'Andor's' Elizabeth Dulau on Kleya's 'heartbreaking' moment with Luthen
'Andor' actor Elizabeth Dulau on Kleya's Season 2 arc, her sacrifice in Episode 10 and becoming part of "Star Wars" lore.
This story contains spoilers for âAndorâ Season 2, including Episodes 10 through 12.
When Elizabeth Dulau first heard what showrunner Tony Gilroy had planned for her character in Season 2 of âAndor,â she burst out laughing.
âI just couldnât believe what he was saying,â says the actor, who portrays the aloof and steadfast rebel spy Kleya Marki in the âStar Warsâ series. âAnd then my first thought was: I need to keep this a secret now for years. How on Earth am I going to do that?â
Kleya plays a pivotal role in the final three-episode arc of âAndor.â After Imperial intelligence officers finally uncover Luthen Raelâs (Stellan SkarsgĂ„rd) ties to the Rebellion, the antiques dealer attempts to kill himself before he can be captured and interrogated. When Luthen fails, itâs left to Kleya to tie up his final loose end and then deliver vital information to the rebels on Yavin.
Dulau, who didnât even know if she would be called back for Season 2, learned of Kleyaâs storyline in 2023 when Gilroy called to tell her he wanted her to return.
âIâm glad he told me then because it gave me a long time to really ponder how to prepare for that scene,â Dulau says. âHe said, âWe want her to be the one that kills him, and we want it to be additionally heartbreaking because she doesnât have time to say goodbye.ââ
âAndorâsâ final episodes sees Kleya utilize the skills sheâd honed as Luthenâs closest and most trusted associate as she infiltrates a heavily guarded hospital to reach him. But rather than breaking Luthen out to save him, Kleyaâs only option is to unplug him from the machines that are keeping him alive. Then, she has to make sure the information Luthen died for is delivered to the Rebellion.
âWe do not have a bad moment of film of her in our cutting room,â says Gilroy, comparing Dulau to Meryl Streep. âSheâs unbelievable.â
Elizabeth Dulau says it boggles her mind that Kleyaâs story ties into âStar Warsââ famous Death Star plans.
(David Reiss)
âAndorâ marks Dulauâs first acting job after graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. While the audition came to her as a role in an âuntitled Disney+ project,â sheâd heard on the down-low that it was for a âStar Warsâ project. She has since been cast in shows including âAll the Light We Cannot See,â âGentleman Jackâ and the upcoming âHouse of Guinness.â
âThe beautiful thing about Kleya in Season 1 is that sheâs such a mystery,â Dulau says. âYou can tell that sheâs important, but sheâs sort of on the peripheries. Thereâs so many question marks, so itâs such a delight that a lot of those questions get answered this season.â
That Kleya ultimately plays a role in helping the Rebel Alliance get the Death Star plans needed for them to eventually defeat the Empire also âboggles my mind,â she says.
âItâs not lost on me that Tony has literally written me into Star Wars history with that storyline,â Dulau says. âThat blows my mind because itâs so iconic and I have a teeny, tiny little corner of that now.â
Dulau, in a conversation edited for length and clarity, discusses Kleya and Luthenâs relationship, her characterâs commitment to the Rebellion and working with Stellan SkarsgĂ„rd.
There is so much that happens in Episode 10, but how did you approach that final moment where Kleya has to unplug Luthen from life support?
Tony made it very clear to me that he didnât want her to totally break down in that scene. That breakdown, for Kleya, comes afterward because sheâs still in action mode. In that scene, I really wanted to connect with all the love that had grown between her and Luthen, against both of their better judgment, but also all the hate. When Luthen and whatever team of men came to the community she lived in and destroyed them when he worked for the Empire, Kleya was not so young. She would remember her mom and dad. She would remember if she had siblings, any best friends. Luthen is not innocent on that day. He was brave enough to save Kleya, but we donât know what happens outside of his ship.
Then they spend the next 15 years protecting each other and continuing to save each other. So against their better judgment, love grows between them. I think theyâre constantly being pulled apart by that. Itâs too scary to acknowledge the fact that theyâve come to really care for each other because this awful thing is there. I wanted to try to condense that and make it as clear as possible in that scene when I go to kill him.
I spent a lot of time leading up to shooting on that day daydreaming. I use daydreaming a lot in my process. And I daydreamed about that day â what happened, what Kleya saw and what she did not see when Luther and his men came to destroy her people. I daydreamed completely made-up scenes in my head, like the day when Luthen made Kleya laugh for the very first time, or happy memories between them. I imagined that those actual flashback scenes were memories of hers that just were intrusive thoughts as she was trying to focus on her mission.
Kleya Marki (Elizabeth Dulau) is Luthen Raelâs (Stellan SkarsgĂ„rd) closest associate.
(Lucasfilm Ltd.)
