Laura Dern: Little kids are scared of me since Star Wars role

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Spoilers for Star Wars: The Last Jedi. I really wanted to title this “Laura Dern scares children” but decided against it. Laura is learning the hard way that Star Wars fame can be an albatross around one’s neck. Laura recently appeared in The Last Jedi as Vice Admiral Holdo. However, instead of being able to drink in her newfound status as a member of the Star Wars Universe, she’s trying to convince kids she’s approachable. According to Laura, her new legion of fans refuse to flock to her but rather, they scatter to the winds when she shows up.

The actress, who played Vice Admiral Holdo in “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” reveals that children now act very strangely around her.

“I have never had an experience (like ‘Star Wars’),” she told Confidential. “And that includes ‘Jurassic Park,’ of what it feels like to be a character to young children that feels otherworldly or iconic or whatever that is.

“So now, I’ve had this amazing experience of little kids seeing me and instead of wanting to talk about the movie, they kind of back away, a little scared,” Dern adds. “It’s like when you go to Disneyland and see Mickey Mouse and you’re little. It’s a weird thing that ‘Star Wars’ holds something a bit untouchable or something like that.”

Dern, 50, says she understands the undeniable power that the franchise has – she broke down in tears when she met Chewbacca on the set and became a fangirl around Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, aka Mark Hamill.

“Just being around Mark, it takes your breath away a little bit and certainly, even on set, seeing these characters and Chewbacca hugging me on my first day of work – I literally wept,” Dern said.

“So that’s a really interesting thing, to be aware of what that legacy means for kids,” she said, adding she feels “very lucky” to be a part of it.

[From NY Daily News]

Laura implies this is a side-effect for anyone connected to Star Wars but is that true? I think what the kids are backing away from *spoiler* is a dead person. I bet Rey still gets swarmed as does Finn and Poe, too. I imagine a little kid is freaked out that Holdo, who was obliterated when she took on the bad guys, is walking towards them in one piece – and with the wrong hair! I wonder what it’s like for Mark Hamill now. With Laura’s character, though, the kids backing away could be a good vs. bad thing. It was really hard to get a read on Laura’s character. I understood, ultimately, but by then I was exhausted from trying to guess her game. She looked amazing though, I loved watching her when she was in a scene.

Laura’s story kind of reminds me of Ewan McGregor talking about not being recognized as Obi Wan. I think when you sign up for a world like this, you have to accept that most people think of you as that character. All that said – damn, I would love to be hugged by Chewbacca. Like, that’s a new life goal.

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Photo credit: WENN Photos

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9 Responses to “Laura Dern: Little kids are scared of me since Star Wars role”

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  1. Mia4s says:

    It’s a very unique franchise fame. People who have had two minute roles, or non-speaking roles in one of the movies are making money on the convention circuit.

  2. Ashley says:

    I liked her role and from the jump I understood what her role was commenting on. Basically she was a woman in power who had people under her who constantly undermined or questioned her authority because she was a woman. I thought it was cool to see that modern day commentary in a Stars Wars movie.

    • tealily says:

      The part I didn’t like was that *spoilers* after the mutiny was quashed, her reaction to Poe was simply “I like him.” That’s ridiculous. He was a danger to her and the entire mission, but hey, he has spunk! He should have been punished, even executed. Dude still got away with it.

  3. Lightpurple says:

    Her character was so brave

  4. lucy2 says:

    Her character had one of the most impactful moments of the whole franchise, IMO, and was pretty tough up to that point, so I can see kids not running over to hug her like they might Rey or Finn.
    I’ve really come to like her as an actor in recent years, she’s doing some great work.

  5. Lilybugg says:

    She was one of the highlights of that movie. She looked like a goddess, and she as a character has such a great story arc. You go from hating her at the beginning (because Poe can do no wrong, duh…), to loving her and being sad that this kick ass woman won’t be in any more of the movies.

  6. truth hurts says:

    Wtf? Is Lara talking about? Why would little kid run away from her character. She is so full of it. These actresses like her have a serious pretentious problem.

  7. DesertReal says:

    Go to any comic-con.
    You will be able to get your Chewbacca, Vader, Stormtrooper, and whatever else you feel like hugging hugz on.