Obi-Wan Kenobi star Vivien Lyra Blair has opened up about what it was like for her to step into such a mᴀssive franchise and protect Carrie Fisher’s and Princess Leia Organa’s beloved Star Wars legacies. The Obi-Wan Kenobi series may have first and foremost been about Obi-Wan’s hardships in exile, but it also introduced us to a version of Princess Leia we’d never seen before.

While Carrie Fisher’s Leia was just 19 years old in the reтιтled A New Hope, Vivien Lyra Blair’s version of the character was only 10 years old, a mischievous, wise-cracking, hopeful, and kind young Princess on the cusp of becoming one of the Rebellion’s greatest leaders.

Blair had a difficult balance to strike. How do you show people a new version of such an iconic character while honoring the late Carrie Fisher’s legacy and pleasing Star Wars’ notoriously difficult-to-please fanbase? As Blair recently explained, it certainly took a toll.

During an interview with mental health advocates More Than You See, Blair was asked: “Did you have any anxious feelings playing a character that is such a huge icon to a generation? How did that feel, thinking about stepping into that?” The young actress responded with touching honesty about what it was like for her to become part of such a mᴀssive franchise:

“Oh yeah, I was terrified. I was this little, tiny 9-year-old in this giant fanbase. I was terrified that this was such a beloved character, and such a beloved actress, too, [who] had originally played her. I didn’t want to do anything that could possibly dishonor her legacy. So I was like, so terrified, and still am, honestly. Still in interviews, I get terrified I’m going to say the wrong thing. I have before; there was a whole recent thing with a clip I had said in an interview that had been taken out of context, and now a bunch of people hate me.

It’s kind of terrifying, constantly, that I have this giant fanbase that I feel the need to please. And it’s a fanbase that’s existed as long as my parents have been alive, really. Not even since I was born, but since my parents were born. It’s been such a large fanbase that like, it’s terrifying to be a part of the film series that these people worship, you know?”

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Blair’s Anxiety About Her Princess Leia Role Is Heartbreaking Yet Unsurprising

The Star Wars Fanbase Is Divided Over Most Star Wars Projects

Blair’s continued fears about her role in the Star Wars franchise are completely understandable. She’s not the first young actor to have been pressured by the Star Wars fanbase, and she sadly won’t be the last, either. Daisy Ridley, Kelly Marie Tran, Moses Ingram, Amandla Stenberg, and more have all faced the viciousness of Star Wars’ most critical fans.

At just nine years old, that must have been a huge undertaking, and the pressure is understandably still enormous at 13, three years after Obi-Wan Kenobi launched on Disney+. Blair’s role as a young Leia was surprisingly well-hidden before the show came out; I can only imagine how she must have felt in the lead-up to the series’ premiere, and her anxiety about the fans’ reaction.

As Blair said, Leia is one of Star Wars’ and film history’s most iconic characters. Imagine carrying that kind of weight on your shoulders at such a young age?

Our Take On Vivien Lyra Blair’s Princess Leia In Obi-Wan Kenobi

Leia Was Integral To Obi-Wan Kenobi’s Story

Few young actresses could have taken on such a major role with that kind of grace. Vivien Lyra Blair’s performance in Obi-Wan Kenobi was fun, joyful, and poignant, and her rapport with Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan was fantastic to witness. As writer and producer Joby Harold explained, Leia was the only character who could have pushed Obi-Wan to leave his post on Tatooine.

Without that journey, the show wouldn’t have had enough story to tell; we needed him to have a reason to reconnect with the Force and find hope again. Who better to do so than the very girl who would later describe Obi-Wan as her “only hope,” the one character just as important to the galaxy’s fate as Luke?

Blair’s role as Princess Leia in Obi-Wan Kenobi was a highlight of the show, providing the light Obi-Wan needed, and she deserves to enjoy her time in Star Wars to the fullest.

Source: More Than You See on Instagram