10 Star Wars Characters More Important Than You Realised

Ric Olié (Ralph Brown) appears in The Phantom Menace as the pilot of Padmé's (Natalie Portman) ship while escaping Naboo, and though certainly not a background character who disappears into the periphery, few would assign him too much importance.

Yet it's crucial to remember that Olié did one absolutely pivotal thing in The Phantom Menace - he taught Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd) how to pilot a ship.

Without this impromptu lesson, Anakin wouldn't have been able to fly into the Federation droid control ship and destroy it from the inside.

Olié's role is also significantly fleshed-out in the Expanded Universe, where he joins a resistance group called the Amidalans, who committed themselves to avenging Padmé's death.

In the 2020 comic Star Wars: Darth Vader Vol 1 #4, Olié ends up crossing paths with Darth Vader, who promptly runs him through with a lightsaber, killing him, and further proving Anakin's monstrous transformation from the sweet boy he used to be.