STAR WARS INSIDER / 27INTERVIEW: JEREMY BULLOCHphone rang,” Bulloch recalls. “My
wife answered it and a voice said,
‘Hi, it’s Rick McCallum here. Can I
speak to Jeremy?’ We thought it was
a joke, as not many people had my
telephone number.” Yes, that would
be the same Rick McCallum who
produced the prequel trilogy, the
actor confi rms. “He asked if I would
be interested in a small part in Star
Wars: Revenge of the Sith (2005). I
was quite astonished and of course
said, ‘Yes.’ It was strange going back
as a different character, but it was
nice to see some old faces from the
original fi lms.”
Playing Captain Colton wasn’t
the fi rst time he’d appeared in Star
Wars as someone other than Boba
Fett though. “Because I was under a
mask it took people quite a while to
realize that I also played Lt. Sheckil
in The Empire Strikes Back, and yes,
I do get asked to sign the photo of
me and Carrie Fisher,” the actor
fondly reveals.
Although Bulloch didn’t keep
any physical mementos from his
time on the various Star Wars sets,
he retained many fond memories,
which in 2004 made their way into
his book, Flying Solo: Tales of a
Bounty Hunter. The book sold out
and quickly became a collectors’
item, and although the actor has
blogged extensively on his website
since the publication’s release, to
this day, fans are still clamoringThe Public Await
Despite the huge global appeal of
Star Wars—and the world of fandom
that we know and love today—it
was to be quite some time before
Bulloch returned to the franchise
after his initial tenure as the bounty
hunter ended. “After fi lming, my
life went back to normal; appearing
in television, fi lms, and theater
productions,” the actor says. “In
the 1980s I was invited to two
conventions—one in Florida and
the other in Australia. After that,
Star Wars was not really mentioned
again until the re-release of the Star
Wars trilogy.”
Things took a different turn
when a familiar, slightly foreboding,
fi gure from the past got in touch—
and as we know, when Darth
Vader calls, Boba Fett doesn’t say
no. “Dave Prowse gave me a call
and asked if I would like to go to
Pasadena for a convention,” Bulloch
explains. “I replied that I was in the
theater so it probably wouldn’t be
possible. I asked the producer, and
surprisingly he was prepared to let
me have the weekend off and put
my understudy on stage, as long as
I was back in time for the Monday
night performance.”
With his time off arranged,
Bulloch packed his bag and headed
off for the bright lights of Los
Angeles, but nothing could have
prepared him for what was in store.
“When we arrived in Pasadena there
were lines of people around the
block to see the Star Wars actors!”
he exclaims, even now with a
modicum of disbelief. For the actor,
it was the beginning of a whole
new adventure in the galaxy far,
far away. “It all took off from there,
and the interest hasn’t really ever
stopped,” he smiles. “I’ve traveled
to many countries—too many to
mention—and met some wonderful
people. Star Wars fans are the same
the world over.”Back In Action
This was by no means the end of his
Star Wars journey however, thanks
to an unexpected phone call that
arrived in a foreign land. “I was on
holiday in Italy when my mobileI was thrilled
to be called
back for
Return of the
Jedi, but not
so thrilled to
end up in the
Sarlacc Pit.
01 Bulloch also
played Imperial
officer Lt.
Sheckil in
The Empire
Strikes Back.
02 Boba Fett’s
cinematic debut.
03 Revenge of the
Sith’s Captain
Colton (Jeremy
Bulloch, second
from left).