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"I knew what it was, I knew Obi-Wan, I knew Darth Vader but I hadn't seen any of the movies until I got this job. In the beginning when we were filming, because I didn't know so much about Star Wars, it made it easier for me. I feel like sometimes when you have true deep love for something you have to go through a period of demystifying it. And because I wasn't a Star Wars fan before, I didn't have to go through that process. I felt like I could just do my job. That part didn't really come into play until people were about to see it."
―Moses Ingram[1]

Moses Ingram (born 1994) is an American actress and social-media personality who portrays the Third Sister in Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Ingram had also previously played Jolene in the Netflix television series The Queen's Gambit, for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.[2]

Biography[]

Moses Ingram was born in 1994 and grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America. She knew she wanted to act since she was a preteen. She went straight from community college to Yale Drama School. After graduating, her first role was in "The Queen's Gambit." Ingram wasn't a Star Wars fan before landing her role in the Obi-Wan Kenobi television series.[1] She knew the cultural pinpoints of Star Wars,[3] but hadn't seen any of the movies until she got the part.[1]

Director Deborah Chow wanted Reva to be played by a young woman that the audience would believe could take on Darth Vader. Chow liked Ingram's strength, intelligence, and charisma, so she was excited when she and the crew casted her in the part of Reva.[4] After Ingram spent a week auditioning, Chow told her that she got the part in a Zoom call.[3] Ingram then watched the prequel trilogy for the first time and became a Star Wars fan.[5] The role required more athleticism than anything Ingram had done before and she spent about four months training before she started acting.[3] Ingram said her character "is a boss" and "a full-on athlete." She added that her physically-demanding character is "pretty badass" and could accomplish her mission "at all costs when given the opportunity."[6] She thought it was cool seeing herself as a villain.[4] Every single piece of Ingram's costume started out as sketches from costume designer Suttirat Anne Larlarb. The workshop made the costume pieces feel like a second skin to Ingram.[7] The costume made her stand in a certain way, and she felt bold and strong.[3] Ingram enjoyed wearing a cape while playing Reva and said it was "super dope" and a dream-come-true. Ingram hoped that her look for Reva's hair would allow Black children with kinky hair to wear their natural hair in Halloween costumes. Ingram said that Chow was very great with moving from the initial vision to what they ended up with.[6] Chow said that Ingram did a fantastic job portraying her character.[8] Despite this, Ingram was scared of hearing fans' opinions on the series.[3]

MosesIngramTraining

Moses Ingram training with a lightsaber

Reva's lightsaber was a completely original design and Ingram received it as a gift from Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy.[8] The weapon was customized to fit Ingram's hands.[9] The actress spent a lot of time icing her hands before she learned how to wield her lightsaber.[5] Ingram said that lifting the lightsaber required a lot of forearm strength, but she eventually got the hang of it.[10] Ingram received fight training from actor Ewan McGregor whom she described as "a graceful little butterfly." He showed her encouragement as she fumbled through rookie mistakes.[6] During training, Ingram learned what needed to change with the lightsaber, so it went through several processes. Depending on the scene that was being shot, Ingram used three different lightsabers: a full length prop, a medium prop, and a very small prop. Ingram also had a practice lightsaber that she was sent home with.[9]

She was welcomed into Star Wars by Hayden Christensen,[10] the actor who played Darth Vader in the series.[11] The first scene that was shot with Ingram was her and the other Inquisitors stepping off of their ship on Tatooine. She thought that being on the set was huge and she focused on not messing up.[3] In the beginning of filming, Ingram felt like she could do her job without going through "a period of demystifying" a deep love for the franchise, which made playing her character easier for her.[1] She also liked that she didn't have to live up to the same expectations as McGregor and Christensen. She felt like no one was looking for her to be something specific,[3] so she didn't look at other Star Wars lore[9] and she had free reign to be who she thought Reva is. Ingram said that[3] the virtual LED set[6] known as the Volume, was one of her favorite things about working on the series.[3] During reshoots, the crew celebrated Ingram's birthday by showing images of her on the Volume.[5] She felt like the show felt more real as it got closer to belonging to the people.[9]

On March 29, 2021, Lucasfilm Ltd. confirmed Ingram as a cast member of the live-action Disney+ television series Obi-Wan Kenobi.[12] Ingram's character was first pictured and fully revealed as Inquisitor Reva by an article published by Entertainment Weekly magazine on March 9, 2022, providing a first look at the Obi-Wan Kenobi series. Ingram said that "it's all heart" that makes her character stand out from The Grand Inquisitor and Darth Vader.[13]

