Katee Sackhoff Admits Playing Bo-Katan in ‘The Mandalorian’ ‘Broke’ Her

Katee Sackhoff has opened up about how tough it was to play Bo-Katan Kryze in The Mandalorian, saying the role left her feeling broken and full of doubt.

Sackhoff has been the voice of Bo-Katan for years in Star Wars animated shows like The Clone Wars and Rebels. But when she stepped into live action in The Mandalorian season 2 and later became a main character in season 3, things changed for her in ways she didn’t expect.

On her YouTube series The Sackhoff Show, during a chat with actor Tahmoh Penikett, she admitted the role shook her confidence. “I lost all of my confidence after Mandalorian. All of it,” she said. She explained that she had always trusted her instincts as an actor.

“My style of acting has always just been, ‘Your first instinct is the right instinct. Do that. Play the reality of the situation.’ And I’ve never really played a character. Do you know what I mean? Like, I’ve always played two steps removed from myself, in a sense. It always felt grounded in some part of my belly of who I was.”

With Bo-Katan, though, it wasn’t the same. “Bo-Katan is nowhere near who I am as a human being. Her life, what she wants, I didn’t understand her. As much as I understood her, I never felt her in my stomach. I never identified with her. I didn’t know how to find her… And it broke me. It just broke me, where I started doubting everything about myself.”

She said the struggle didn’t just stay with that one role. It also hurt her chances in other projects. “I’m not a strong auditioner on tape, and I was having to put myself on tape. I wasn’t booking anything. And for three years, I basically didn’t work. And it just destroyed my confidence.”

The Mandalorian is set to continue with a new movie, The Mandalorian & Grogu, which arrives next year. But there’s no word yet on whether Sackhoff’s Bo-Katan will return. If she does, Star Wars fans might see her next in Ahsoka season 2. For now, her future in live action remains unclear.

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments!