‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ Bonus Content Reveals How Zach Braff Brought Freck to Life Onscreen (VIDEO)
Disney+‘s Obi-Wan Kenobi may have debuted nearly two years ago on the streaming platform, but fans are about to get some new insight with the release of the show’s 4k Ultra HD steelbook and Blu-ray steelbook, arriving Tuesday, April 30, and TV Insider has an exclusive first look at some of the bonus content.
In anticipation of the release, we have a clip unveiling the process that went into bringing Freck to life onscreen with the help of Zach Braff, who voiced the character, and puppeteer John Rosengrant, who portrayed the physical performance. Freck is a Condluran who worked as a transport driver who gave Obi-Wan (Ewan McGregor) and young Leia (Vivien Lyra Blair) a ride until he turned on them.
Disney+/Lucasfilm
The single episode-turn from Braff made way for a mini-reunion as Deborah Chow, who directed the series, says in the clip, above, “Many years ago, my very first feature, Zach starred in, and I hadn’t really seen him in many years.” Chow went on to add, “For both of us actually, it was quite emotional. It felt like we’d kind of come full circle.”
When it came to the mechanics of having Braff perform his voice role, there was a rig attached to his head that captured the movement of his face as he spoke, which was relayed to a larger animatronic puppet controlled by Rosengrant. “What we did was we gave the jaw control over to Zach,” Rosengrant explains.
“And he wore like a little device that actually moves the mouth on the Freck,” Rosengrant continues. “Freck is an animatronic head that I would wear. I’m inside doing the body language. Puppeteers are outside doing eyes and brows. We have to come [together] as the collective to create a performance.”
In other words, it’s a team effort. See the process, above, in the exclusive clip, and don’t miss more fun bonus content like this with the release of Obi-Wan Kenobi and other Disney+ titles including Andor, Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and Moon Knight when they become available for steelbook purchase.
Obi-Wan Kenobi, Streaming now, Disney+
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