She was as devastated as anyone when she learned of his untimely death.

Star Wars Ahsoka Ray Stevenson Baylan Skoll

"It was real heartbreaking for me to hear about Ray's passing," she explained. "We spent a lot of months together. We were like a family. Ivanna [Sakhno] was one of the first people I spoke with. We were both just in tears… I looked at Ray as a mentor. I'm sure Ivanna can tell you the same thing. He was just such an extraordinary human being, and so gracious…" Inosanto and Sakhno both worked closely with Stevenson given their roles as villains on Ahsoka, with Sakhno playing Shin Hati, the apprentice to Stevenson's character, and both of them contracted to Morgan Elsbeth. But despite that rather dark starting place, it turns out Stevenson was actually pretty enthused about his role as former Jedi-turned-mercenary Baylan Skoll.

"One thing I can definitely say is Ray was so excited for this character to be released into the world," Inosanto went on. "I know he just felt so happy that the fans were going to experience this particular side and universe of Star Wars. He's an incredible talent. He's going to be missed. I know everyone in the cast, and the crew, and all the producers just loved Ray. The fans are just going to love his character." It looks like the fans agree with her, as Stevenson's performance as Baylan remains one of the standouts among all the endearing characters on Ahsoka. Even before the show premiered, those involved clearly knew they had something special with him.

"I used to call him poetry in motion on the sets," Inosanto finally added. "He was walking poetry." No argument from the fans, that's for sure. While it will be sad knowing Stevenson won't appear in future seasons, just having these precious few episodes to enjoy his impeccable performance is enough to keep that bittersweet feeling a little more on the sugary side. Ahsoka may be about Rosario Dawson's titular former Jedi searching for an old friend, but there's one real life friend that caused far more of an impact. RIP to Stevenson.

Ahsoka releases new episodes Tuesdays on Disney+.

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Source: Dagobah Dispatch (via Star Wars News Net)