How Keri Russell disappeared into the mysterious and faceless role of Zorii Bliss? Find out.
Keri Russell was on the seventh heaven when she received an e-mail from her friend and director, J.J. Abrams asking if she would want to be a part of the epic space saga, ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,’ to whom she had excitedly and almost immediately replied a big fat “Yes.”
The Mystery
She didn’t know what her part was, but it didn’t matter as she got to be the part of the final installment of Star Wars. She said at an interview that she would have even played Yoda’s sister, but what she got was much cooler. And we surely can’t disagree with her.
The actress is playing the role of Zorii Bliss whom she describes as tough, mysterious and shady, but what really sets the character apart is the sense of anonymity; the fact that she is faceless throughout the movie. Yes, you heard it right; Russell remains in a gold aerodynamic helmet in the entire run of the movie. This managed to even enthrall her young son She’s only been glimpsed in the trailers so far, leaving very little room for viewers to know about the character. They aren’t even aware of what she sounds like underneath that large helmet.
About Zorii
While actors could get sceptical about this role as expressing forms a larger part of acting and this role requires the face to remain enveloped throughout, the actress has quite enjoyed her stint in there and was in awe of her costume, calling it slightly cooler than Baby Yoda. Talking more about her role, she says that she knows, it’s funny but she enjoyed it as she tends to be shy or introverted. There was real freedom and strength in being covered as she could see everybody but nobody could see her.
Russell was so much in love with her costume, which she called empowering, that she didn’t take off her mask on the initial 2 days of filming which had freaked out Abrams a bit. Elaborating more on her role, she said that Zorii is a tough personality and if she is in trouble then Zorii might be someone she would turn to for help. According to Russell, Zorii seems to know her ways around dark corners and when someone is more elusive what you want or need from them. There isn’t much detail out about the character yet but fans are sure in for a big creative surprise.
The concluding part of the epic Star Wars Universe ‘The Rise Of Skywalker’ is all set to hit the screens on 20th December.