Jude Law reacts to big “Star Wars: Skeleton Crew” character reveal

He is a man who goes by many names. But one of them does not appear to be Jedi, even if that is who he pretended to be at the end of last week’s two-episode premiere of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew on Disney+.

We finally got some more intel on Jude Law’s mysterious Skeleton Crew character during episode 3 of the kidventure series. Whether he was simply pretending to be a Jedi, actually was a Jedi at one time, or is merely a Force-sensitive scoundrel remains unclear, but we did learn that the character now chaperoning the kids on their journey back to At Attin goes by many names — with Jod Na Nawood, Captain Silvo, and Crimson Jack being three of them.

It seems Law’s Jod was the helmeted pirate captain we saw in the series’ very first scene, and was imprisoned by his crew — now led by a fury ferocious alien named Brutus. And now, thanks to the kids he shared a cell with, he has a ship and a chance to reach a planet full of riches that was assumed to be merely a legend. But how did he float that key in the air? What’s his relationship to the Force? And why does Jod hate droids so much? We talked to Law to get the lowdown on his enigmatic alter-ego.

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ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: So what has it been like for you… I don’t want to say lying about your character for the past two years, but having to at least hide his true identity as folks like me have been asking you about him and thinking he might be a Jedi.

JUDE LAW: Well, it kind of comes with the territory. I knew I was going to have to be cagey anyway. And what I loved about him was, he's full of contradictions. You don't ever quite know who he is or what he's capable of because he's sort of got all these facets and faces and names, and I mean if I would've used one word, I would say he's a survivor, right? And quick-witted and nimble. But is he a threat? You'll have to wait and see.

Now that we’ve learned your character’s true identity as Jod Na Nawood, or Captain Silvo, or Crimson Jack, or whatever we want to call him, what can you say in terms of his background as a Force-user?

That doesn't really come out until right near the end when you really get an insight into his backstory and why he may be a Force user and is Force-sensitive. And it was a detail that was always there, but [creators Jon Watts and Christopher Ford) and I really went back and made sure we were all on the same page as to where he was born and what happened.

And it's kind of interesting, but a very revealing page in his past, I would say is that he's not someone who's had a childhood. He's someone who's kind of had his childhood snatched away from him, and it's why he looks at the kids sort of with disdain. They're just small adults. Why don't they understand they've got to get on and survive? And why are they so inexperienced? He has no real concept of innocence.

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Now knowing his identity as this former pirate captain, I look back to the very first scene of the show and wonder: The fact that he was this pirate captain that kept looking for that big score, and kept promising a big score for the crew, and was finally turned on by his crew because of it — what does that say about him?

I think it says he's a dreamer. He's got big ambitions. Maybe not the best of team players because he thinks slightly differently to everyone else.

What's it like playing some of the lighter, funnier moments, like you gobbling up that food right in front of all the kids and seemingly not thinking twice about it?

Those are just fun details when you have a real bedrock of a character. He was so well realized and written that I can come in then and lean on that and embellish it with just physicality and ideas. And going back to what I said before about him not really understanding what it is to be parental or a caregiver, to him it's just like, “Look, there's food. I eat it. I'm not going to make you food even though you're children and you're hungry.”

And so we had that idea and I thought, “Well, why don't I just come in and I just eat everything and then they're all sitting there because they're used to being given food by their parents?” So little ideas like that just grow organically out of good characters that you are handed by the writers.

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I mean, he's clearly a scoundrel of sorts. I’m getting some definite Han Solo vibes off this guy. Han was a guy who was just looking to cover his butt and not get involved in anything of any significance. Do you see Han as the closest parallel at this point?

I can't tell you what a compliment I take that as, just because this is a 51-year-old man who grew up with Han Solo as his idol. There was a definite spirit to Han that I loved in those first three [movies]. He was always the kind of cynic, but he was kind of laughing at the world, and yet had ultimately this good heart and this ability to be heroic and step in at the right time.

I don't know that Jod’s all those things, but I just love the way Harrison Ford always added that kind of smirk to this universe. Han didn't take the world too seriously. And I really wanted to bring a little bit of that into Jod. But Jod’s complicated, so there are other sides too.

I would say this: It was such a great concept to me that the kids are the protagonists. So you're seeing the world through their eyes — one of innocence or fear. It was important that Jod have not just sort of heroics, but had humor, had a certain courageousness, but was also then sort of dark. He had to carry a lot to sort of draw on the kids’ wide-eyed wonder.

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What’s his motivation in all of this? Is he after money, revenge on his former crew, or something else?

Initially, it was simply to get out of jail. Right then, it was get off that planet, and if you've got a spaceship, you can go anywhere if it's fueled and you know how to use it. So for him, it's always a sort of one step at a time. And, of course, there is always this hint of these credits and this mysterious place that no one really thinks is real where they're saying they come from. So just sniffing that out and really finding out whether that's a plausible line is really what's on his mind at the moment.

Yeah, I think about that moment in episode 3 right near the end where you're like, “We can be partners. And KB says, “No, you work for us. Deal?” And you say “Deal.” I'm guessing that that's not a deal that you necessarily at that point in the story feel like you need to hold to.

I mean, these are kids! He had his fingers crossed behind his back, so it doesn't count. [Laughs]

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What's up with Jod and droids? Clearly, he has a thing where he doesn't like droids.

I am so pleased you picked up on that. There was a lot more of that. I kept sprinkling it in, and they all kept going, “What are you doing?” I don’t know, I just had this idea that something happened in the past and he just does not trust them. And I just like that I was looking also for a little edge. I was looking for a kind of little, I wouldn't say a catchphrase, but I was just looking for something that I thought I could play throughout.

And what's funny about this is, of course, is I love droids. So when I was on the set I was like, “Wow!” There's a scene when I have to go in and get SM-33. And there were some really old droids in there that were brought in from the storage, and one of them was a guy in a costume like C-3PO. And, for me, it was insane. It was like being in a wonderful garage of my childhood.

So I just thought: Oh, this is interesting. Maybe he just has a slight disdain and a distrust. And I always love that little detail in those past Star Wars — people have different relationships with droids. Some of them treat them kind of like servants, some of them are very respectful, and some of them make friends. And I just thought: Oh well, maybe he's had a bad moment and just doesn't like them.

Star Wars fans are a passionate, vocal bunch that don’t seem to agree on anything, so how do you handle that, or do you just block out all the noise?

I'll be curious to hear. Of course, I would love their approval. I would love to know that we've done right by them. I mean, they are loyal. The one thing I would say that is fascinating about Star Wars is you can apply all kinds of aesthetics and moods, concepts, and it can hold it. It's very sturdy and it seems to be able to hold an awful lot. And perhaps some of those factions of those fans favor one over another, and some really don't like others. But nonetheless, it's broad enough to hold them all. And I would also say this has come from people that love this universe and have nothing but a passion, and we took it very seriously, and I just hope they embrace it.

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