The Acolyte has been taking the internet by storm. Perhaps no part of the new Star Wars series has interested fans more than the Nightsisters, a coven of witches with a dark history tied to the show’s two leads.
Heroic Hollywood was lucky enough to sit down for an interview with Amy Tsang, who portrays the witch Ensign Rane on The Acolyte. She’s previously worked on a number of genre projects such as Kung Fu and Velvet Buzzsaw, along with the indie hit Silent River.
What was it like getting the call to be in a Star Wars project?
I didn’t expect that I would ever get it, so I was over the moon. it was two weeks before I flew out to London. Like two weeks prior to before flying out. So I was feeling all sorts of emotions. I was like excited, I was like ‘Oh my god I have to, you know wrap things up over here because I’m going to be out there for a few months’. I honestly, I just was kind of shocked that I even got it.
Were you a big Star Wars fan at all before being cast in The Acolyte?
Growing up, all my best friends loved Star Wars. And they were like the biggest Star Wars fans. So through them, i would hear about all the Star Wars things. So whenever Star Wars is premiering atg the theater we would go together. And through them I would get really excited because I could see how much it’s impacted them. So I’m just the least of them. It’s such a huge world for me to dive into. I kind shy away from things- if I didn’t already start when I should have started, I just feel overwhelmed by everything. But it’s so ingrained in our culture! I’m like ‘Okay, Darth Vader, I love Darth Vader. And Yoda, what he says.’ We’re always repeating things in our language because of these characters. May the fourth be with you! I would say that a lot. But I am actually a new Star Wars fan.
Disney is a brand known for keeping actors on a very short leash for these massive projects. How much did you actually know about Ensign Rane and the witches when you signed on?
Not much, actually. Not much. I had a code name for the longest time. I was kind of reading up about the witches in the Star Wars world but I was like ‘Oh, that doesn’t seem like the witches that we’re going to portray’. I didn’t know what to go off from. So I always loved witches growing up. I love anything like tv shows, movies about witches. I was very drawn to witchcraft and the dark magic and stuff like that. So I had that to go off from. Which is my experiences that I’ve seen of withces and my personal connection to witches.
Did you have any specific witches you were pulling from?
Specific witches? It was just an amalgamation of so many. I don’t think it was specific. Images kept crossing my mind, but I loved The Craft growing up. I mean, that’s an amazing witch movie. My friends and I, we formed our little group when we were watching The Craft when we were teenagers. We actually practiced a bit of it. I was kind of drawing from that, our own personal experiences.
Can fans expect a bigger role for Ensign Rane heading into episode 7?
I don’t think I can go into detail, but I definitely should come back around in episode 7!
Why do you think this concept of witches in Star Wars has resonated with so many people despite how little we’ve seen of them so far?
Because it’s new in the universe, right? Isn’t it completely a new thing? I mean, there’s elements of it in previous Star Wars and the books and stuff, but I think because it’s kind of like that, it’s like a weird animal that you’ve never seen before in a zoo. It’s kind of like ‘Wow! What’s that?’ With the witches, it’s like ‘Witches? In this universe?’. It’s like, they’re not Sith, they’re not Jedi, what are they? So I think it’s the curiosity around that that draws people to it. The mystery to it.
Star Wars is known for expanding on the lesser-known corners of their universe. Would you ever be interested in reprising your role as Ensign Rane in a series set before the events of The Acolyte?
Oh yeah! There’s so much to expand on in this group of witches. It would be so great if they had their own storyline. You only see a bit of the whole thing. Every single person that played a witch in there, they had their own backstories and they really- you might not see much of us on screen, but we really made our characters full. Each and every one of us.
When people talk about Star Wars, their eyes often shift across the pond to Marvel Studios. Would you ever be interested in joining the world of superheroes?
Absolutely! Absolutely! Yeah!
Is there any particular role or series you’d want to join?
The Spider-Verse. The upcoming Spider-Verse. I would die. I would die to work with Nic Cage.
Similar to Nic Cage, you have a very eclectic career, with genre projects like The Acolyte mixed with more artsy films like Silent River. Do you feel drawn to either direction or do you hope to strike a balance in your career?
It’s less about what medium it is, it’s more about the story or the characters. They all have similarities, actually. The roles that I do end up playing. They’re all very- you’re not sure if they’re good or bad kind of roles. There’s a mystery behind their background. It’s those types of characters that I’ve always been drawn to. Characters with a more complex background. You can’t explain them in a sentence. Those are the ones, not only am I drawn to, but those are the ones they end up getting.
A lot of actors have a dream director they want to work with. Do you have one that sticks out in your mind?
