![\"Brendan](\"https://smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital/edmontonjournal/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/0912-you-mandalorian.jpg\" "\\"Brendan")
This may shock you, but the Mandalorian you’ve watched for 24 episodes (and the only Star Wars feature film in seven years) is generally not played in person by Pedro Pascal at all … unless, very much against his creed, Mando somehow has his helmet off.
Instead, like Brit legends David Prowse as Darth Vader and OG Boba Fett Jeremy Bulloch before him, the main Mandalorian “Double” in the end credits is Brendan Wayne – who with action-scene stuntman Lateef Crowder splits the sullen warrior role three ways, Pascal’s voice typically recorded in studio and stitched onto their performances after.
This is subjective, but in terms of both beloved on-screen presence but also behind-the-scenes magic, this makes Wayne one of the coolest guests at Edmonton Expo , which opens its doors at Edmonton Expo Centre 4 p.m. Friday.
Oh yeah, did I mention he’s also John Wayne’s grandson?
Among the celebrities who, uh, didn’t cancel (Ron Perlman the latest in a list including Lord of the Rings’ Karl Urban, John Noble and David Wenham), Wayne is joined by late-addition Temeura Morrison, who played both Jango Fett in the Star Wars prequels and the suddenly beefy Boba Fett in the Mandalorian timeline set a few years into the messy aftermath of Return of the Jedi.
This, Urban aside, is amid appearances by a fair chunk of The Boys stars; an almost complete cast reunion of the 1990 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cast including Judith Hoag; Gimli and Treebeard’s John Rhys-Davies; the main Death Note voice actors; and Peacemaker’s John Cena – guaranteed seating for his 4:15 p.m. Sunday starting at $49, though you can try and line up for free with regular admission.
Tickets, starting at $36 for a single day to wander the merch halls see the panels, are on sale at edmontonexpo.com .
Which bring us back to Wayne, a gentle and grateful man who got to talk about his strangely subtle role in, along with brilliant Andor, the higher end of post-George Lucas Star Wars.
Q I always watch credits and saw your name right away after watching the first episode, but it was comedian guest star Brian Posehn who first told me Pedro Pascal was generally not on set. People still seem surprised by that.
A It is amazing but my only thought is look at the volume of work he’s been able to do in the eight years we’ve been filming. When … does he have the time? (Laughs) But I’m grateful for it.
Q Where were you living, what bar were you working at, when you first applied for this gig?
A Before I had kids and responsibility I was living life to the craziest, just cowboying. But I was raise in the Valley, before it became reality TV valley, in Los Angeles. I worked at a bar called The Lobster for 22 years. Funny enough, in season one, I still worked there on weekends because you never trust Hollywood.
Q Were you a Star Wars kid from the get go, 54’s about right age…
A I would love to say I was a Star Wars fan in the way I thought that title means going in. Holy cow, the things I’m asked! Where do you retain that? But Star Wars, as it was called when I watched it in movie theatres, Empire Strikes Back, those stories meant the world to me and they were the beginning, honestly, of my journey into film and television, because I remember.
I remember being on the set of my grandfather’s movie The Shootist. But I don’t remember it being a movie. And I was also raised with the idea that’s his name, that’s his life. We’re not going to talk about that piece of who you are. I didn’t grow up with the idea I was entitled to something.
Q Is it fun telling people you’re actually the Mandalorian?
A My cousins, they all know I’m crazy, the kind of guy who has a table umbrella and sees if he can fly out a second story window. For 20 years they were like, “Don’t go into acting, there’s no future in it.” But if I’m the stunt man, then why am I not winning the Emmy – twice! – as the Mandalorian? It’s just funny watching people add it up. But I also love the anonymity in the sense I can walk around, you know Pedro can’t, and I still get to coach my kids at soccer.
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Q Can you describe the sort of mental space you’re in when you’re in a mask interacting with a puppet?
A At first, I would I was probably self-conscious. And then you realize, wait, this is the greatest freedom, and it’s kind of the way I live my life right now, which is, I’m doing this, but no one can even see me.
I get to be in awe of when it makes a face, and I can just throw in you know a quarter inch head tilt when Grogu does something. There’s just so much more expression, and they just dial it in more every year, and it’s just incredible. So it’s really fun to have that connection. I love that.
Q Are you saying the lines?
A Yeah, I do all the acting. What are they gonna do, a voiceover and I try and catch up? It doesn’t work. John (Favreau) knew that from Iron Man, and that’s why he went away from a stunt man and to a physical actor.
I’m working with Carl Weathers, God rest his soul, and we can actually have a vibe. They did a sizzle reel in season one and I remember Gina (Carano) and everybody after went, “Dude, that’s so weird!” The whole crew was like, hearing that other voice was so foreign, and in a very family way they were very protective of me.
Q How well can you see and hear? Do you have an earpiece?
A No earpiece, and I would say I’m 80% deaf in my right ear. But because of the way the helmet works with its little vents, I’m able to hear, and I project my voice. But visually, I can’t see anything really – 10 or 15 feet in front me, on the floor, and the top part of the T. So I always got there three hours early and I’d walk my path first so they didn’t have to watch me stumbling everywhere.
Q Can you share any Carl Weathers memories?
A I give him all the credit in the world for mentoring me, understanding that, “Hey, wait, you’ve never been a lead of a series, let alone create a character in a universe that’s huge.” That’s pretty much how he put it. I’m like, “All right, you’re making it worse, Carl.” But he said he was like, “You know, let’s work this out. And eventually, what you and I will do, is bring the humanity of Mando out.” And so, he just he drew me out. It was just master and student.
Q Researching you I found out they distorted your grandfather’s voice for Garindan, the guy who sells out Luke and Obi-Wan on Tattooine! Can you compare the sorts of characters your grandfather played with Mando?
A (Laughs) We were going in second season when I found out, and I was like, “Are you kidding me? I can’t have anything of my own?!”
For this role, they wanted more robotics, so Yul Brynner in Westworld was one, and then the Terminator actually was another one they wanted me to watch, because initially he’s methodical, and the Child brings something out of him. So for me, it reminded me of the characters my grandfather played, from Ethan and the Searchers to Red River.
People think of him as a good guy cowboy. But most of the time he was, I don’t know if I’d say bad guy, but I would say that he was an antihero in its best forms in the western: When it comes down to yourself or the greater good, you choose the greater good.
Q Is there anything you’re especially proud of that made it onscreen?
A I said, “Well, we can’t just have him do Boba Fett’s hand down rope shoots out. I want to throw it like a lasso, like I’m roping a steer.” And they were like, “Oh, I like that,” and that’s what they did come up with.
Mando will always be part of who I am, and the best part of me will always be Mando.
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