‘The Acolyte’ Actor Lee Jung-Jae Talks Star Wars And His Role Model

The Acolyte, the latest Star Wars series from Lucasfilm and Disney+, has incited controversy for featuring the franchise’s most diverse cast ever—a roster that includes names like Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Charlie Barnett, Jodie Turner-Smith and Manny Jacinto, among others.

This has unfortunately subjected the show to intense review bombing by some vocal viewers who are obviously displeased with its display of diversity. Still, their relentless crusade hasn’t stopped The Acolyte from becoming Disney+’s biggest series launch of 2024, with its first episode receiving 11.1 million views in the first five days. Critics have posted rave reviews of the show, with a Rotten Tomatoes critic score of 85% at the time of writing.

Set in the High Republic era about a century before Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, the eight-episode series opens with a mysterious string of murders that threatens to destroy the Jedi Order. One of the main characters is Sol, a kind and compassionate Jedi master who leads an investigation into these deaths and tracks down the assassin behind them, only to discover that darker forces are at play.

Sol is played by South Korean actor Lee Jung-jae, whom most Western audiences will recognize from Squid Game. But for Koreans and longtime aficionados of Korean TV and cinema, Lee is a legend who’s starred in some of the most iconic Korean works over the past 30 years, such as the groundbreaking 1995 K-drama Sandglass, fantasy romance film Il Mare (which Hollywood later remade as The Lake House), the erotic thriller The Housemaid, critically acclaimed gangster flick New World and South Korea’s top-grossing Along with the Gods franchise—just to name a few.

He also made his feature directorial debut in 2022 with the spy thriller Hunt, which received a slew of Korean and international awards.

Since his epic role in Squid Game—which remains Netflix’s most-watched series ever—Lee has become one of South Korea’s most globally successful stars and a key figure in bridging Hollywood with “Hallyuwood.” In 2022 he earned an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, becoming the first man of Asian descent to win in that category.

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When The Acolyte creator Leslye Headland saw Lee in Squid Game, she knew she’d found the right person to play Sol. “He just ran the gamut of every single emotion,” she said in a promo video for the show. "And then when I worked with him I was like, 'this is the best actor I’ve ever worked with,' " she told IGN.

It’s hard enough to act in your native tongue. Now imagine having to say your lines in a foreign language while portraying an emotionally complex character and deftly wielding a lightsaber. It’s an enormous feat that Lee pulls off gracefully in his first English-language role.

I spoke with Lee over Zoom about how he prepared for his Hollywood debut and what it was like working on a Star Wars series. (Note that this interview took place before the release of Episode 3, so some of the answers below will reflect that.)

Regina Kim: The Acolyte is your first Hollywood project. How does it feel to make your Hollywood debut?

Lee Jung-jae: Hollywood is a mecca for the entertainment business, so it feels very meaningful to have participated in a Hollywood project. I did think about what sort of Star Wars project I might want to get involved in, but I didn’t know I’d actually get to appear in Star Wars like this, and I definitely didn’t expect to be in a Jedi role. I feel very grateful to director Leslye Headland, Lucasfilm and Disney for giving me such a huge opportunity.

Kim: What was the hardest part about playing Sol?

Lee: I’d have to say it was successfully pulling off the role of a Jedi. If you take, say, a film like Il Mare, there’s no history behind it since it’s a standalone work. So I can act freely according to my own imagination. But with Star Wars, it’s a franchise with a 50-year history, and we’ve seen many other Jedis during that time, with a number of different actors playing them. So I had to think a lot about how this role and this series ties into the broader Star Wars saga, and also about how to portray a Jedi in a way that’s consistent with the Jedis from previous works, that’s consistent with the image of the Jedi Order. But at the same time, there were also parts about Sol that I had to make up on my own. So there were a lot of things I had to keep in mind while playing Sol in order to successfully convey both aspects—both the traditional image of a Jedi and Sol’s individual personality—simultaneously.

Kim: And I imagine it must’ve been even harder because you had to say all your lines in English!

Lee: Ah yes, yes, of course. (nods and laughs)

Kim: I think you did a great job!

Lee: Thank you.

Kim: How were you able to learn English and get to that level in just four months? I was shocked!

Lee: Well, I did learn English a bit while in Korea, but for The Acolyte, I worked with two dialogue coaches and practiced a lot.

Kim: Sol definitely seems like a character that would be difficult to portray. Is there anything you did in particular to make it easier to play Sol?

