Andor star Denise Gough, who plays Imperial officer Dedra Meero, reveals how Breaking Bad‘s Gus Fring inspired her villain in the upcoming Star Wars show. Premiering September 21 on Disney+, Andor is a prequel to Rogue One that follows the titular thief-turned-spy five years before the events of the beloved Star Wars spinoff film during the formative years of the Rebel Alliance. Tony Gilroy, who famously rescued Rogue One with five weeks worth of reshoots, created Andor and also serves as showrunner.
Diego Luna returns to lead the Andor cast alongside Genevieve O’Reilly and Forest Whitaker who also reprise their Rogue One roles. Newcomers to the Star Wars universe include Stellan Skarsgård, Adria Arjona, Kyle Soller, and Fiona Shaw. Since Andor will take viewers back in time to when Cassian’s homeworld was destroyed by the Empire, which begins his journey to joining the Rebellion, naturally some new Imperial threats will be introduced. One of them will be Dedra Meero, a high-ranking Imperial officer who is not particularly fond of Andor. For this villain, it appears the actor behind the character took some significant inspiration from one of the greatest television dramas of all time.
During a recent interview with The Direct, Gough reveals how Dedra Meero was inspired heavily by Gus Fring, who was memorably portrayed by Giancarlo Esposito on both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. The Andor star was particularly influenced by Gus’ “meticulous” nature, which she tried to incorporate into her Imperial officer. Read Gough’s response below:
Gus from Breaking Bad is my ultimate villain character. In his meticulous… You know when he kills somebody, and he takes off his suit really perfectly, and he folds everything, and then he brutally murders someone and then comes back and showers? So yeah, him, Gustavo Fring from Breaking Bad.
For Dedra Meero, Gough also took inspiration from Jennifer Connelly’s character from Snowpiecer, Melanie Cavill, whose “steely elegance” contributed to the “look and style” of her Star Wars villain. While audiences have yet to meet the Imperial officer on Andor, she surely sounds like an intriguing amalgam of some recent television antagonists, especially Gus Fring, who could be considered one of the greatest villains in television history due to his signature calm demeanor and ability to commit horrific acts of violence. It’s safe to say Dedra Meero won’t be committing similar violence on screen, but expectations are certainly high whenever Star Wars introduces a new villain, given the franchise is filled with some of the most iconic of all-time, such as Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine.
Interestingly enough, Esposito is already part of the Star Wars universe, having portrayed the villain Moff Gideon in The Mandalorian. Since the two shows take place roughly 14 years apart, it would be interesting to see Meero meet Gideon and have Gough’s character come face-to-face with the actor who her inspired her performance. Both characters hold high-ranking positions with the Galactic Empire, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility they cross paths at some point in Andor, which is already confirmed for a season 2.
