Solo: A Star Wars Story: Original Lando Calrissian Actor Gave Donald Glover Some 'Really Helpful' Advice
With Solo: A Star Wars Story, two fresh-to-the-franchise faces had some major shoes to fill. The first was Alden Ehrenreich, the newcomer set to lead the pic as young Han Solo, walking in Harrison Ford's shadow and aiming to do the iconic smuggler character justice. The second was Donald Glover, who stars as young Lando Calrissian, the infamous (and infamously suave) gambler originated by Billy Dee Williams. Thankfully for both actors, they had the good fortune of getting some sage advice from the Star Wars series legends for Solo.
Ford previously told Ehrenreich "everything [he] needed to know" to bring Han Solo to life, and now, Glover has revealed the wise words Williams told him ahead of playing Lando. Chatting with Variety, the actor stated that Williams told him to "just be charming."
"[It] was perfect. It really made it super simplified," Glover explained. "With playing a character that's already established, there's a fear of overthinking and comparing yourself. To be able to just go, 'Be charming,' it's really helpful, actually."
The 34-year-old actor and rapper-songwriter added that putting on the instantly recognizable Lando voice was a ton of fun: "Just doing it at home was awesome. You can get anything done with a Lando voice."
Williams' advice to Glover, particularly the reminder to not overthink things, was especially useful when Solo: A Star Wars Story hit a snag in production with the firings of original directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller. Ron Howard eventually stepped in to take over and save the standalone flick, a transition Glover opened up to the outlet about.
"Everybody was just kind of shocked. I was not expecting that call at all. I was at home; I got the call and it was like, 'We're going to take a small hiatus.' And I was just shocked," Glover said. "You just want to know what's going to happen, because it's such a big ship and everything is new to you."
Discussing Howard replacing Lord and Miller, Glover stated, "It was unexpected but not difficult. We got three great directors for the price of one, and I got to see the difference. I've never been in a movie this big. I've gotten to work with big directors, you know, [like] Ridley Scott. But getting to see how it's done from two different styles was super unique. On the same movie? Never happens. So I just soaked that up."
He continued, noting that the situation wasn't what anyone wanted or anticipated, but he knew he and everyone else could work through it. "I was just like, 'I know this is not ideal, but now there's a control in this experiment. This probably won't ever happen to you again, so pay attention,'" said Glover. "It was weirdly beneficial — not to belittle the seriousness of the situation. I think there was honestly a miscommunication in the artistic vision."
Naturally, Star Wars fans are going to wonder how Williams feels about Glover's performance, and whether the latter truly listened to the former's advice. We couldn't be happier to relay that Williams adored Glover's take on Lando; the actor texted Glover, "You did a good job," which was more than enough for the new Lando to feel like he hadn't let Williams down.
We can see just how charming Donald Glover is as Lando Calrissian when Solo: A Star Wars Story arrives in theaters on May 25.