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Mercedes Varnado is now the queen of two fandoms. While leading the ring as WWE Superstar Sasha Banks, she was secretly starting a whole new career in an arena even bigger than that of Wrestlemania – Star Wars. Varnado played Koska Reeves, a Mandalorian fighting alongside iconic Star Wars hero Bo-Katan Kryze.
In chapter 11 of The Mandalorian, Varnado was able to dive into the mouth of a macaw, eat not quite dead seafood, and hijack an Imperial ship. All of this in a day’s work for Mando himself, but it was quite a change for Varnado.
“When they told me that I was going to save Baby Yoda, that I would eat an octopus, that I would kick and be part of this amazing team, I was like, oh my god, “she said Reverse. “Life is so cool and life is so special.”
After his guest role, Varnado discusses his history with Star Wars, the reaction of fans and his dream team for a possible future arc on The Mandalorian.
This interview has been edited slightly for clarity and brevity.
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First of all, what was it like working with Baby Yoda?
Oh my God. It was so cool. It was definitely a dream come true because in person you feel like you are a real person. It’s moving, it’s got all these different facial expressions. He is the star of the show. It therefore takes over the whole set. It is awesome.
You have a little moment with him in the episode.
I can save him. When I found out I had to save him, I panicked. I just thought there was no way to madness. I couldn’t even believe I was chosen to be a part of Star Wars from WWE. I am so grateful because Yoda in general and the Star Wars universe are so iconic and legendary. But this baby Yoda, the kid, just brings a whole new presence to the world of Star Wars. And to get to save him, I was just like, you know what? Go do that. You do the thing.
“When I found out I had to save him, I panic outside. “
How it works The Mandalorian different from WWE?
The setting was so real that I literally thought I was part of the galaxy. I could walk on set and stumble upon something because it was so, so real. So I saw it all really, very clearly, as you saw, I killed the monster and I saved the baby. So I was good.
Has your wrestling training prepared you for this?
Absolutely. I am so thankful for WWE. I was so nervous and scared to do something so different. John Favreau said to me, “You know what? You do this live every week. You do WWE. You just have to sit in front of an audience all over the world. You are going to be fine. You are special. You are going to be. be awesome. ”So he helped me too.
He really made sure I was going to do well in my very first role, but WWE prepared me for combat, patience, acting, and just bringing your presence to the set. And bring good energy, because everyone I worked with was so amazing.
It was so difficult for me too because I was doing both, I had legitimately zero days off. So I can say that I am so grateful for everything.
How familiar were you with Star Wars before you even played this role?
I used to watch it when I was a kid with my brother who has autism. So my first one was with Anakin Skywalker and Darth Maul. When I was a kid with him, I painted his face for Halloween because he loved it so much. But then I was ten, then I fell in love with wrestling. I fell from the kingdom of Star Wars.
When I got the call and they asked me to be part of it, I was still nervous. I’m like, “Wait, should I catch up? Do I have time?” And they say, “No, no, it’s different, it’s unique, it’s exciting.” But now with the pandemic I have all this time to catch up and I am so in love with it again, like a child. This is so cool.
Have you watched The clone wars?
I watched The clone wars and The Mandalorian every week, like a Stan.
There was a lot of speculation surrounding your character in the trailer. What did you think of the fans’ response?
I was incredibly nervous when they told me I was going to be part of the trailer. Then I looked at it, I was like, Oh my God. I look so mysterious. People will panic without even knowing who I am. And then when I got into work, everyone said to me, “You are a Jedi! You are a Jedi! You are a Jedi!” I was like, Oh my god I can’t say nothing.
“I’m so grateful be a Mandalorian.
Then the fans also made so much speculation. I got to see a bit of it. I’m trying not to stay on the internet too much, I’ll just let you have fun with it. It’s so cool to see the answer afterwards. Oh my god my fans are so cool.
I’m so thankful for the WWE Universe for supporting me, but the Star Wars fans are so nice to me, so kind. I was instantly tagged in so many photos fans took. And they made it really cool, like quick little video clips. I was like, Whoa, that’s pretty unique and awesome. I’m so grateful that they weren’t disappointed that they weren’t something they thought I was going to be. I am so grateful to be a Mandalorian.
If you could have a bow from one season with another Mandalorian character, who would you choose?
You know, I have to stay with Bo-Katan. She is my daughter and I fully support her. That’s who I’m going to have to stay with, but I love Katee in person. Katee Sackhoff, who played Bo-Katan and also did her voice, she helped me a lot on set and she is so amazing, as you saw in the episode. Dude, she’s so inspiring. She’s … ugh. She killed him. She was amazing.
After the episode, I couldn’t stop texting her. I was like, “Oh my God, Katie. You are amazing. You are awesome. You are awesome.” She said, “Thanks, but I haven’t looked yet. I’m so nervous!”
The Mandalorian Season 2 is now streaming on Disney +.
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