Words by Shayni Solanki
Ahmed Best starred as Jar Jar Binks in the Star Wars prequels – a role he received extreme backlash for – but now, things seem to finally be turning around for him.
We all seem to forget how far motion capture and CGI have come in the last 20 years. At the turn of the century, there were only a few characters breaking boundaries on-screen, such as Jar Jar Binks and Andy Serkis’ Gollum. The design work invested in a character like Jar Jar Binks should very well warrant the same level of respect given to the names behind Gollum’s creation; the work put into the Jar Jar’s design was dedicated, passionate, and extremely taxing.
Star Wars fans are notoriously critical, with a history of bullying and harassment that dates back to the release of the prequels as, in the eyes of so many of the fandom, these movies simply cannot hold a candle to the original trilogy. The overarching plot has been considered as slow and dragged out, and the script viewed as clunky and awkward. These movies are, generally, considered as bad movies, bar the third instalment, Revenge of the Sith, which garners some praise from fans. Nevertheless, because of the perceived poor quality of the trilogy as a whole, fans have often taken their anger out on the actors.
In a video titled ‘That Moment I Opened Up About Suicide’, Jar Jar Binks actor Ahmed Best shared some of his darkest thoughts. The hatred and bullying he received because of his role became so debilitating that he contemplated suicide: “I didn’t see anything; I just saw a fog. I felt tired of having to explain myself. I felt tired of having to defend myself and defend my work”. Best deserved better, he was simply an actor on a job, he didn’t deserve the backlash he received. For many, Jar Jar was annoying, but Best was not to blame.
He also shared that some of the bullying was rooted in racism, with “jokes” made about the so-called “Jamaican accent” of the character: “There was this criticism of being this Jamaican, broken dialect, which was offensive because I’m of West Indian descent — I’m not Jamaican. It was debilitating. I didn’t know how to respond”.
Despite past experiences, Ahmed Best has chosen to return to Star Wars. In a new episode of Disney’s hit show The Mandalorian, Best plays Kelleran Beq who, in a flashback sequence, saves Grogu, the character more popularly known as Baby Yoda. This redemption and return didn’t come easy: “it wasn’t something I could have immediately said yes to. I did have to marinate over it for a bit. I mean, I was excited. I don’t think people really understand how much I care about Star Wars”.It’s incredible and certainly admirable that after decades of hate and harassment, Best still has a passion for Star Wars. It’s a full circle moment to return to a universe you adore and, this time, Ahmed Best is receiving all the love and praise he should have the first time round. With actors like Brendan Fraser, Ke Huy Quan, and Star Wars’ own Hayden Christensen finally seeing success after periods of lows, it’s good to see Ahmed Best getting his flowers too.
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