Lee: I wouldn’t say I did anything in particular—rather, Director Leslye and I talked a lot on set about how to make Sol’s character more multifaceted and three-dimensional. I also watched how Jedis were portrayed by different actors in previous Star Wars films and shows. As I mentioned before, it was most important for me to figure out how to simultaneously convey the image of a classic Jedi and the image of Sol as a Jedi.

Also, The Acolyte takes place before the other Star Wars shows and films, so that means that Sol is from an older generation of Jedis. So I imagined that Sol became a Jedi at a time when Jedi training was a bit less developed and formalized, and I thought that could translate into Sol having a harder time controlling his human emotions. I thought it could seem more interesting if I were to express his emotions a bit more candidly. So when the situation called for Sol to be friendly, I’d show him as being more openly friendly and warm-hearted. And when Sol was feeling fear, I would try to express his fear more. But as a result, audiences have been saying that this Jedi seems to be rather different. (laughs)

Kim: Yes, that’s true! But I think it works very well for the show.

Lee: Thank you.

Kim: Do you have a role model or mentor in the Korean entertainment industry? Is there someone whom you’ve looked up to and learned a lot from while building your acting career?

Lee: There’s a Korean actor named Ahn Sung-ki who’s played a diverse range of characters, and he’s portrayed each of them exceptionally well. He’s also one of the key figures responsible for the renaissance of Korean cinema. Off screen, he has such a warm heart—his kind words and actions have touched a lot of people and brought them joy. So Ahn Sung-ki is one of the role models that we younger actors want to emulate the most, both in terms of his onscreen acting and the kind of human being he is in real life.

Kim: And would you say you were able to take some of the things you learned from Ahn Sung-ki and apply them to your Star Wars role? Did any of it help you with your role?

Lee: Of course! I took inspiration from some of the warmhearted and charismatic characters he played.

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Kim: There’s something that I’ve been really curious about. How is the production process for a Hollywood show different from that of a K-drama? Was there anything that felt surprising or completely unexpected while you were filming The Acolyte?

Lee: Well, the production process in Korea and in Hollywood is pretty much the same. There are a lot of Korean creatives who’ve studied abroad and are now working on film and TV sets in Korea, so I think they’ve largely adopted the Hollywood system. So I’d say the filming process and atmosphere on set are almost the same.

But what was really different was the fact that The Acolyte is a Star Wars show. A Star Wars set is really something else!

Kim: How so?

Lee: Well, as I mentioned earlier, Star Wars content has a 50-year-long history, so the method of filming, CGI, sound, props, art, makeup—everything has been developed over the last 50 years. I think no other system like it exists, even in Hollywood! (laughs)

Kim: I see, that makes sense! Is there any particular role you’d like to do next, whether it’s for Hollywood or a K-drama?

Lee: Rather than a particular role, I’m planning to work on more [film and TV] projects in Korea and hope they’ll be viewed by many international audiences as well. And if the opportunity arises again, I’d love to work on another project in the US.

Kim: Yay, I hope that happens!

Lee: (laughs)

Kim: Will there be a season two of The Acolyte, and if so, will we be seeing Sol again?

Lee: (laughs) So far there’ve been only two episodes released, with six more episodes still left to go. I guess this means the show will have to be a huge hit, right? (laughs)

Kim: I know the show is currently very popular here in the US.

Lee: Yes, I’ve heard that the viewership numbers are really high. And many critics have given the show positive reviews, which is very encouraging for us.

Kim: I’ve heard that the Star Wars franchise isn’t very popular in Korea. Is that true? And if it is, might that change soon, given that you’re starring in The Acolyte?

Lee: Actually there are a lot of Star Wars fans in Korea, but there are a whole lot more in the US, so compared to the US, the number might look small. When we had The Acolyte premiere in Korea, a lot of Star Wars fans showed up and said they really enjoyed watching the first couple of episodes.

Also, Korean audiences tend to like tight and fast-paced storytelling—

Kim: Wait, really? I feel like that’s not the case when I watch some K-dramas, haha.

Lee: (laughs) Koreans like a plot that is filled with many different emotions and subplots, and since The Acolyte fits that description, I think they’ll enjoy this series.

The Acolyte is currently streaming on Disney+, with one episode being released every Tuesday at 6pm PT / 9pm ET.

This interview was conducted in Korean and has been edited for clarity. Many thanks to Lee Jung-jae for taking time out of his hectic schedule to chat with me!