‘Andor’ Actor Denise Gough Claims Her Character Arc Will Address Gender Politics
Denise Gough, who plays Supervisor Dedra Meero in the upcoming Andor series on Disney+, recently detailed that her character’s arc explores gender politics.
Gough spoke with Total Film about the upcoming Star Wars series and made it clear the show, like much of Disney Stars Wars productions, is all about injecting modern woke identity politics into it.
“As a woman, in that world, for her to advance in any way, she has to be like 10 times better than anyone else in that room. And that felt really relevant to everything we’re going through right now,” she declared.
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The actress then detailed because she’s a woman, viewers will end up cheering for her before they realize “she’s a psycho.”
She explained, “It’s a clever thing to do, to show you how hard she has to work. It kind of brings you in to feel cheerleader-y for her – and then you’ll be like, ‘She’s a psycho!’ So be careful supporting her…”
Gough also praised the moment where it’s revealed that the character she plays is a woman in the show. She described to Total Film a shot where she puts on an Imperial jacket “and as the camera pulls round, you see it’s a woman in that outfit. And that felt great, great, great.”
It’s odd that Gough is describing that a woman playing an Imperial officer is so great. There are a number of high-ranking Imperial characters that are female albeit the two most famous, Princess Leia and Mon Mothma, were secretly aiding the Rebel Alliance and eventually completely rebelled against Imperial rule.
Star Wars Rebels also introduced Governor Arihnda Price, described on the official Star Wars website as “a confident leader nd believer in the Empire. While Lothal was under control, Pryce still wanted to eradicate the rebel threat. To do so, she asked for the Empire’s seventh fleet, citing the need for a commander who ‘sees a bigger picture.’”
Star Wars Battlefront II also follows the story of Imperial officer Iden Versio who eventually becomes the Commander of Inferno Squad. However, following the supposed death of the Emperor and the greenlighting of Operation: Cinder that began to affect her home planet, she defected and joined the Rebel Alliance aiding them in the Battle of Theed and fighting at the Battle of Jakku
A female Imperial officer is not groundbreaking and has been done before.
Gough is not the only one to market Andor via identity politics. Fiona Shaw, who plays a character named Maarva, told Empire, “Tony [Gilroy] has written a great, scurrilous [take] on the Trumpian world.”
She added, “Our world is exploding in different places right now, people’s rights are disappearing, and Andor reflects that. [In the show] the Empire is taking over, and it feels like the same thing is happening in reality, too.”
She later praised Gilroy for implementing real world politics into Star Wars, “I was impressed by Tony’s social-realist intentions.”
Shaw then claimed that Gilroy has created a “whole new morality” and put it into the show. She said, “He’s created a whole new morality. It’s very deep and humane – there is grief, mourning, hope, fear. It’s not just primary colours here.”
The official description for Andor reads, “The “Andor” series explores a new perspective from the Star Wars galaxy, focusing on Cassian Andor’s journey to discover the difference he can make. The series brings forward the tale of the burgeoning rebellion against the Empire and how people and planets became involved.
“It’s an era filled with danger, deception and intrigue where Cassian will embark on the path that is destined to turn him into a rebel hero,” it concludes.
Along with Gough and Shaw, the series also stars Diego Luna as Cassian Andor, Genevieve O’Reilly as Mon Mothma, Stellan Skarsgård, Adria Arjona, and Kyle Soller.
It is executive produced by Kathleen Kennedy, Tony Gilroy, Sanne Wohlenberg, Diego Luna and Michelle Rejwan. Gilroy also serves as the creator and showrunner.
Andor arrives on Disney+ on September 21, 2022. The first three episodes will be available to stream on its premiere date. It will then release new episodes weekly. There are 12 episodes in total.
What do you make of Denise Gough’s comments regarding the upcoming Andor series on Disney+?
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