20-04-2025
Andor's Ben Bailey Smith secretly wore Star Wars socks under costume
Andor's Ben Bailey Smith has recalled sneaking on a pair of Star Wars socks underneath his costume.
The actor, who most recently appeared on our screens in the Black Mirror season 7 episode 'Bête Noire', played Lieutenant Supervisor Blevin across five episodes of the Rogue One: A Star Wars Story prequel series back in 2022.
Competing on Sunday, 20 April's Celebrity Catchphrase, he told host Stephen Mulhern all about fanboying over a galaxy far, far away on set.
"The first movie I ever watched as a kid was Return of the Jedi - I mean in the cinema, 1983, when I was five years old and it blew me away and I became obsessed with Star Wars ever since then," explained Smith, who was joined by Steps singer Claire Richards and Emmerdale's Lisa Riley on the panel.
"What was it like when you walked onto the set?" Mulhern went on to ask.
"I'll be honest with you, I don't know if you've seen any of the photos but I'm in that sort of '70s-style getup, [Galactic] Empire, looking like a real nasty piece of work with the big black boots," he shared.
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"And unbeknownst to anyone in costume I had like these Star Wars socks - I had Dark Side socks on under my boots and I was waiting just at the side of the set, I was humming 'The Imperial March' like, let's do this!"
Composed by the legendary John Williams, 'The Imperial March' first featured in Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back and became synonymous with archvillain Vader.
After a three-year break - partly due to Hollywood's writer and actor strikes in 2023 - Andor's second and final season is scheduled to premiere on streaming platform Disney+ with its first three episodes on Tuesday, 22 April.
It'll then release three more episodes each week until Tuesday, May 13.
This absorbing sci-fi series stars Diego Luna, Stellan Skarsgård, Adria Arjona, and Genevieve O'Reilly.
Andor season 1 is available to stream on Disney+, while season 2 premieres Tuesday, 22 April.
