“The Acolyte'”s Amandla Stenberg Records the “Star Wars” Score on Her Grandfather's Violin: 'I Was Ecstatic' (Exclusive)
The actress is also an accomplished violinist
The Star Wars score is one of the most unforgettable musical works in cinema, so it’s fitting that Amandla Stenberg, the star of the newest series in the franchise, The Acolyte, paid tribute by performing it herself.
In an exclusive featurette about the upcoming Disney+ series, Stenberg — an accomplished violinist who began training in third grade — visits the John Williams Music Building in Los Angeles to perform solo violin arrangements created especially for her by legendary composer John Williams.
“I don't think that you can love Star Wars without loving the Star Wars score,” Stenberg says. “John Williams has the ability to create music that feels huge in scope while still being emotive.”
The actress, 25, was “ecstatic” when she learned Williams had adapted the musical score for her, and "terrified."
Lucasfilm Ltd.
'The Acolyte' star Amandla Stenberg.“It's a once in a lifetime experience, and it's something I'll hold forever,” she says, adding that she was “so nervous” to perform it.
“The violin I’m playing today is my grandfather's violin. I'm just going to try to drop into it and let the emotion of it sing,” she continues.
Stenberg then performs her own rendition of the score on the violin. Once she finishes, the studio recording producers and engineers applaud and smile approvingly.
In The Acolyte, which is set 100 years before The Phantom Menace, Stenberg plays Mae, a former Jedi Padawan who reunites with her Jedi Master to investigate a series of crimes. The cast also includes Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Charlie Barnett, Dean-Charles Chapman and Carrie-Anne Moss.
Christian Black / Lucasfilm Ltd.
'The Acolyte' star Amandla Stenberg.The highly-anticipated Star Wars installment is one of many Star Wars spinoffs that have been brought to life by Disney+, starting with The Mandalorian in 2019. In 2022, they brought two additional series to life: Andor with Diego Luna and Obi-Wan Kenobi starring Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen.
The Acolyte’s creator, Leslye Headland, recently told Entertainment Weekly that Stenberg was top of mind when she developed the Disney+ action drama, which focuses on the rise of the Sith, the Star Wars franchise's main antagonists.
During her first meeting with the actress, Headland showed concept art imagining Stenberg in the lead role.
“I really wanted to tell a story about the Sith,” she explained. “That was kind of my dream Star Wars idea. But it felt like the time period to do that in would be something pre-Phantom Menace. That seemed to be the most interesting trajectory for the Sith: How did the Sith go from the Rule of Two and being quote-unquote ‘extinct’ to Palpatine coming into power without the Jedi knowing about it?”
Stenberg, for her part, recently told Entertainment Weekly how she felt upon learning the show was developed with her in mind.
“I think I flew out of my body,” Stenberg recalled. “It’s not something that you anticipate happening to you ever. I had chills and tingles all over.”
Working on the show was a surreal experience for the actress, who “geeked out” when she arrived on set. Wandering the main Jedi Temple where the Jedi council meetings proved especially meaningful.
“That’s where so many iconic sequences that we’ve witnessed with Anakin Skywalker and Mace Windu and Yoda are located,” she explained. “There was one day we were in pre-production, and I took a nap in the Jedi temple. It wasn’t used for a short amount of time, so I laid down there on the marble. That’s when I really freaked out.”
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The first two episodes of The Acolyte premiere June 4 at 9 p.m. ET on Disney+.
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