“Bad Motivator,” An Interview With R5-D4 About Returning to Star Wars

Spoilers Alert

This parody interview contains minor spoilers for Episode 3, Season 2 of “The Mandalorian.”

“Bad Motivator”

written by The Most Interesting Fan in the World

“The SAO (“Sentient Artifical Organism”) actor knows as “Red” famously portrayed the role of heroic droid “R5-D4” in Star Wars: A New Hope. Now with their return to the role in the most recent episode of the Disney/Lucasfilm series “The Mandalorian,” Red’s agreed to join us for a short interview.

“First, Red, thanks so much for joining us. We’re a huge fan of your work, and thrilled to have you with us.”

Beep-toot whiiiiir boop.

“Ha! I bet it is. So, let’s start with some background. You’re best known for your role as R5-D4 in the original Star Wars movie. Was that your start in acting?”

Boop-whoooooooo. Tweetoot beeple pop-whir wheeee. Tootle-doot boop beedple beep.

“That’s fascinating. So after those roles in college and community theater, what took you to Hollywood?”

Weeeee-do dappa deep whuuuuuu dot dep dop doot.

“Really? I’ve gone over your online credits a lot, and neither Dark Star nor Death Race 2000 are ever mentioned. Was the work uncredited?”

Boop-whoo. Deet doot rooooo boople.

“Sure, that makes sense. Have you done a lot of that kind of foley and sound effect work?”

Dwooo-woot woop boop woot.

“Of course, we all have to pay the bills. So, it’s the mid 1970s, you’re doing sound effects for scifi films, and…”

Boop-dootle-beep.

“Sorry, of course. So, to be accurate, sound effects for a range of films and television. And then you get the call to audition for Star Wars. What was that process like?”

Whooop-dooo. Dweeboot deeple whot-whir dweeee. Dootle-doot beep boodple deed. Twooo-dwoot woop roop woot. Deedweee-do boppa dweep dhuuu whot peep duup woot.

“And have you and Mark Hamill kept in touch since then?”

Dwoo-woot dupe.

“That’s always great to hear. Do in A New Hope, you’re in one scene, where you are about to be bought by the Lars family, and then you shoot out sparks and stop moving, and Luke says you have a bad motivator, so R2D2 is taken instead. What was your thought process when preparing for that scene?”

Whirr-hum, beep boop beep boop, whuzz-whirrlpop chirp-doop, beep. Hum squawk pops. Whee-whoo whoosh, oop, fweep-fwop-fwop-fwop.

“Oh, that’s really interesting, So, to you, the Bad Motivator wasn’t about being able to roll around, but entirely about R5 being not being motivated to leave its Jawa home and work?”

Dwee-dwoo dwoosh, fwop-fwop.

“That’s great, and it really shows you got deep into that character, even though you only had the one scene. Do you feel that lack of motivation has been a key part of R5’s personality in the years since.”

Zoop-zoop-zoopity-zoop, zzzzzzzzoooooooooooom.

“Well, sure, the Expanded Universe got pretty weird.”

Plip-plop-plip, chugga chugga woop.

“Oh, I had no idea you were consulted for those comics!”

Whooop-doo. Dwip-dee-doo. Doot-deet beep bop. Throop.

“Wow, nice. It’s a shame that never got past the storyboard stage. So, let’s talk about playing the character again, after so long, You had a few scenes in the first and seasons of the Mandalorian, as well as the Book of Boba Fett. How did that come about?”

Deedle-dop-deep bop bleep duup wop. Zing.

“Yes, it’s clear Jon Favreau is a fan of deep continuity.”

Whizz-whoop-bop. Zwoop… beedle-bop-deet.

“What was it like, being on a Star Wars set again?”

Woop-dwoop-beep-bop. Shwip boop. Dwee-dwee-dwee. Whoop.

“Yes, I imagine is IS a great deal more comfortable than Tunisia, especially for an SAO.

“So you had your cameos, got a few lines, but not much more than that. Did those three seasons of acting do anything to reinvigorate your career?”

Dwoot toot bleed-beep Dalek.

“Oh, wow! I’ve seen all the recent Doctor Who episodes, and I didn’t recognize you in any of them.

Whooooooooooooo. Bleep deep skeeeeee-tot.

“And was that your first time wearing that much make-up?”

Wee-dleep boppa beep. Twoot zeeple pop-whir beboop.

“It absolutely is nice to be able to expand your range and experience like that. Okay, so you’re seeing some more interest, going to more conventions…who called you to talk about doing a bigger role in The Mines of Mandalore episode for this season?

Wooo-wheeeee. Bleep-boop, whirtle dweep dep booo.

“Oh, I had no idea she’d gone into producing after Return of the Jedi. Did she have any acting roles after 9D9?”

Beep boop dwee tweet toot.

“Yes, I can absolutely see how the skill translates over into producing. So, she gives you the call, and asks if you’ll do another episode. Did she let you know it’d be a much bigger part, larger even than your original scene from A New Hope?”

Beep dweep who-hu-ooo.

“So ‘adventure droid’ got mentioned really early, huh? And what was it like, getting back into this iconic character for multiple scenes, including have some shots where you’re the only character on-screen?”

Dweep-bee-beep. Beedoot beeple zot-zhir dwoooooooo. Boole-boot bot.

“I did notice that. And was that all an expansion of your original interpretation of having a ‘bad motivator’? Or was that in the script when you got it?”

Wheet boop beep-bot-tweeee be-beep. De-do-da-deetle deet, dwoop beboo zoot whee.

‘It’s great to hear you got to be part of that creative process. Any final thoughts you’d like to share with us?”

De-deep wheeple wot beeee-whu huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu… beep.

“Sure. Everyone else seems to be getting a spin-off!”

Methods of Support
A lot of people have offered a lot of support in light of my various recent health issues, and I deeply, deeply appreciate it. There are plans moving forward to try to help cover medical bills and loss of income, and when they’re ready, I’ll announce them here. I may end up needing to turn to extraordinary measures, such as a GoFundMe, but I won’t be doing that until I know for certain I have to.

However, if you DO want to offer immediate support, I won’t refuse it. You can join or increase your membership tier at my Patreon, or if you prefer do one-time support through my Ko-Fi.

Thanks, folks.

Owen

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About Owen K.C. Stephens

Owen K.C. Stephens Owen Kirker Clifford Stephens is a full-time ttRPG Writer, designer, developer, publisher, and consultant. He's the publisher for Rogue Genius Games, and has served as the Starfinder Design Lead for Paizo Publishing, the Freeport and Pathfinder RPG developer for Green Ronin, a developer for Rite Publishing, and the Editor-in-Chief for Evil Genius Games. Owen has written game material for numerous other companies, including Wizards of the Coast, Kobold Press, White Wolf, Steve Jackson Games and Upper Deck. He also consults, freelances, and in the off season, sleeps. He has a Pateon which supports his online work. You can find it at https://www.patreon.com/OwenKCStephens

Posted on March 10, 2023, in Makes Perfect Sense, Short Fiction, Silliness and tagged , . Bookmark the permalink. Leave a comment.

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