Donald Glover on landing his own Star Wars movie

Feb 8, 2018

Donald Glover, the artist formerly known as Childish Gambino, has created quite a buzz for his high-profile role in the upcoming film Solo: A Star Wars Story.

Glover’s breadth of creativity can be summed up in many ways, in one word, we’ll call it enviable—the man acts, sings, directs, produces, writes—and, oh yea, and he’s easy on the eyes.

For his latest win, taking part in one of the nation’s most beloved big-screen franchises, Glover stars as Lando Calrissian—a role made legendary by actor Billy Dee Williams.

— After LA teen is shot by sherriff’s deputies his family demands answers–

It’s a feat some might describe as having been in the making for 34-year-old Donald Glover since he was a little boy.

As he details in an intimate interview with Esquire magazine, Glover’s father fully supported his son’s Star Wars fascination, allowing him to miss school to catch the prequels and purchasing the Lando figurine—which he ended up sleeping with nightly.

Needless to say, when the opportunity to play the otherworldly card shark on the big screen presented itself to the Georgia native, it was one he couldn’t resist. In what could be described as a full-circle moment, he noted bringing his father to the Canary Island set as a highlight of his latest achievement.

In an exclusive interview with Entertainment Weekly, Donald Glover dished on meeting Billy Dee Williams, embracing his character’s unique style and making this iteration of Lando one all his own:

Glover on making Lando’s character his own:
It was really, really relaxed. He was great. I mean, I had a lot of questions. And then he just told me, just be charming. [Laughs] And so, I was like, “Okay!” I just kind of did that. He said, “Just be interested in things.” Lando has, I wouldn’t say eccentric, but eclectic tastes. So I tried to work that into the role as much as possible.

Glover on the costumes:
Lando’s not really the best dressed person on that set. And I don’t say that lightly. There’s just a lot of cool costumes and a lot of cool clothing. Lando’s clothing, that’s what I like. I was secretly super happy. His clothing is another spice of life. He takes pride in the clothing. It makes things easier. When people see you and you’re debonair, they tend to want to give you stuff easier. [Laughs]

–SNL’s Leslie Jones trashes Atlanta restaurant over poor service on Twitter–

Glover on what he thinks he brought to the role:
I always like seeing younger characters when they are in younger times because it tells a lot about how they got to where they are. Like, when I was a teenager I felt like I knew a lot, but I didn’t. By the time we meet him in Empire Strikes Back, he owns the city already. [Laughs] So, I wanted to show the person he was before that was even possible. Like, I don’t even know if he thought that was possible at the time.

Going back to Atlanta

Grammy and Emmy-winning actor Donald Glover is also preparing for the return of his hit series, Atlanta March 1 on FX.

The trailer debuted during the Golden Globes and fans are hyped. It doesn’t contain any dialogue, but instead shows ‘live’ scenes of the characters in different settings.

The camera pans from one scene to the next, showing Earnest “Earn” Marks at a restaurant with PaperBoy and Vanessa. The next scene he is sitting inside a club with PaperBoy and Darius.

–Tamron Hall claps back at writer who questions her for being unapologetically black–

Finally, we see Earn relaxing on the hood of a car with PaperBoy while Darius mows the lawn. Visually, the colors, cast and haunting melodies of Sonder’s “Too Fast,” make it the perfect tease of one of our favorite shows.