Crystal Clarke and Pip Anderson cast in highly-anticipated film after impressing filmmakers during last year's open casting calls.
Filmmakers for Star Wars: Episode VII held open casting calls in 11 cities across the U.S. and U.K. last year, and were overwhelmed when 37,000 fans auditioned for the film in person and another 30,000 applied online. Out of all those hopefuls, Disney announced on Sunday that they’ve finally found the lucky two who made the cut for the coveted roles.
The two new actors who will join Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Lupita Nyong’o, Adam Driver and the rest of the cast are Crystal Clarke and Pip Anderson. Clarke, an American actress, has stage and screen experience, and will appear in next year’s film The Moon at the Sun. Anderson, a British actor, had his parkour expertise featured in a recent Spider-Man advertisement.
“The ‘Star Wars’ universe has always been about discovering and nurturing young talent and in casting Episode VII we wanted to remain absolutely faithful to this tradition. We are delighted that so many travelled to see us at the open casting calls and that we have been able to make Crystal and Pip a part of the film,” said Kathleen Kennedy, President of Lucasfilm and a producer of the upcoming Star Wars film.
It may be a while before Clarke and Anderson start filming, however, because Disney also announced Sunday that production on Episode VII has been suspended for two weeks due to 71-year-old Harrison Ford breaking his leg during filming in June. A spacecraft door on the Millennium Falcon fell on Ford’s leg, and his recuperation is expected to take up to two months. Disney and Lucasfilm said Ford is “doing well” and is “looking forward to returning to the set soon.” Despite the production suspension, the film is still on schedule to wrap in the fall and Disney still anticipates a Dec. 18, 2015 release.
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