10 Behind The Scenes Reasons For Star Wars Character Traits
Stupid contact lenses, on-set injuries, and other behind-the-scenes reasons for Star Wars quirks.
Coming equipped with some of the most notable and colourful personalities the big and small screen has ever been exposed to over the years, this diverse galaxy far, far away has often acted as the gift that keeps on giving when it pertains to larger than life icons and unexpectedly awesome side characters.
And while a great many of the elements that went into the forging of these out-of-this-world entities were brought into existence by the undoubtedly talented scribes penning the scripts for the televised or cinematic Star Wars adventure in question, a number of real-life circumstances have often had an unmistakable influence on the many Jedi, Sith, and other faces battling for their chosen cause before our very eyes.
From actors not being able to help themselves when it comes to letting loose certain sound effects upon picking up a blaster, to some rather bizarre choices of hairstyle being brought into play thanks to some real-life scheduling issues, these are those inter-galactic idiosyncrasies that weren't a part of the original plan but ended up becoming undisputed Star Wars canon all the same.
10. The Contact Lenses Sucked - Darth Maul's Refusal To Blink
Almost instantly immortalising himself as one of the all-round coolest figures ever to terrorise the galaxy upon first arriving on the scene in The Phantom Menace's initial round of trailers, the disturbing sight of Ray Park's Darth Maul, voiced by Peter Serafinowicz, instantly captivated audiences out of the gates coming into George Lucas' first Prequel.
And while his distinct Dathomorian Zabrak red and black markings and terrifying horns were menacing in their own right, it was Maul's piercing yellow eyes that really stood out upon taking in the mostly silent Sith enforcer.
As it goes, the practicalities of having to boast a set of entirely unnatural and uncomfortable contact lenses for pretty much all of his screen-time led to Parks actually doing his utmost to refrain from blinking as often as he could, leading to the unsettling reality of Maul spending the majority of his time in the Episode I spotlight maintaining a chilling stare.
All in all, the bisected Sith blinks just three times in the 1999 flick before falling to his once-assumed death at the hands of Obi-Wan Kenobi on Naboo.