The actress talks to ET about joining the 'Star Wars' universe with the upcoming series.
After breaking out with films like Queen & Slim and portraying Anne Boleyn on AMC+, Jodie Turner-Smith is the latest performer to join the Star Wars universe as one of the ensemble cast members of the upcoming series, The Acolyte.
"I'm like, 'I'm in f**king Star Wars,'" the 36-year-old British actress told ET's Ash Crossan during the Star Wars Celebration 2023 in London, England, relieved that she can finally talk about being a part of the Disney+ show. "Like, people kept asking me about it before… I'm like, 'No, I'm doing this amazing project with really great artists and a director I love and actors I'm obsessed with.'"
And all those amazing people include creator and executive producer Leslye Headland as well co-stars Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Charlie Barnett, Rebecca Henderson, Dean-Charles Chapman, Carrie-Anne Moss, Margarita Levieva and Joonas Suotamo, all of whom are part of the new mystery-thriller set during the final days of the High Republic era.
The series will follow a former Padawan as she reunites with her Jedi Master to investigate a series of crimes before discovering the forces they're confronting are more sinister than they anticipated.
And after "operating in a little bubble," Turner-Smith shared that she's so excited to be part of such a huge, lasting franchise. "It's like, 'OK I'm making this story and it's about the story and it's just right here.' And then you come here [to the Celebration] and you feel the energy of the fans and it's like… I mean, you know how many times I've put my heart and soul into a project and then nobody saw it?" the actress said.
"So, to put my heart and soul into a project and have it be held so intimately by so many people is, like, wild. And I'm really grateful for that," she continued.
While she didn't divulge too many details about her character -- only that "I'm not a Jedi or a Sith," she confirmed -- the actress did open up about the daughter she shares with husband Joshua Jackson.
Although she does plan to let her daughter eventually see Star Wars, Turner-Smith admits she might still be a little too young at the moment. "Yes, but right now I think, you know, she's still so small that we shouldn't show her too much violence," the actress said, adding with a laugh that "my daughter is an Aries. I don't need to encourage anymore violence, you know what I mean?"
However, Turner-Smith does plan to get her daughter a coveted souvenir. "I am going to bring her a lightsaber home, though," she revealed, before teasing that if she had a lightsaber of her own that it would be the same color as her eyeshadow, which also happens to be one that belongs to another famous Jedi. "I'm just paying homage [to Mace Windu], but I feel like this would probably be my lightsaber color."
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