Wes Janson

Janson was the gunner for Wedge Antilles at the Battle of Hoth. He was the first member of Rogue Group to successfully take down an Imperial walker with the harpoon and tow cable gambit devised by Commander Luke Skywalker.

Behind the scenes
"I play a stormtrooper, in a walker, who's trying to shoot down my own bloody plane."

- Ian Liston, the actor who portrays Janson, on The Empire Strikes Back

Wes Janson was portrayed by Ian Liston in The Empire Strikes Back. During filming of The Empire Strikes Back, a call was put out for an actor, not an extra, to play an AT-AT gunner. That was Liston's original role in the film, but he was later asked by an assistant director with whom Liston had previously worked to take the role of Janson since the original actor had fallen ill. Thus he ironically played both an Imperial and a Rebel, and in one sequence of the film is in effect trying to shoot himself down. Regarding his scenes as Janson with Wedge Antilles, Liston revealed in 2005 that the two actors were never actually on set together&mdash;Liston's double took his place when the scene focused on Lawson (Antilles) and vice versa.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back