There’s so many. But recently? Alex Garland. Absolutely. Just big fan of him since Ex Machina. I mean, I love Civil War….it’s a great one. It’s a great movie. I think the best of the year, I’ve seen.
In terms of Chinese director, Wong Kar-Wai. I’d love to work with Wong Kar-wai. Park Chan-wook. He just did The Sympathizer, but I’ve been a fan of him since Old Boy. There’s so many directors. Bong Joon-ho!
Speaking of directors, you got to work with Kogonada for The Acolyte. What was it like working with him?
Kogonada is the Jedi master of directors! I’m serious. He is just able to be so calm in the midst of all this chaos. Because there’s a lot going on. And he’s zoned in specifically what he wants and needs from everything. And he’s able to watch from a hawk in all aspects of what’s going on. And then in between takes he’ll come and be like ‘Okay, okay, let’s do this’ and then in a very calm demeanor ask for what he wants from his crew and his actors and be able to see everything, you know? and zone in and get what he needs for the shot. It’s quite incredible. I myself, I do want to direct in the future, so watching him was like a masterclass.
Do you have any ideas for what project you’d want to direct?
I’ve been working on something for the past few years, actually. It’s called Lady Luck and it’s kind of based on my brother and I’s relationship. It revolves around gambling. The world of gambling in the Asian community is often unspoken about, but it’s something I grew up with. Gambling addiction, particularly in my family. And I created a story around that! First I wrote a pilot, and then I thought ‘Oh, I wanna direct it’ so I’m making a feature version of that so that I have two to present. So if the pilot goes, then okay, series it will be. If the feature is what gets people’s attention, then hopefully I can direct that. I think that would be one of the requirements. You know, me attached as the director.
Would you want to star in that as well as direct it, or just direct it?
You know, initially, I wanted to. Because I understand the character very much. But as the years go by, I’m like, I think directing it, just directing it, is more of what I want. Because if I wasn’t attached to the actor, it would definitely have to be the right actress that plays it. But I’m more interested in directing it.
You’ve also gotten into costume design recently. What led to that?
I’ve always loved clothes. Before becoming an actor I was on track to becoming a designer. And I was trying to decide between being a fashion designer or a fine artist. I was selling vintage clothing as a side hustle. When I started- so I got the role on Silent River and the director knew that I could also, that I had this background, a fashion design background. So he asked me if I wanted to be a costume designer as well for this movie. Because it’s indie, they kind of wanted to keep the crew small. Many people on it were wearing different hats. Then without thinking about it I was like ‘Sure! That sounds like a lot of fun! Oh, that’s great! I get to dress people! That’s awesome. And then I started doing it and I found out how hard it is! I was like ‘This is so hard!’ Me having to deal with preparing for my role is one thing but the costume design, trying to get all these things together in a short period of time and under a small budget is difficult and I have tremendous respect for costume designers and all crew actually. Because I worked behind the scenes closely with the crew and I got a glimpse- I mean I was there so I saw how hard it is and how much work was put behind every single role to make a movie happen. I learned a lot about filmmaking through making Silent River.
Do you find yourself preferring the hustle and bustle atmosphere of indie projects, or larger scale ones like The Acolyte?
You know, the amazing thing was Kogonada sort of ran it like an indie set. In the sense that he was there, down in the trenches with everyone. He was there talking to us and asking what we thought. He asked me what I thought about my character in between takes and he really listened to us, and he let us try things out. So that’s what you get out of an indie set. Getting to talk things through with a director and getting to work things out on the spot, that’s what I love and I was able to do that on this big Star Wars set which was incredible. So I don’t know! Maybe if it was another director it would be different but with Kogonada, I guess because he comes from that world as well, that indie world.
Even though you didn’t design Ensign Rane’s costume on The Acolyte, do you have any analysis of what her clothes meant for her character?
Our costume designer was awesome! Jennifer Bryan. She was so specific and detailed with every single witch. There were distinctions between our costumes. Even though as a group we were cohesive, every single person had their little details that made them the way they were. The way they move around the world. So mine kind of had a high neck, very structured- made me stand straight. So that affected the way I moved in the world and it informed what my character was to be like. So I kind of followed and shaped my character around the costume I was wearing.
Is there anything else you want to get out there?
I would love people to know about Silent River! It’s on Amazon Prime right now.
Silent River is a movie starring Amy Tsang from the mind of Chris Chan Lee. The film follows Elliot (West Liang) on a mission to reconcile with his estranged wife when he encounters a woman on the run from her mysterious past. It’s now streaming for free on Tubi.
The Acolyte is streaming now on Disney Plus. Stay tuned for the latest news regarding the future of the Star Wars franchise and make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more content!
