The Mandalorian character that was supposed to die early in the show

Weathers probably also figured that he would be called upon to do a bit more than pop up in a couple of episodes and get shot, and indeed, the character of Karga proved to be one of the more interesting and complex in The Mandalorian‘s first season. Initially presented as duplicitous and opportunistic, he turned out to have a strong moral code and, by the end of the season, he’d developed into a strong ally of Mando — an arc that appealed to Weathers, who has played his share of complicated characters.

“You can paint a character as an antagonist, as the bad guy, and I’ve never approached roles that way, ever,” the actor said in describing his approach to playing Karga. “I find tremendous flaws in human beings and, at times, those flaws can lead a person astray — lead them to the dark side.”

For Weathers, the toughest part of his role by far wasn’t sketching out Karga’s traits and flaws, though — it was acting opposite an expressionless helmet. “I found it really a challenge,” he said. “When you’re across from somebody, they’re throwing all kinds of body language at you. And … you can be saying one thing, but [your eyes] tell me something completely different. And what am I responding to? I’m responding to what you’re throwing. You’re hitting the ball this way, [and] whatever it’s doing, I’ve gotta adjust for it. And that helmet … it is flat. There is nothing. So … I have to listen so acutely to the voice, and hope that that voice is gonna cue me to what this person is. Not just the words, but what they’re really saying under it.”

Written by: Looper