Sam Witwer has been a fan of the Star Wars franchise for many year, in fact since he was a child. The actor from Illinois, has seen his love for Star Wars come full circle as he most recently voiced the voice of Darth Maul in Solo: A Star Wars Movie.
This of course wasn’t his first time, he’s been doing the voice of Darth Maul for 8 years now. And Instinct Culture got the opportunity to talk to Sam about his work.
Working with Ron Howard
Sam has had a long string of work within the Star Wars realm, but he notes that the coolest part of working on Solo: A Star Wars Movie was the collaborative nature. He credits director Ron Howard for allowing him to be a part of the process and allowing his input.
“In this job I was given permission to be a difficult actor from day one,” laughs Witwer.
Witwer had been a huge admirer of Ron Howard throughout his entire career and even more so after working with him on this project. He allowed an open collaboration, and really felt strongly about making his character into something special. “You assert yourself, protect your work and honor your work.” said Witmer about Ron’s directing method.
Challenges of Voicing Darth Maul
And even though Sam is no voice-over newb there are still challenges to voicing Darth Maul the biggest being making the character different and giving the audience something new. Because the role requires for Maul to jump from different points in his life, as the voice you have to ” ask yourself questions” and inform the audience members through “subtle means.”
Watching Solo; A Star Wars Movie As A Fan
Stepping aside and watching Solo: A Star Wars Movie as a fan and not a working actor; Witmer says his favorite parts of the movie is seeing the darker side of the universe with the darker color palette and notes that during his third time watching the film that he realized the story was more about a young lady who knew she was going down a dark path and having to break the heart of someone she loved. Witwer says he loved that particular element to the story saying it had a “nice subtext to it. “
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Like Sam on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OfficialSamWitwerFanPage
Instinct Culture 