20 Things You Didn't Know About Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker

8. Dominic Monaghan Won His Role Due To A Bet With J.J. Abrams

Dominic Monaghan has a small role in the film as Resistance trooper Beaumont Kin, and while you might assume that J.J. Abrams simply put him in the movie due to their friendship - the pair having previously worked together on Lost - it was actually the result of a bet.

When Abrams was re-writing the script before shooting, he and Monaghan made a bet on the outcome of the 2018 World Cup game between England and Colombia:

"At the start of that game... because J.J. is a motherf**ker in the best way possible, he emailed me and he said, 'I think I have a Star Wars part for you.' And I wrote back and said, 'Brilliant, I won't bother you but let me know if there's anything I can do or what I can say.' He wrote back and said, ‘If England beat Colombia, you're in.' I was like, 'Oh mate, you bastard.'"

Thankfully the nail-biting match worked out in Monaghan's favour, with England winning 4-3 on penalties and securing his place in The Rise of Skywalker. We'd like to think that Abrams would've relented and let his pal join the cast anyway, but you never know.