Star Wars returns to theaters this weekend for the first time since The Rise of Skywalker, and expectations are through the roof. Transitioning The Mandalorian to the big screen comes with lofty expectations, and The Mandalorian and Grogu are sure to bring in boatloads of cash. While there’s been a lot of focus on the stars, actors like Brendan Wayne are finally getting their due. Wayne has been with the show since its early screen tests, playing Din Djarin as the physical embodiment of the iconic character.

Wayne sat down with FandomWire to discuss his journey, including his early days with Jon Favreau on Cowboys & Aliens, the kindness shown to him by Dave Filoni, and working with legends on the show. On top of all that, he must shoulder the burden of being John Wayne’s grandson — no easy feat in Hollywood. Check out our conversation below!

Interview with Brendan Wayne for The Mandalorian and Grogu

FandomWire: Thank you so much, Brendan, for speaking to this about The Mandalorian and Grogu. I want to go a little bit further back, though. Star Wars is not your first sci-fi western. That would be Cowboys and Aliens. Tell us how that experience led you toward The Mandalorian.

Brendan Wayne: A direct path, almost. It just took 10 years to get there. I was super stoked to go. It was the first time I’d gone on location for any extended period of time. I’ve done a week out in North Africa. So to go out to New Mexico and hang out with cowboys, ride horses, and throw ropes? It felt like home. To be there with the legend Harrison Ford, Keith Carradine, Clancy Brown, Daniel Craig, and Sam Rockwell? Jon attracts talent because he’s so incredible. It was an incredible six months. Just bliss.

FandomWire: Well, and at what point did you start discussing The Mandalorian with Lucasfilm or with Jon?

Brendan Wayne: I started talking with Lucasfilm when I walked on set. Before that, it was Jon and the casting directors who said, “Hey, we’d like you to try on a costume, and we can’t tell you what it is.” I had no concept of what I was walking into.

I walked into a room, and they opened this case. I’m like, “Boba Fett! This is unreal.” They’re like, “It’s not Boba Fett.” They got really mad at me, actually. At the time, I’m just a novice imbecile. I put the helmet on, they came in, took pictures, and we did this whole thing.

I like to call the original “the Pinto uniform,” because I had a brown Pinto when I was growing up. It reminded me of that. Eventually, we get to the Tesla version, but I didn’t know that was ever coming. I leave, and I don’t think anything of it.

I get a call a few weeks later, and I’m taking my kid to college. I’m locked in, and they call me, they’re like, “Hey, we want you back. It’s on Friday.” I was like, “Can’t do it.” My agent’s like, “Are you an idiot?” It’s my kid, she’ll go to college once.

I had no idea what I was challenging. But I was also not going to sacrifice my family in this moment. They moved it, and I went to audition and do the bar scene. Then I did the sit-down with Grief Carga and the Bounty Pucks. The rest is history. I don’t even know how to explain it. This is one of the most incredible things I’ve ever been a part of.

FandomWire: Jon already knew about your grandfather, John Wayne. What does it mean to you to step into a gunslinger’s shoes when that is a huge part of your family legacy?

Brendan Wayne: I do think of it as part of my legacy as the Duke’s grandson. But also, I don’t look at it that way. I think of my buddies and me. The code we lived by was generally a cowboy code. If I try to look at it like, “Hey, I gotta carry the legacy of this icon, that is also Granddaddy,” I don’t think I’d succeed. I don’t think anybody would.

I was raised as he was. Be your own man and be your own person. Find your path. I didn’t start acting till I was 26. That’s not the way I was raised, unlike other nepo kids. Anything we had to do, we had to earn, and I’m sure I had a lot more advantages than most. But I was raised to earn it. I lived like a normal human being should. I guess, “How do you match being John Wayne?” Step into Star Wars. It has the mythology that John Wayne carried. This is the same, but even more encompassing. I worked hard for it.

FandomWire: Well, you already mentioned the code. How much of that are you infusing into the performance when you are being Din?

