Actor Lee Jung-jae at the recent Star Wars Day event in Busan, South Korea. Jung-jae takes on the role of a Jedi master in the series 'Star Wars: The Acolyte.' Photo: @from_jjlee/InstagramMANILA — “Star Wars” stands as one of the most iconic and expansive franchises in cinema and pop culture, cultivating a massive and passionate fan base with its array of films and television series.

For South Korean actor Lee Jung-jae, who stars in the newest addition to the epic space saga, “Star Wars: The Acolyte,” one of the project’s strengths is its accessibility to audiences who are unfamiliar with the “Star Wars” universe, opening the potential to attract new fans.

The eight-episode series “The Acolyte,” which premiered last June 4 on Disney+, takes place at the end of the High Republic era, about a hundred years before the events of “Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace” (1999). 

The show follows an investigation into a crime spree that pits a respected Jedi master, played by Jung-jae, against a dangerous warrior from his past, portrayed by Amandla Stenberg of “The Hunger Games” fame.

“Because it takes place in the earliest time period, you can start with this one. ‘The Acolyte’ can be the very first ‘Star Wars’ media that can introduce you to the franchise. I think that’s a big strength of the series,” Jung-jae said through an interpreter in a recent online press conference.

“Audiences who have never seen a ‘Star Wars’ installment, I feel like you can come into this series without feeling burdened because you can follow it easily,” he added.

Jung-jae also believes “The Acolyte” stands out for its intriguing murder mystery element. “It follows this series of mysterious murders, so that logline itself is very intriguing and I think it really invokes the viewers’ curiosity,” he said.

“It’s a mystery thriller genre and it stays very true to the genre,” he said.

As the first Asian actor to play a Jedi master, Jung-jae admitted to feeling initially pressured with his character, Master Sol, whom he described as “warmhearted” and “very expressive of his emotions.”

“But afterwards… I got really immersed in the show and I became Master Sol myself. I thought, I am just one of the characters in the entire ‘Star Wars’ franchise and I just have to focus on portraying this character to the maximum,” he said.

READ: Manny Jacinto shares 'Star Wars' stardom spotlight with Filipino parents

Lee Jung-jae at the recent Star Wars Day event in Busan, South Korea. Photo: @from_jjlee/InstagramLanguage training

Language was one of Jung-jae’s focal points in preparing for the role, given that he was not a native English speaker.

The 51-year-old actor, also the first Asian star to win an Emmy award for best drama series actor for “Squid Game,” noted that he worked with two English tutors and two dialect coaches prior to the show’s filming.

READ: ‘Succession' tops Emmy nominations with 25, as ‘Squid Game’ makes history

“Sometimes when I was delivering the lines, if the nuance was captured in a different way or if [creator and showrunner] Leslye [Headland] thought that it needed to be delivered differently, we would do multiple takes,” Jung-jae recounted.

“Thankfully, the crew and Leslye knew that English was not my first language so they were very patient with me. They made me feel at ease,” he said.

Aside from the language, Jung-jae said, “I just wanted to be more expressive when I was performing my role for Master Sol. I thought that could bring something different compared to the other Jedi characters.”

For more news and features on K-pop, K-drama, and K-stars, visit the Hallyu Corner microsite.