Eman Esfandi's Hilarious Journey to Ahsoka: From Prophesizing His Role to Embracing Star Wars

The Prophesized Casting

A prominent star in the recent hit Star Wars series, Ahsoka, was so confident in his abilities that he told people even before being cast that he would be in the show. The thing is, this was long before the role in question was even up for grabs.

Eman Esfandi as Ezra Bridger and Natasha Liu Bordizzo as Sabine Wren on Star Wars: Ahsoka

Eman Esfandi, who went on to play the young Jedi Ezra Bridger (though not quite so young anymore in Ahsoka), recently revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that he prophesized his casting as Ezra. According to Esfandi, he told his agent he would get the part six months before auditions began. It was widely known that Ahsoka would continue the animated series Rebels, which prominently featured Ezra. So once that was clear, Esfandi called his shot like Babe Ruth at the plate.

'I emailed my agent and manager six months prior to my audition and was like, 'Hey, when they cast for Ezra Bridger, I'm going to play him. So use these pictures.'

Hilarious Lack of Star Wars Knowledge

As impressive as the actor's drive was, it became almost hilarious in hindsight. It turns out that Esfandi was not the rabid Star Wars fan that audiences might have expected from someone so adamant about such a role.

This became particularly amusing thanks to a scene after Sabine (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) finally found Ezra after searching for years. The scene saw Sabine filling Ezra in on everything he'd missed while he was gone. But for Esfandi, that scene served a double purpose since he also had a relatively paltry knowledge of Star Wars events and lore.

'I wasn't a Star Wars person before the show. I just didn't grow up on it. But after we shot the show, I inhaled all of it for six months. So, when Sabine was filling Ezra in, I also didn't know much about it. Once I got to know everything, it just made that scene twice as funny. I was like, 'Oh my God, that was how they filled Ezra in? That’s hilarious.'

Embracing the Role and Future

Now that he's gotten more caught up with Star Wars, Esfandi has made peace with his role whether or not it continues from here. The way Ahsoka season 1 ended, it seems pretty clear that Ezra will be back for more stories in some form, likely including Esfandi. But the actor seems fine with how things go.

'If I do a second season, I'll be happy. If we also do a movie, I'll be so happy, and I would never need more than that. I'm like Harrison Ford in that way where I don't need Ezra's story to just live forever. I'd rather his story be concluded in the most appropriate way for his character. So if it ends at the movie, I'll wash my hands and thank God and move on.'

Even so, it would be great to see more Ezra, whether it's another season of Ahsoka or the upcoming Mandalorian movie set to unite all the different shows for a grand finale. Though maybe Esfandi should brush up on the lore before his next appearance. Then again, maybe not. He came in not knowing much and gave audiences one of the best performances in the show. So, maybe there's something to a little blissful ignorance.