Anna Daniels
How old were you when you filmed Attack of the Clones?
I was 13 in Attack of the Clones.
That wasn’t your first acting job, though?
Yeah, I had been filming in New Zealand. I’d been on Hercules and Shortland Street, which is kind of like General Hospital, but nothing to the mass or extreme of Star Wars, and truly nothing ever since, really.
Were you a Star Wars fan before you got cast?
It was really weird, because one of the first films that Taika Waititi did, he did a film called Boy, and in the film, the little kiwi bird comes on the TV and wishes us all good night and shuts the TV off. I re-watched the movie the other day on the plane, and I was like, “Wow, that’s the thing I’ve been telling everybody about for years.”
In New Zealand, at about 11 o’clock, the TV would just shut off. We only had three TV channels growing up. Growing up down there, it was kind of like growing up in the stone age. We were 30 years behind the rest of the world. And people tend to forget that there were 16 years of no Star Wars between Episode VI and Episode I. That’s where I grew up. When I grew up, Star Wars wasn’t getting played on Spike, or any other channel, regularly, every day, or constantly on re-runs.
Then you get cast, and you’re not just anyone, you’re Boba Fett. That’s a hugely popular character. At what point did it dawn on you what you’d gotten yourself into?
Because I hadn’t yet seen Star Wars, or really ever heard of Star Wars, I had no clue who this character Boba Fett was. When I auditioned for the role, they never gave me a script. My agent was allowed to submit two names from her agency, and she just loved me so much that she submitted me and one other kid. I just happened to be short enough, and weirdly looked enough like Jango Fett, that we just matched amazingly.
They did an interview with me when I first got on the set. They gave me this book, and I opened the book, because I hadn’t had a script or any lines to figure out what character I was. They told me, basically when I was getting to set, what character I was. And I open this book, and it’s all Boba Fett. He’s got the gun, the blaster, the jet pack, the helmet. I’m like, “What? I’m going to have a helmet and a jet pack?”
So, I get fitted and suited up, and they make the little jumpsuit for me. Then I see Jango Fett walk in and I was confused. I’m like, “Wait, that’s me.” So yeah, the world of Star Wars was very confusing to me until I educated myself on it.
But now you’re all in, right? A lot of actors end up with complicated relationships with the franchise, but you’ve really embraced it.
Yeah, Lucasfilm and George have been so wonderful to me. Even Rick McCallum, the producer. Everyone has treated me pretty much like family, or like a nephew or whatnot, even down to the original actors. So I’ve been very blessed in that way.
Boba Fett himself has blessed me in many forms, too. It’s not that I feel like I owe him. I adore this character that George Lucas created just as much as everyone else, but the cool upside is that I can say I got to play him.
So yeah, I’ve become a huge fan. I was talking to my friend the other day, and I said, “There are so many different forms of Star Wars nowadays.” Not only the cartoons, but the movies, the extended universe, the prequels, the originals. Now you have TV shows. Then, outside of it, you have costuming groups. You have regular fans. You have the robotics. People who collect vintage toys. LEGO collectors. There are so many different worlds of Star Wars beyond the film itself.
I actually collect Star Wars toys now, as well. I have four, five thousand figures. I got almost one of each, from ’70s to today.
What inspired you to start that?
So Star Wars sent me a whole bunch of stuff. And then I moved from New Zealand to America, kind of rapidly, and left my whole collection. Then I called my little sister, and she basically opened most of the collection up. So, I was like, “Oh no.” I had that hoarder’s mentality, and I had to buy it all back, but then I just figured, why not try and buy them all? Buy the collection. So, yeah, I’ve got quite a bit, quite a bit. I’ve got some vintage, too, but mainly ’92 to the 2000s.
Do you have a favorite piece?
I have a really cool one. I have, I think a 1979, Han in carbonite. It’s in mint condition. It’s been graded. It’s pretty nice. It’s with the old coin. It was the original cards, with the coins. But I got a lot, I mean they’ve done so many Star Wars toys. I mean, yeah, I’ve got a 40-foot container of Star Wars stuff.
Written by: Looper
