Star Wars Actors' Best Performance Outside Of The Franchise, Ranked By IMDb
Over all the movies and tv shows, many actors have been part of the Star Wars media empire. From the start with Mark Hamill, Carried Fisher, and Harrison Ford in Episode IV, A New Hope, to the rise of The Mandalorian, the Star Wars has become one of the highest-grossing franchises in history.
Star Wars has launched the careers of numerous up-and-comers, while some actors already had established résumés under their belts. Either way, from all the actors who played major roles in movies and tv shows, these are the highest-rated projects from outside the franchise.
Season 2 of The Mandalorian shocked and excited viewers when Rosario Dawson brought Ahsoka to the live-action over a decade since her introduction in Star Wars: Clone Wars. Of course, she has since returned in The Book of Boba Fett and will soon be getting her own tv show, Ahsoka.
This isn’t Dawson’s first time into fandom. She played Claire Temple (Night Nurse) in Netflix’s Marvel series, Daredevil. With the recent reemergence of Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio into the MCU – along with the news that these series are moving to Disney + - viewers could expect to see Dawson as Claire Temple again.
Another actress who crossed over from Marvel to Star Wars is Ming-Na Wen – going from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. to The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett. In both franchises, she plays a cool, no-nonsense, sharp-shooting, agent, yet both characters are unique in their nuanced characterizations.
She played Melinda May over all 7 seasons of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and as such, many of the episodes that focus on her backstory or showcase her talents are beloved by fans. Especially because of Ming-Na’s increasing popularity, many fans are eagerly hoping that Agent Melinda May will return to the MCU soon.
Solo: A Star Wars Story was jam-packed with accomplished and brilliant performers – just keep reading to see more of them – including Thandiwe Newton as Val, an untrusting scoundrel. While her role was limited during Solo, she has starred in numerous movies and tv shows and even received a BAFTA award.
In particular, her highest-rated project on IMDb is the fan-favorite HBO show, Westworld. Newton portrays Maeve Millay, one of the integral hosts, and she received the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2018 for this role.
Disney + launched in 2018 with The Mandalorian as their premiere release and it still remains as one of the most popular tv shows out there. It has launched a renaissance of sorts for Star Wars canon and the actor helming the charge is none other than Pedro Pascal.
His casting was exceptionally exhilarating for viewers because he gets to add to his already impressive acting ledger, especially after Game of Thrones. Although he only survived the one season, Pascal as Oberyn Martel, the Red Viper, is still one of his most iconic and beloved characters.
Woody Harrelson has been a cherished actor across movies and tv shows for decades and he is no novice when it comes to fan-favorite franchises. From The Hunger Games or Zombieland to Venom: Let There Be Carnage most recently, he has played a myriad of varying characters including Tobias Beckett in Solo.
Nevertheless, his highest-rating performance on IMDb is actually from the anthology crime series, True Detective. This should be no surprise since he garnered a nomination for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Leading Actor alongside his castmate, Matthew McConaughey in 2014.
Mads Mikkelsen had an incredibly, impressive year in 2016, appearing in both Star Wars and MCU with Rogue One and Doctor Strange. He is able to play a complicated heroic figure very well, and powerful villains even better. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that he will be continuing this trend in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore and Indiana Jones 5.
Of all of his various roles, perhaps his most iconic character is actually, Hannibal Lecter in Hannibal. He is utterly menacing and it is a masterful performance worthy of such a high rating.
A highlight in Solo was seeing Donald Glover aka Childish Gambino take on the role of Lando Calrissian. He emulated the charm and charisma of Billy Dee Williams’s original character while bringing his own quirkiness to the role. Although the movie wasn’t loved by all fans or critics, people can agree that Glover’s portrayal was a bright light.
He already had a remarkable career both on- and off-screen before joining Star Wars, including in Community on NBC. He played Troy – famously of Troy and Abed in the Morning – as a classic jock turned loveable and ditzy goofball.
Mark Hamill is the voice of many people’s childhood and not just for his time as Luke Skywalker. His versatile voice has helped him create and revitalize characters to icon status. He created the Joker’s menacing cackle in Batman: The Animated Series that makes people question who the best Joker is.
On IMDb, of all his extremely highly-rated performances, his role as Fire Lord Ozai in Avatar: The Last Airbender takes top billing. The character was an ominous figure, but his presence and power could be felt even from a single sentence, primarily from Hamill’s unique characterization.
Emilia Clarke has become one of the biggest names in Hollywood and in 2018 she doubled down by joining Star Wars as Qi’ra in Solo. She was a breakout character following the film’s release and viewers are eager to see her again – in the meanwhile, viewers will see her soon in an undisclosed role in Marvel’s Secret Invasion.
Qi’ra is vastly different than Clarke’s defining role as Queen Danaerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones. She accrued numerous award nominations and several nearly-perfect ratings on IMDb during her time on the show.
Christopher Lees’ across nearly seven decades has cemented him as a legend in fandom and cinema entirely. His most iconic roles were often the villains, such as Saruman in The Lord of Rings trilogy and Francisco Scaramanga in The Man with the Golden Gun – even a couple of them were Counts: Count Dracula and Dooku.
He is the only major Star Wars actor with a perfect score on IMDb. This is for The New Adventures of Robin Hood on TNT in 1997, in which Lee takes on the role of Olwyn, a wizard who served as a mentor to Robin.