You would be forgiven for thinking that the Millennium Falcon had landed as Storm troopers and Jedis took over Dublin’s Croke Park this weekend.
Thousands of hopefuls queued for a chance to audition for lead roles in the new Star Wars trilogy. Newstalk’s Henry McKean used the force and crossed to the darkside as he met prospective Luke Skywalker’s and Princess Leah’s…
Over the weekend Disney, who bought the rights to Star Wars from George Lucas for 4 billion dollars, had an open casting in Dublin's Croke Park. It was originally supposed to be in Temple Bar but because of numbers it was moved. They also had casting in Glasgow, London and Manchester.
Hopefuls queued up at at Croke Park from 8am in the cold. The casting agents saw over 2500 people with around 150 call backs.
The first Star Wars was released in 1977 and during the making of it, everyone thought it would flop but it became a massive hit. Some of the young people at the casting saw the original Star Wars on VHS with their granddad, which made me feel old
“Star Wars Episode VII” (7) opens on December the 18th in 2015.
Fans and budding actors and actresses came from across Ireland, Canada and Europe to audition. Looking at the huge queue of people it snaked right around the winding ramp, there seemed to be two types of people at the audition. Attractive talented young people and die hard Star Wars fans. I met the fans.
Disney are looking for girls between 17 and 18 years old and men between 19 and 23. The girls must be beautiful, smart and athletic. Open to all ethnicities and must be 16 or over.
The young men must be handsome, smart, athletic and be 18 or over. I spoke to some of the very talented beautiful people in the queue, during auditions.
The casting agents looked you up and down and asked you a few questions to see if you were good looking enough and if you have talent.
Darth Vader, Jabba The Hut, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Yoda and Luke Sky Walker are some of the most recognisable film characters of all time. I asked people about their favourite characters.
Details on the Star Wars characters that so many are auditioning for:
RACHEL:
Was quite young when she lost her parents. With no other family, she was forced to make her way alone in a tough, dangerous town. Now 17 she has become street smart and strong. She is able to take care of herself using humour and guts to get by. Always a survivor, never a victim, she remains hopeful that she can move away from this harsh existence
THOMAS:
Has grown up without a father's influence. Without the model of being a man, he doesn't have the strongest sense of himself. Despite this, he is smart, capable and shows courage when it is needed. He can appreciate the absurdities in life and understands you can't take life too seriously.
