- "It gives me hope that a little girl is going to watch [Andor] and be like, ‘Oh my god, that girl kind of looks like me.' [My ethnicity] wasn't part of the conversation, which was, I think, the most beautiful thing about it. It wasn't like, ‘Oh, you're Hispanic, so you need to be in this.' Tony [Gilroy] was like, ‘Oh, you're Bix [Caleen].'"
- ―Adria Arjona
Adria Arjona is a Puerto Rican actress who played Bix Caleen in the 2022 Andor television series. She is known for playing Dorothy Gale, the lead in the fantasy drama series Emerald City, and for supporting roles such as Anathema Device in the Amazon series Good Omens, Julia Reyes in the 2018 movie Pacific Rim Uprising, and Martine Bancroft in the 2022 film Morbius.
Biography[]
Adria Arjona played Bix Caleen in the Andor television series. Arjona's ethnicity was not part of any of the conversations about her casting.[2] Executive producer and creator Tony Gilroy cut everyone else from the casting process. He then told her she had the role and welcomed her into Star Wars.[3] Arjona and Gilroy discussed Caleen's character arc at length.[4] Arjona was immediately drawn to her character's tough exterior, which protects her vulnerable core. She liked how Caleen is fearless, bold, deep inside, loyal, compassionate, and cares too much for others.[2] She described her character as a hardworking and complicated woman who is underestimated by people.[5]
Adria Arjona as Bix Caleen in her character poster
Arjona assumed that she would film in front of a green screen or a virtual set, and she was surprised that an entire city was built for scenes on Ferrix.[6] Scenes on the planet were filmed in an intricate set in Little Marlow, Buckinghamshire.[5] According to Gilroy, everything on Ferrix was filmed first.[7] In Arjona's apartment, she kept notepads everywhere, which she used to plot and connect the dots that would take Caleen to where she ended up.[4] Arjona was obsessed with the droid B2EMO whom she thought was endearing, funny, and "badass."[8] During the first take of a scene in which Caleen and Luthen Rael spoke at a bar on Ferrix, Arjona tripped on the pebbles and fell on her face. She then insisted on doing the scene again.[3] Arjona believed that the betrayal of Timm Karlo completely broke Caleen and took her down a spiral where she lost herself. She thought that Gilroy made an interesting choice in having Caleen be tortured by an auditory device. Arjona said that just thinking about it messed with her head. She asked Gilroy if she could make Caleen unable to take care of herself in a childish way towards the end of the series.[4] In September, 2022, Arjona attended the Andor launch event in Hollywood, California.[9]
Works[]
Filmography[]
| Year | Title | Series | Contribution(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | "Kassa" | Andor | Bix Caleen[10] |
| 2022 | "That Would Be Me" | Andor | Bix Caleen[11] |
| 2022 | "Reckoning" | Andor | Bix Caleen[12] |
| 2022 | "Announcement" | Andor | Bix Caleen[13] |
| 2022 | "Narkina 5" | Andor | Bix Caleen[14] |
| 2022 | "Nobody's Listening!" | Andor | Bix Caleen[15] |
| 2022 | "Daughter of Ferrix" | Andor | Bix Caleen[16] |
| 2022 | "Rix Road" | Andor | Bix Caleen[17] |
Sources[]
New Casting Announced for Cassian Andor Series on StarWars.com (backup link)- This Week! in Star Wars All the D23 Expo News, a First Look at Phase II of The High Republic, and More! on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link)
- Andor Is Here! on StarWars.com (backup link)
- "A Potent Moment in History": Insights from Tony Gilroy and the Andor Cast on StarWars.com (backup link)
- Andor — "Kassa"
- Andor — "That Would Be Me"
- Andor — "Reckoning"
- Diego Luna and the Cast and Crew of Andor | This Week! in Star Wars on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link)
- Unidos: Celebrating LatinX Representation in the Galaxy Far, Far Away on StarWars.com (backup link)
- Andor — "Announcement"
- Andor — "Narkina 5"
- Andor — "Nobody's Listening!"
- This Week! in Star Wars Marvel Star Wars Comic Covers Revealed, Andor's Adria Arjona Stops By, and More! on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link)
- Losing Bix: Andor's Adria Arjona on the Downward Spiral of Bix Caleen on StarWars.com (backup link)
- Andor — "Daughter of Ferrix"
- Andor — "Rix Road"
- "Star Wars: Andor Season One Companion" — Star Wars Insider 217
- Star Wars Celebration LIVE! 2023 - DAY 1 on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link)
- Denise Gough, Kyle Soller, and Adria Arjona from Andor | Star Wars Celebration LIVE! 2023 on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link)
- This Week! in Star Wars Star Wars Celebration Europe 2023 Recap on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link)
Notes and references[]
- ↑
New Casting Announced for Cassian Andor Series on StarWars.com (backup link)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "A Potent Moment in History": Insights from Tony Gilroy and the Andor Cast on StarWars.com (backup link)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1
"Star Wars means so much!" Diego Luna and the Andor cast on auditions, tricky lines and falling over on the BBC Radio 1 YouTube channel (backup link)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Losing Bix: Andor's Adria Arjona on the Downward Spiral of Bix Caleen on StarWars.com (backup link)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 ANDOR Production Brief V3 FINAL 8-04-22 by McIntyre, Gina on Getty Images (August 4, 2022) (backup link)
- ↑ How ‘Andor' Became the First ‘Star Wars' TV Series for Grown-Ups: ‘I Wanted to Do It About Real People' by Vary, Adam B on Variety (archived from the original on August 24, 2022)
- ↑ ‘Andor' Creator Tony Gilroy Talks Luthen's Good Day, That Post-Credit Scene and Season Two by Davids, Brian on The Hollywood Reporter (November 23, 2022) (archived from the original on November 23, 2022)
- ↑ Star Wars (@starwars) on Twitter (October 19, 2022): "The cast of Andor shares their thoughts on the newest droid to join the galaxy, B2EMO." (backup link)
- ↑ Diego Luna and the Cast and Crew of Andor on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link)
- ↑ Andor — "Kassa"
- ↑ Andor — "That Would Be Me"
- ↑ Andor — "Reckoning"
- ↑ Andor — "Announcement"
- ↑ Andor — "Narkina 5"
- ↑ Andor — "Nobody's Listening!"
- ↑ Andor — "Daughter of Ferrix"
- ↑ Andor — "Rix Road"
