'The Acolyte' Stars Amandla Stenberg & Manny Jacinto Enter the Star Wars Universe

By Bianca Gracie | July 9, 2024

This feature is in our Summer '24 "Music" Issue. Click here to subscribe.

Amandla Stenberg. PHOTO BY RAMONA ROSALES

The sci-fi galaxy continues to expand with The Acolyte, the latest series in the Star Wars franchise. The series (which began streaming on Disney+ in June) follows a Jedi Master’s investigation into a series of crimes that leads him to reunite with a former Padawan learner and dangerous warrior. Here, the series' stars Amandla Stenberg and Manny Jacinto discuss their connection with their respective characters, the series' plot dynamic and more with EDITION.

Amandla, after playing Mae and Osha, how freeing was it to unleash your warrior spirit?

AS: It was so much fun. The basis for this character for me was that she moved from a place of emotionality. She was really liberated with her feelings and allowed them to express themselves physically. That was just liberating for me as a person because I don’t always navigate that way. It’s hard to express anger or express how you feel about things in the unhinged but truthful way that she does. I love that, and I love being able to learn stunt choreography and learn how to use knives. I love screaming. It felt so good.

Manny, how important is it for you to showcase your versatility with your character, Qimir?

MJ: From the jump, it was the most important thing. I love to explore different characters and facets of my personality. I mean, that’s what it’s all about. On a day-to-day basis, it’s very much a surface-level type of action or conversation. But with the characters, I can yell, I can scream, I can make jokes, I can be somebody completely different. I’m very cognizant of the fact that in our industry, when something’s successful, they kind of take it and run with it. And it’s a bit harder to diversify your portfolio in terms of your résumé and the characters that you take on. I just like doing weird things. The weirder, the better.

I think the Star Wars franchise as a whole is the best place to get weird. What was it like for you both to tap into quirky sci-fi elements throughout the series?

AS: That stuff is probably the most fun. All the creature stuff. I have a droid on the show named Pip. One of the most interesting dynamics with another human being I've maybe ever had is with the puppeteer who puppeted Pip. Because Pip’s on my body all the time and I have a very close relationship to him. He's always responding to what I say and my movements. Meanwhile, Jack, who's our incredible puppeteer is always just 10 feet away, or 20 feet away in a corner somewhere, watching my every move and responding to me through this little robot. And we became very close. But it was like this parasocial relationship through a robot on my body.

MJ: Yeah, we have to give it up to the puppeteers on this show. Because a lot of it could just be controlled electronically by somebody remote. Sometimes we'd be on set in the apothecary and there's this plant that was moving. It's just a decoration, but it turns out there's actually somebody under the table moving the prop. And it's just you know, another team member on the puppeteering team. It just got really weird really fast. (laughs)

AS: Just so many strange things that were awe-inspiring to witness.

Mae (Amandla Stenberg) and Jedi Master Indara (Carrie-Anne Moss) in Lucasfilm’s The Acolyte, exclusively on Disney PHOTO BY CHRISTIAN BLACK/COURTESY OF DISNEY ©2024 LUCASFILM LTD. & TM. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

A big theme throughout the Star Wars franchise is “good versus evil.” How do you think both of your characters play into that dynamic?

AS: I feel like that’s a central question of Star Wars. And that’s why I thought it was so brilliant that [series creator Leslye Headland] decided to make a series about twins, where that question could be explored, but through two different characters. To me, it really is about the balance of dark and light. And it was really interesting to think about a physical manifestation—what it would look like for dark and light to contend with themselves and be in this constant flux. And maybe reaching a place of homeostasis like these two young women go upon their journey.

MJ: With Qimir, I very much approached him from the aspect of which side can he use to his advantage. It was very much coming from a point of just trying to survive. He’s very much a selfish character and someone who isn’t tied to any side. He’s someone who’s malleable and almost doesn’t believe in the solid black or solid light of things. It’s just him kind of toeing the line of how can we survive.

Nice, I like that answer. Watching the first few episodes, there's this question of identity and trying to find yourself separate from the family that raised you or the environment that you're in. Amandla, as you play twins, can you relate to that in any way?

AS: Osha in a lot of ways has a lot more inner turmoil than Mae does. She does kind of have an identity crisis where she hasn't exactly been able to find where she belongs. A lot of that is because she has all of this unresolved trauma that she hasn't been able to acknowledge fully or process or let go of. And that has led to this instability inside of her where she's unable to pursue the things that she truly wants, or she doesn't know exactly what she wants. She can't access the force, you know.

And that makes her a really fun character to play because she just has real insecurities and she has a certain way of presenting to the world. She has moments in which those insecurities make themselves really loud. I can relate to that for sure. I think a lot about unresolved trauma and how it manifests in your life as an adult. The work you do in adulthood is dissecting it, processing it and letting go of the trauma you experienced as a child and showering that inner child with love and support so that you can be the most centered adult that you can be.

Beautiful response. So Mae is way more focused. She has a mission. Manny, your character is just a little bit more playful and on his own path. Were there any fun moments on set that you can recall?

AS: Maybe when you're upside down? You were upside down for a long time. (laughs)

MJ: The thing is, Amandla was the one who was supposed to be upside down. I regretted it as soon as I was upside down.

AS: Outside of work, we would watch movies that would be references for what we were working on. There was that one time that it was my birthday. And then we went to that concert and you just stood on a balcony drinking water the whole time. (laughs)

MJ: Yes. I tried to watch over our number one, making sure that she's okay. Yeah, it was a lot of great moments. I think having those moments outside of set really informs the dynamic with the characters on set. I think was super helpful to have.

Manny Jacinto. PHOTO BY RAMONA ROSALES

“I JUST LIKE DOING WEIRD THINGS. THE WEIRDER, THE BETTER. ” –MANNY JACINTO

Is there a certain song or album that you think defines your characters?

AS: Well, I have one song that is a huge part of the playlist for Mae for me: ‘The Healer’ by Erykah Badu. Then I also have songs like ‘Light My Fire’ by The Doors and some Kendrick Lamar. I even have ‘I Feel Love’ by Donna Summer in there. Because I just felt like she always was moving from a place of emotionality and I wanted to be connected to the body in that way.

MJ: For Qimir, ‘The Less I Know the Better’ by Tame Impala. That’s kind of a guiding light for me.

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'The Acolyte' Stars Amandla Stenberg & Manny Jacinto Enter the Star Wars Universe

This feature is in our Summer '24 "Music" Issue. Click here to subscribe.

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