An aspiring actor and film extra got caught out lying about being a stormtrooper in the new Star Wars film…by Lucasfilm. Alex Rolt had a lot of positive feedback when he told his local paper that he played the stormtrooper who says the line “Traitor!” in the new Star Wars: The Force Awakens film. The drama school graduate told the paper he had been chosen because of his fencing experience to fight against Boyega. He told the journalist: ‘They got me in the stormtrooper outfit but the prop didn’t have a clip or anything on the uniform, so I had to hold it in a certain way then deliver the line: “Traitor!” ‘ The interview then went viral.
The interview came to the attention of Star Wars production company LucasFilm who revealed the role in Star Wars: The Force Awakens was played by veteran stuntman Liang Yang.
Rolt made a public apology and admitted he only had a small extra role in the production. He said on Twitter: “Sorry for doing this to all the fans. Was a joke that got out of hand. My career is tarnished.”
Acting is a very hard career and actors do embellish their careers sometimes. Unfortunately, Rolt did not simply embellish, but took the credit for another actors part. It probably was a joke that got out of hand. It remains to be seen if he can redeem his reputation in the industry but it could be possible. He has already publicly apologised and that is the first step.
What do you think? Should Alex Rolt be forgiven? How wrong was what he did?
Catherine Balavage has been an actor for over ten years. Her book on acting, How To Be a Successful Actor: Becoming an Actorpreneur, has gotten numerous five star reviews and has been called the ‘best advice available’ by numerous sources.
