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The actor behind the new droid in 'Rogue One' acted on stilts for the entire movie

Ian Phillips   

The actor behind the new droid in 'Rogue One' acted on stilts for the entire movie
Alleyinsider3 min read

Rogue One Alan Tudyk

Disney/Lucasfilm

K-2SO is the latest droid joining the "Star Wars" universe in "Rogue One."

The INSIDER Summary:

K-2SO is a new robot you'll see in "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story."
It's crazy to see what the character looked like prior to CGI.
Actor Alan Tudyk stood on stilts for most of filming.



From R2-D2 to C-3PO to BB-8, "Star Wars" has created some of the galaxy's most beloved robots.

In "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story," there's a new bot for fans to fall in love with.

Actor Alan Tudyk, best known for his role as Wash in the cult favorite TV series "Firefly," plays K-2SO, the franchise's latest lovable droid. K-2 is an imperial droid reprogrammed by Captain Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) so he can fight alongside the Empire.

K-2SO is a standout in "Rogue One," and the much-needed comic relief in the otherwise dark spinoff. And while "Rogue One" often relies on puppets and people in costume, K-2SO is a work of motion capture. It combines Tudyk's sense of humor with the wonders of CG. 

This isn't Tudyk's first time playing a bot. He previously played one in 2004's "I, Robot." However, K-2SO presented Tudyk with a unique challenge: he's a tall, lanky machine. During a panel at New York Comic Con back in October, Tudyk discussed how instead of wearing a robotic suit, he wore a motion-capture suit while performing on stilts to bring the character to life:

Since Tudyk had to act on stilts, it could make the more physical parts of his performance rather difficult.

"They [the stilts] were a foot high because the character's very tall and lanky," Tudyk told the crowd. "There were times I had to run and...I stood on a cliff. You could see it in one of the teasers."

It's why he towers over his co-stars Felicity Jones and Diego Luna.

To give a better sense of where exactly K-2SO's face would be, Tudyk wore a fake face on top of his head during production. 

k 2so

Disney/Lucasfilm

Sometimes he also wore these mechanical claws for K-2's hands:

k 2so alan tudyk

Disney/Lucasfilm

Even though he had to wear the motion capture suit, Tudyk still looks like he had a blast:

alan tudyk k 2so

Disney/Lucasfilm

And, in case you were wondering, this how Tudyk, the man behind the machine, actually looks next to his robot counterpart:

rogue one k 2so alan tudyk

Disney/Lucasfilm

Check out some awesome behind the scenes footage below. "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" is now out in theaters.

NOW WATCH: Here's why you should spend the extra money to see 'Rogue One' in 4DX

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