In late May 2022, Ingram received hundreds of racist messages including death threats on her Instagram account by those objecting to her Star Wars character, Reva.[14] In response, The Walt Disney Company, Kenobi co-star Ewan McGregor, and StarWars.com issued statements defending Ingram and condemning the abusive messages.[15][16][17][18] Ingram tries not to concern herself with reactions to the series and instead just trusts the work she's put out. She has also been on social media less.[1] Ingram was interviewed for Obi-Wan Kenobi: A Jedi's Return, a documentary about the making of Obi-Wan Kenobi.[4]

Filmography[]

Year Title Series Contribution(s)
2022 "Part I" Obi-Wan Kenobi Reva[19]
2022 "Part II" Obi-Wan Kenobi Reva[20]
2022 "Part III" Obi-Wan Kenobi Reva[11]
2022 "Part IV" Obi-Wan Kenobi Reva[21]
2022 "Part V" Obi-Wan Kenobi Reva[22]
2022 "Part VI" Obi-Wan Kenobi Reva[23]

Sources[]

Notes and references[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Getting to Know 'Obi-Wan Kenobi' Star Moses Ingram by Nordstrom, Leigh on Yahoo! News (June 28, 2022) (archived from the original on July 3, 2022)
  2. 'Queen's Gambit' actor Moses Ingram's unrelenting journey from West Baltimore to Hollywood by Alexander, Keith on The Washington Post (February 15, 2021) (archived from the original on June 22, 2022)
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 YouTube Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen & Moses Ingram Answer 7 Star Wars Questions | Vanity Fair on the Vanity Fair YouTube channel (backup link)
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Obi-Wan Kenobi: A Jedi's Return
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 YouTube Star Wars Spin-Off OBI-WAN KENOBI: Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, Moses Ingram & Deborah Chow on the Kino Plus YouTube channel (backup link)
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Inside the 17-year journey to reunite Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen for Obi-Wan Kenobi by Ross, Dalton on Entertainment Weekly (March 10, 2022) (archived from the original on March 10, 2022)
  7. Interview with Suttirat Larlarb by Foss, Gary on Costume Designers Guild (June 13, 2022) (archived from the original on August 3, 2022)
  8. 8.0 8.1 How Moses Ingram made a Star Wars Halloween character for Black girls on Obi-Wan Kenobi by Ross, Dalton on Entertainment Weekly (April 6, 2022) (archived from the original on April 6, 2022)
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 YouTube 'Obi-Wan Kenobi' Star Ewan McGregor Explains Why He Sounds So 'Alec Guinness-y' | Rotten Tomatoes TV on the Rotten Tomatoes TV YouTube channel (backup link)
  10. 10.0 10.1 'Obi-Wan Kenobi': Moses Ingram Shares What Hayden Christensen Said About Joining 'Star Wars' (Exclusive) by Lambe, Stacy on Entertainment Tonight (May 25, 2022) (archived from the original on May 25, 2022)
  11. 11.0 11.1 Obi-Wan Kenobi new series logo Obi-Wan Kenobi — "Part III"
  12. StarWars Obi-Wan Kenobi Series to Begin Production in April, Cast Revealed on StarWars.com (backup link)
  13. See exclusive first-look photos from Obi-Wan Kenobi by Ross, Dalton on Entertainment Weekly (March 9, 2022) (archived from the original on March 11, 2022)
  14. Star Wars stands with Obi-Wan Kenobi's Moses Ingram amid racist fan backlash by Pulliam-Moore, Charles on The Verge (May 31, 2022) (archived from the original on June 3, 2022)
  15. 'Star Wars' calls out racism after attacks on Moses Ingram by Asmelash, Leah on CNN (June 1, 2022) (archived from the original on June 3, 2022)
  16. 'Star Wars' calls out racism after attacks on Moses Ingram by Cain, Sian on The Guardian (June 1, 2022) (archived from the original on June 3, 2022)
  17. TwitterLogo StarWars.com (@starwars) on Twitter (May 31, 2022): "We are proud to welcome Moses Ingram to the Star Wars family and excited for Reva's story to unfold. If anyone intends to make her feel in any way unwelcome, we have only one thing to say: we resist." (backup link)
  18. TwitterLogo Ewan McGregor (@starwars) on Twitter (June 1, 2022): "A personal message from Ewan McGregor." (backup link)
  19. See exclusive first look photos of Obi-Wan Kenobi by Ross, Dalton on Entertainment Weekly (March 9, 2022) (archived from the original on March 9, 2022)
  20. Obi-Wan Kenobi new series logo Obi-Wan Kenobi — "Part II"
  21. Obi-Wan Kenobi new series logo Obi-Wan Kenobi — "Part IV"
  22. Obi-Wan Kenobi new series logo Obi-Wan Kenobi — "Part V"
  23. Obi-Wan Kenobi new series logo Obi-Wan Kenobi — "Part VI"

External links[]

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