A good movie or TV show isn’t just great because of its writing or visuals; it needs to be anchored down by the performances of its actors, and that’s a department where The Mandalorian shines bright. Game of Thrones star Pedro Pascal plays the lead role as the titular bounty hunter, and much of the show’s strength lies in his superb ability to play the part of the lone-warrior.
But, he can’t single-handedly take all the credit of course, and much of what makes The Mandalorian so fun is the various supporting characters of various species and races. These characters are brought to life on screen through the skills of their actors, and this list looks at 10 other movies and TV shows that they’ve graced with their wonderful acting.
Bill Burr (Migs Mayfeld) – The King of Staten Island (2020)
Comedian Bill Burr used to mock the Star Wars franchise and has openly expressed his dislike for it, and that’s one of the biggest reasons creator Jon Favreau brought him on board for The Mandalorian in the first place.
Although he was quickly discarded after appearing in a single episode in the first season where he backstabbed Mando, his latest appearance in season two gave him a much healthier role and redeemed his character greatly. Mostly known for his exploits as a famous comedian, he has done films in the past as well such as the comedy-dramas The King of StatenIsland and Date Night.
Ming-Na Wen (Fennec Shand) – Agents of SHIELD (2013)
Fennec Shand and the Mandalorian clashed first in chapter five of the first season, and the skirmish certainly didn’t end well for her, as she was left to die in a desert with a hole in her stomach. Fast forward to season two, and she has now formed an unlikely alliance with Mando and Boba Fett to rescue Grogu.
This role has made actress Ming-Na Wen the first Asian actress who has played a major Star Wars villain, and, before this, she appeared in Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD series as agent Melinda May.
Katee Sackhoff (Bo-Katan Kryze) – Battlestar Galactica (2004)
The Clone Wars animated series might not be nearly as popular as the live-action films, but it is deeply loved by devout fans with a massive following of its own. It is not every day that the same actress who voices the character in the animated show also successfully reprises her role for a live-action adaptation, but that is exactly what happened in this case.
Actress Katee Sackhoff, known for her roles in the sci-fi series Battlestar Galactica and Riddick, has truly made the character of Mandalorian Bo-Katan her own.
Timothy Olyphant (Cobb Vanth) – Deadwood (2004)
It isn’t known yet whether Cobb Vanth will return for future appearances or not, but what little screen time he did have was of great significance. Through him, Boba Fett’s legendarily iconic armor was introduced into The Mandalorian, and, consequently, Boba Fett himself.
Keen-eyed fans may recognize Timothy Olyphant from his early days in The Office, and the actor’s big breakthrough role came via HBO’s western-drama Deadwood. Besides this, he has made appearances in various other TV shows such as The Good Place and Fargo.
Rosario Dawson (Ahsoka Tano) – Zombieland: Double Tap (2019)
Ahsoka Tano’s live-action debut could be justifiably labeled what the fans were hyped up for the most in the second season, as she is one of the most beloved figures in the Star Wars universe.
With 113 acting credits to her name, Rosario Dawson is undeniably one of the most prolific actors among the cast of the show. Besides her appearance in movies like Zombieland: Double Tap and Sin City, she has done a plethora of voice acting in roles such as Wonder Woman in the DCAU and Batgirl in The Lego Batman Movie.
Carl Weathers (Greef Karga) – Rocky (1976)
Actor Carl Weathers is arguably past his prime now in a manner of speaking, but, once upon a time, he was part of two major blockbuster franchises. He will be forever remembered for his role in the Sylvester Stallone-led Rocky films as Rocky Balboa’s arch-rival Apollo Creed. and the franchise continues to this day under his very name as Creed.
He also appeared in the first Predator film as George Dillon alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger. Greef Karga is a regular in the show who appears to be Mando’s ally on the surface, but recent events have shown it to be otherwise.
Gina Carano (Cara Dune) – Deadpool (2016)
A great number of retired (0r otherwise) professional fighters and wrestlers have emerged as successful actors in Hollywood, John Cena and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to name a few. Ex-MMA fighter Gina Carano is an example of such a case, having made her acting debut through the Steven Soderbergh action thriller Haywire.
This was followed by an appearance in Furious 6, after which came the role for which she is most famous, that being the supervillain Angel Dust in the 2016 blockbuster Deadpool.
Temuera Morrison (Boba Fett) – Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002)
Ahsoka Tano was a character everyone was expecting to make an appearance one way or another in the second season of The Mandalorian, but what absolutely no one saw coming was the return of Boba Fett. What was even more unexpected was the actor playing the role, Temuera Morrison, who first appeared in the second prequel movie Attack of the Clones as Jango Fett.
This is canonically accurate, of course, as Boba was a complete clone of Jango Fett. Boba’s appearance holds a lot of importance for the Star Wars universe as a whole, as he was thought to be dead until now.
Giancarlo Esposito (Moff Gideon) – Breaking Bad (2008)
Giancarlo Esposito has made quite a name for himself in recent years playing, ambitious, gritty villains in TV shows. His most iconic character will always be Gus Fring from Breaking Bad, and his latest roles include playing even more villainous roles such as Stan Edgar in Amazon’s The Boys and Gideon in The Mandalorian.
Breaking Bad in itself is frequently celebrated as one of the greatest TV shows ever, and Giancarlo Esposito’s character Gus Fring played no small part in its success. He isn’t considered one of the top TV villains of the decade for no reason.
Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian) – Game Of Thrones (2011)
After having acted in several small parts for over 15 years, actor Pedro Pascal’s breakthrough role came in the form of playing Oberyn Martell in one of the most famous TV shows of all time, Game of Thrones.
It gave his career as good as a boost that any actor can hope for, and, since then, he has starred in Netflix’s Narcos, his very own Star Wars series, and as the lead antagonist in Wonder Woman 1984. Although virtually all of his screentime in The Mandalorian is spent under the iconic helmet and armor, it simply wouldn’t be the same without him in the role.
