Andor The first season has entered the sprint phase, with only a few episodes left until the end. A great spy movie set in America Star Wars universe, Andor It has won praise from critics and other audiences for its deeper, more realistic approach and nuanced exploration of rebellions and the peoples upon which empires are built. In terms of layered storytelling and gray areas, Andor In many respects, it even surpasses Rogue One: a star wars storyintroduced the show’s eponymous character for the first time.
While Cassian Andor’s story is compelling in its own right, the show’s supporting cast has proven to be equally compelling. Andor Dive into the experiences of characters from all walks of life, from senators like Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly), who are essentially trapped in a lavish but stressful lifestyle, to ordinary citizens like Bix Karin (Adria Arjona), struggling to survive in the galaxy under an increasingly restrictive regime. One character whose journey is particularly interesting is Syril Karn, a low-ranking security officer who seems to be aspiring to rise in the Empire.
Kyle Soller as Syril Karn interviewed rant screen His character’s thought process and story to date, as well as the relationships and special diets in his space.
Kyle Soller on Syril Karn’s trip to Andorra
Screen Rant: Cyril Kahn eats cereal in the morning. Basically, he wears a tie. He has a job at the company. In many ways, he’s the most ordinary guy we’ve ever met Star Wars. How does it feel to play a very human person?
Kyle Soller: I think one of the things that drew me to this project in the first place was that Tony wrote about a very complex, normal core, confused young man who was poised to be unbelievably engulfed and swallowed up by an organization like the Empire. He’s on the fringes of society, doesn’t have many friends, and has limited education. He might not be the most nutrition-conscious person when it comes to breakfast choices. However, I have always found Cyril to have a very clean lifestyle, including what goes into his body.
So when his world completely changes and he goes home to live with his mom and he gets the cereal he ate as a kid, it sucks, but also really shows that his mom doesn’t know who he is as an adult. In fact, this is how he built his world. No one really knows who he is. He presents himself as one thing, but feels another intensely. I think that conflict is resolved in many people and that is the heart of his story. So the casual style you’re pointing out, I find it very refreshing. It’s like being in the Empire, but in a more recognizable landscape than the one we live in.
Based on your answers alone, it’s clear that you have a lot of intent and thought behind all of your choices on the show. Is this something that goes with everything you do or is it made easier by the great writing on it? Andor Correct?
Kyle Soller: Yeah, I tend to approach characters that way. Of course, what Tony created seems to have gone straight into these people’s lives. This is not always the case. A lot of times, as a creator, you have to do a lot of heavy lifting to fill in some of the gaps, but Tony’s writing and his plan for where these characters are going is very complete.
Like, when we first talked about this character, he said, “I don’t know where he’s going to end up.” I tried to figure it out; Is he bad? He said, “I don’t know.” I was like, “Okay, great.” Don’t know really great. It allows your creativity to go places you wouldn’t normally be able to if you were limited to “oh he’s good” or “he’s terrible”. Tony’s personality is very chaotic and contradictory.
By the third episode, he said, “And then you’ll meet his mother. He has to go home and live with his mother.” And I said, “This is perfect. It’s like telling me everything I need to know about this guy.” How is she. When I read those scenes, it was like going back to his childhood, so a lot of the normal work that I do of trying to create the character’s history is there.
One of the questions I’d like to ask you is how long you’ve known about his relationship with his mother during this process, because I feel that influenced the initial choices so much. Did you know all this before the first episode or even before you signed in?
Kyle Soller: Yeah, Tony is awesome. He is very accommodating. I think it allows more creativity and ideas to flourish in your creative family. We were planning to shoot in June, he told me in March. After that, we didn’t start filming until November, so when I started working, I went into this mother-daughter relationship.
That’s one of my foundations, and it’s one of Syril’s. [He] As a man who thought he had left the lair, but in reality he was not. His mother’s claws, and the one he’d allowed her to have inside of him, were still ingrained, though he wanted to prove himself against his mother somehow. He wanted to tell her how much he didn’t need her to know. At the same time, he needs to show her how much he needs her approval and acceptance, because he never received such approval growing up. This toxicity is where he does all of his relationships.
Cyril is the opposite of Cassian Andor in that both have something to lose for the Empire. Instead of fighting it, Cyril joined the ranks, choosing to follow the system. Have you considered your character’s relationships with other people?
Kyle Soler: Yes, one hundred percent. Making these nets has always been helpful to me. Not just the villain and protagonist, but the values, systems, and desires of each character. In fact, for Cassian and Cyril, I found a lot of similarities in their journey. Cassian was thrown into the quagmire of this unformed Rebel world. People are taking advantage of him in some way, he is trying to find his management company, he is trying to find his safety in many ways. The same thing happened with Cyril, but in a very, very different way.
His code of ethics, if you put it on paper and take it outside the imperial system, is admirable. He cares about truth and justice, and people are very good at what they do. And it looks great while doing it. But what he really has is a sense of belonging, and I think in the long run, both Cassian and Cyril have holes that they’re trying to fill.
It was interesting to see Cyril interact with Royal officer Dedra Mello. What do you think of the thought that makes him break the rules just to have time to talk to her?
Kyle Soler: Daedra means a lot to Cyril. She is the fuller manifestation of everything Cyril desires. Power, order, tailoring. In a way, she has full status in the empire, since she is a member of the ISB, this would be Cyril’s dream job. I think he also felt and recognized the twin flame, because Cyril’s instincts towards Cassian were correct. Not only did Cassian escape, Cyril suffered a crushing defeat. Cyril had an uneasy feeling about Cassian, feeling that he was more important than his looks, and he eventually met someone who felt the same way.
Kostek feels the same way, but on a more general level. It doesn’t have to be a Cassian thing. I think it feels like being seen, heard, acknowledged, even though the way Dedra does it is, “Get away from me. Stop doing what you’re doing.” As we’ve seen, that never stopped Cyril. Never done it before. But there is also the meeting of two souls, pursuing the same thing. who have the same agenda. People who share the same core value system. It makes him happy.
It’s amazing how well this program has responded. But on paper, it really isn’t a safe bet. We already know that Cassian Andor is dead, without the Jedi Knights and without many major guests. Do you feel the risk of enrolling in the program? Or there’s an atmosphere of tension like, “That’s a big swing. Do we really have to land?”
Kyle Soller: When I first saw this project, what I read on paper was amazing. It was not at all what I was expecting. Before reading the script, I was skeptical about going into an alternate origin story in Star Wars. Like, “I don’t know. This is a prequel to a prequel. What does that mean?” And then I read the script. I was like, “Wow!”
I say this in the best possible way because it’s true, but it’s not what I expected. That’s not what I thought Star Wars was going to be trying to do at the time. In fact, they’re branching out into the sociopolitical thriller realm, which is also a family drama, also a space opera story, which is also a nod to the Star Wars universe, but makes it very real, human, and contradictory. Everyone exists in this chaotic gray area, asking “Are you good or bad?” and make questionable decisions for the sake of the Rebellion or the Empire. It goes back to the way I grew up thinking about empires, about rebellion, and it was so new and unexpected that when I started reading the script, I thought, “Oh, that’s for sure.”
about andorra
Andor will explore new perspectives on the Star Wars galaxy, focusing on Cassian Andor’s journey to discover the change he can create. The play tells the story of a burgeoning rebellion against the Empire and how humanity and the planet get involved. This is an age of danger, deception, and intrigue, and Cassian will embark on a set path to transform him into a rebellious hero.
Check out our other interviews Andor Here is the star:
new episode Andor Airs Wednesdays on Disney+.