Brendan Wayne: The whole time. I don’t think Din is anything but a code. Hopefully, we live by a code. When I’m telling this story of Din, I get to tell this mythology that I’m in absolute awe of. I identify so clearly with it. Jon, Noah, Dave, Rick, Deb, and everybody who writes him. “Oh, he doesn’t talk a lot.” It’s because that’s the way this kind of character is. I know many people in the real world who are just like Din. They say little, and do more. That’s kind of the way.

FandomWire: You mentioned some of the writers and directors that you’ve worked with. I think it is one of the great things about The Mandalorian is how many great figures come in and contribute to tell the overarching story. Which director do you think you’ve had the best connection with?

Brendan Wayne: I’ll always remember rehearsals with Deb [Chow]. She has an empathy that’s so beautiful. It took a lot of pressure off me. Rick Famuyiwa, we played high school basketball against each other. He was dunking on me. I respect Rick’s vision. I sure hope he gets to do his own thing.

Bryce [Dallas Howard], she understands where she is and what she is. She understands what hard work looks like and understands her craft. She will absolutely grind you on set, but it’s never not fun. She comes in with her incredible energy and love, and she shares it with you.

Filoni, he and I just see eye to eye. He’s a Pittsburgh kid, and he’s never lost it. He pushed his shoot days for “The Jedi,” so that when I got out of the hospital, I could finally take on that episode.

FandomWire: Wow, that’s really cool.

Brendan Wayne: Yeah, I got to showdown with Johnny Ringo [Michael Biehn]. I got to be part of introducing Ahsoka (Rosario Dawson). Those things mean everything to me. Dave… I think Star Wars fans in general should always be grateful to that man for what he’s done.

FandomWire: You mentioned Ahsoka. You also showed up in that series. Did you know that was coming?

Brendan Wayne: I had no clue. I’d been cut as an X-wing fighter in season one, so they could put all the directors in. I was actually vacationing with my family, and I got a phone call. They were like, “Hey, we want you to come play an X-wing pilot.” I’m like, “I won’t do it unless you promise you won’t kill me.”

They worked it out, and then Dave explained to me the importance of that role. I played Lieutenant Lander, and Lander is the one who created the squadron. He’s a young man, I think he was 10. He’s the son of Richard, who does all our set designs and builds and everything like that. He was just drawing, and Filoni saw it. He created the squadron and helmet I’m wearing.

Star Wars does this all the time, and they’re incredible about paying people back. This is kind of just an ode to him and integral to Ahsoka living. I saved Ahsoka. I also played the Death Watch Mandalorian who saved Din Djarin as a kid. I’m pretty much a savior.

FandomWire: What does it mean for you to now see Din Djarin on the big screen?

Brendan Wayne: Too cool. I didn’t think it was going to be a big deal. I really didn’t. What we’re doing on streaming is awesome. I love this. Let’s keep doing that. Then you see this moment, and how it can bring you back. The greatest moments of your life, for me at least, were going to see movies with my brothers and buddies.

To see Din on that kind of aspect ratio, it is just mind-blowing. I have no idea what it’s going to be like to sit in the theater and watch it, and I cannot wait. I’ll probably be in tears. I’ll be shouting out, “Hey, I did it, Mom.”

FandomWire: Which actor that you’ve worked with across the show and the movie were you most excited to just get that one-on-one time with?

Brendan Wayne: There are two, the alpha and omega. Carl Weathers, God rest his soul. You would not have the Mando you have now if he were not mentoring me. Giving me permission to explore him. He’s the standard.

Then to have Ripley walk up and say, “Hey, Brendan, your performance is so incredible. I was just talking to Jim about this…” At that point, all I hear is loud blood rushing through my head. I’m like, “Oh, your husband?” She’s like, “No, Jim Cameron.” I died. At what point does Star Wars stop getting better? It hasn’t for me.

She set a standard to show me that somebody could walk in and just be great. She still had her script in her hand, taking notes every day. To watch that and the level she’s at? Oh man, it was an incredible example, and she is so incredible. She transcends anything: strength, power, beauty, grace, love, passion, compassion, and empathy. That’s Sigourney.

FandomWire: Best of luck with The Mandalorian and Grogu, and I can’t wait to see what you do next.

Brendan Wayne: I appreciate you guys. Thanks for having me on.

The Mandalorian and Grogu opens today in theaters.

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