24 / STAR WARS INSIDER
INTERVIEW: JEREMY BULLOCHounty hunter
Boba Fett may
have made his
public debut
on September
24 1978, when
the character marched alongside
Darth Vader in the San Anselmo
Country Fair Parade, and fi rst
appeared on screen almost two
months later—albeit in animated
form—as part of TV Star Wars
Holiday Special, but fans would
have to wait until May 1980 to
see Boba Fett on the big screen.
Before securing the part, the actor
charged with playing the armored
mercenary was, himself, already
a Star Wars fan.
“I did see the original Star Wars
movie with my two young sons,
and thought it something quite
amazing,” says Jeremy Bulloch.
Little did he know that he would
soon become part of one of the
most celebrated fi lm franchises of all
time. “I was working in the theater
in London when my half-brother,
Robert Watts—the co-producer on
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
(1980)—rang me and suggested I
get my agent onto Lucasfi lm as
there was a small part of a bounty
hunter that was being cast,” Bulloch
recalls. “I explained it would be
very diffi cult as I was working in
the theater, but he suggested that
I should, ‘Just give it a go.’”
Watts’ gentle persuasion paid
off, and Bulloch made the journey
to Elstree Studios in London. “I
went along and was dressed in the
outfi t, which fi tted perfectly—even
the boots were the right size—and I
landed the part!”
While the outfi t may have been
a perfect fi t, Bulloch’s fi rst encounter
with the iconic armor wasn’t exactly
the stuff that legendary cinematic
memories are made of. When
faced with his Fett ensemble, he
recalls with laughter that his initial
reaction was, “My goodness—how
do I get into that?” Donning the
costume required “the help of
several dressers,” but the actor
admits that when he fi nally got
suited up, he was “astonished at
how cool I looked.”B
He’s
Worth
A Lot
To Me
Jeremy Bulloch:
Inside Boba Fett
BobaFettonlyrackeduparoundsix
minutesofscreentimeinhisfirsttwo
cinematicStarWarssoutings,butthe
character remainsafanfavoritetothis
day.ForJeremyBulloch,thefirstactor
to playthebountyhunteronthebig
screen,thosefewminutes—or“fivelines
and a scream”—changedhislifeforever.WORDS: DARRENSCOTT