What was your initial take on Kleya and Luthenâs dynamic?
In Season 1, what really fascinated me was that he sets a lot of importance to Kleyaâs words. He really listens to her and trusts her and allows himself to be seen by her in a way that he doesnât let himself be seen by anyone else. So whatâs the power dynamic? Itâs not the classic father-daughter thing. Itâs not like heâs the boss and sheâs just the assistant. Thereâs a real equality, and thatâs quite rare, I think, to see between an older man and a younger woman. I was just fascinated by that and had a lot of fun in Season 1 trying to square up to Stellan SkarsgĂ„rd and tell him what to do. That was intimidating, but really fun.
Then when I found out their backstory, so much about Kleya made sense. It just really broke my heart. In another life, Luthen would have just been this antiques nerd. In hardening himself to what he has to do, he also hardens this young girl, Kleya. It helped me realize that underneath all that hard exterior, at the very core of who Kleya is, actually is something extremely tender and extremely loving. Thatâs why she is so tough on the outside because thereâs something very painful that sheâs protecting deep down. She doesnât let herself have any friends or fall in love or any of that. She makes herself as lethal a weapon as possible. But against her best judgment, love grows for Luthen, care grows between them, and all of that is what they have to lose. But neither of them are ever willing to admit that.
So much of âAndorâ is about the sacrifice everybody makes. But for Kleya, we see that her sacrifice has been ongoing.
Yes. âI donât have lately, I have always,â she says. She has stripped her life of anything that makes her vulnerable. Joy and love and friendship are some of the the most worthwhile things that a human being can have in their life, but it also makes you vulnerable, in a way. And Kleya just cannot afford to be vulnerable. She tells herself, âI have nothing to lose. Everything is for the Rebellion.â [But] sheâs lying to herself. She doesnât really know until Episode 10 that, actually, Luthen is the thing that she has to lose. And sheâs willing to do it. Sheâs willing to sacrifice.
It seems like the closest Kleya has to a frenemy of sorts is Vel, but how do you see their dynamic?
Vel really gets under her skin. Even though Vel is such a tough character as well, she has those relationships. She allows herself to have that relationship with Mon Mothma, her cousin, and with Cinta. She allows herself to fall in love and Kleya just cannot wrap her head around it. How could you let yourself be this vulnerable? But also, maybe for Kleya, thereâs a bit of jealousy there as well that Vel has those things.
Kleya has made herself âas lethal a weapon as possibleâ for the Rebellion, says Elizabeth Dulau.
(Lucasfilm Ltd.)
How did you see Kleyaâs trip to Yavin and seeing what she and Luthen had been working for? Because things arenât quite over for her yet.
I always thought she sees it as her final job, getting the information about the Death Star to Cassian and just getting that information to Yavin. Because you see Cassian have to convince her to come with him to Yavin. She doesnât want to go there. I donât know how much she feels she has left to give at that point. She is overwhelmed by grief for Luthen and that grief makes her realize just how much actually sheâs come to love him. So sheâs in this place of this immensely painful realization about the man who did this awful thing and wiped out her people. How does anyone reckon with that? Thatâs the space that sheâs in when sheâs trying desperately to convince Cassian to go without her to Yavin.
Then, once sheâs on Yavin and she sees Vel, that tiny little conversation with her, as short as it was, itâs monumental for Kleya because it helps shift her perspective enough that she maybe starts to see a future for herself there amongst that community.
That final shot actually is her looking at the people of Yavin doing their morning routines and seeing the culmination of all of her and Luthenâs work for all those years. I think itâs a feeling of immense satisfaction and sadness that they pulled it off, but also that heâll never see it.
What was it like working with Stellan SkarsgÄrd?
My final audition actually was with Stellan. I remember my agent calling me to say, âYour recall went well. The note is, for your final audition, just try not to be too nervous. Walk into that room like youâve been doing this for years.â Then she said, âYour final audition is going to be at Pinewood Studios. Youâre going to be reading opposite Stellan SkarsgĂ„rd. But donât let that make you nervous.â And I just burst out laughing. Like, this isnât real. This isnât happening.
He met with me for coffee 10 minutes before the audition because it was a chemistry read and he wanted to not do it cold. Stellan has this wonderful magic to him that after 10 minutes of chatting with him for the first time ever, I really felt like I was walking into the room with a friend and that I had someone in my corner that was rooting for me.
Stellan has had such a long and rich career, so I donât know what this job is for him, but this is such a huge job for me and Stellan has been such a huge part of that. I always looked forward to having another scene with Stellan. It was like going home again, having another scene with him, because he was my anchor throughout the whole thing. He knew that it was my first job, so I could ask him all the questions about what was happening, acting techniques for screen, all of that stuff. I could have those conversations with him and he was always so willing to talk about it. He really took me under his wings big time and I will always be so grateful to him for that.
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