Eman Esfandi planned to play Ezra Bridger long before he was cast in Ahsoka. Ezra first appeared in the animated show Star Wars: Rebels, where he played the part of a young rebel Jedi apprentice desperately working to stop the Empire. Esfandi plays the live-action version in Ahsoka, as the Rebels team tries to stop Thrawn and retrieve Ezra from exile.
While Disney may not have wanted Esfandi to know what he was auditioning for, Esfandi recognized his part immediately. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, he revealed that he decided that he was going to play Ezra six months before he even auditioned to join the cast of Ahsoka. When he did receive the cryptic casting information, he immediately deduced that it was going to be Ezra. Check out his full quote below:
Technically, it was a hunch, but I treat my hunches as literally knowing things. I emailed my agent and manager six months prior to my audition and was like, “Hey, when they cast for Ezra Bridger, I’m going to play him. So use these pictures.” And then, six months later, they were like, “Hey, we think this [audition] is the [Ezra] role.” And I was like, “Oh, this is him. Cool.” The anonymous sides tracked with Disney, so did the character description, and then the character’s name was Riz. I was like, “Okay, they’re probably looking for someone who looks like Riz [Ahmed].” So we were all pretty sure that it was him. We were like, “Yeah, that’s got to be Ezra.” Yeah, they offered the role the next day, so it was the same thing. It was straight off the tape, which, as you know, is not super normal for TV series. So that was really flattering and also affirming. It just felt like, “Okay, they know what they want and they see that in me.” And they saw it in Tash, too. So it felt good.
Eman Esfandi Was The Perfect Choice For Ezra Bridger
From the first moment that Esfandi appears on screen as Ezra, he captures every detail that makes the animated version so unique. His connection with the Star Wars: Rebels crew is palpable. From the second he first encounters Natasha Liu Bordizzo’s Sabine, the two share a strong chemistry. His appearance is also fully suited for Ezra, as he looks exactly like an older Ezra would, even down to the contacts that he uses to emulate Ezra’s eyes.
Esfandi also manages to make Ezra’s skills and strength with the Force appear wholly realistic. He moves fluidly in fights and even reflects the fighting style that Ezra made so much use of in the animated show. With so many fights strewn into Ahsoka, Esfandi had numerous chances to show off his skill with lightsabers and with the Force. If there is ever an Ahsoka season 2, he will likely get even more opportunities to show off his skills.
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Esfandi also captures Ezra’s personality. While there are moments in which he can be serious, he still brings in the light-hearted energy of his animated counterpart, and he always has a smile for his teammates. Esfandi was not the most prominent actor in the cast prior to joining Ahsoka, but he knew from the start that he would be playing Ezra. He was more than ready to take up the role.
