The role of a young Han Solo in the planned Star Wars spin-off about the legendary character was always bound to be a hotly fought over role, and also one where Disney/Lucasfilm and directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller were likely to cast a wide net while looking for the perfect person. Now Variety reports they’re narrowing in on the actorwho’ll land the role, soming up with a shortlist of a dozen names.
That list includes some hot young things, such as Miles Teller, Ansel Elgort, Dave Franco, Logan Lerman, Jack Reynor, Scott Eastwood, Emory Cohen, and Blake Jenner. Earlier in the search the makers considered both older and younger actors but it looks like they’ve decided their film Han Solo should be in his early 20s (although Eastwood is a little older as he’s 29).
It is very early to cast, as the movie isn’t expected to go into production until January 2017 (for release May 25, 2018). However it’s suggested the reason that they want to find their man now is because of a planned cameo in this year’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which is also set before the events of Star Wars: A New Hope.
All of the finalists are now expected to screen-test and the person who’ll be filling Harrison Ford’s boots will be chosen within the next few weeks. It’ll certainly be interesting to see who they pick, as some of those on the shortlist have the swagger and others have the looks, but it’s a tough job for someone to pull both those together in a way audiences will be happy with. Whoever it is, it seems we can be assured Han is gonna be very good looking.
Actors of fully Jewish background: Logan Lerman, Natalie Portman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Mila Kunis, Bar Refaeli, James Wolk, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Julian Morris, Adam Brody, Esti Ginzburg, Kat Dennings, Gabriel Macht, Erin Heatherton, Odeya Rush, Anton Yelchin, Paul Rudd, Scott Mechlowicz, Lisa Kudrow, Lizzy Caplan, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Gal Gadot, Debra Messing, Robert Kazinsky, Melanie Laurent, Shiri Appleby, Justin Bartha, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Margarita Levieva, Elizabeth Berkley, Halston Sage, Seth Gabel, Corey Stoll, Mia Kirshner, Alden Ehrenreich, Debra Winger, Eric Balfour, Emory Cohen, Jason Isaacs, Jon Bernthal, William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy.
Andrew Garfield and Aaron Taylor-Johnson are Jewish, too (though I don’t know if both of their parents are).
Actors with Jewish mothers and non-Jewish fathers: Jake Gyllenhaal, Dave Franco, James Franco, Scarlett Johansson, Daniel Day-Lewis, Daniel Radcliffe, Alison Brie, Eva Green, Joaquin Phoenix, River Phoenix, Emmy Rossum, Ryan Potter, Rashida Jones, Jennifer Connelly, Sofia Black D’Elia, Nora Arnezeder, Goldie Hawn, Ginnifer Goodwin, Amanda Peet, Eric Dane, Jeremy Jordan, Joel Kinnaman, Ben Barnes, Patricia Arquette, Kyra Sedgwick, Dave Annable, and Harrison Ford (whose maternal grandparents were both Jewish, despite those Hanukkah Song lyrics).
Actors with Jewish fathers and non-Jewish mothers, who themselves were either raised as Jews and/or identify as Jews: Ezra Miller, Gwyneth Paltrow, Alexa Davalos, Nat Wolff, Nicola Peltz, James Maslow, Josh Bowman, Winona Ryder, Michael Douglas, Ben Foster, Jamie Lee Curtis, Nikki Reed, Zac Efron, Jonathan Keltz, Paul Newman.
Oh, and Ansel Elgort’s father is Jewish, though I don’t know how Ansel was raised. Robert Downey, Jr. and Sean Penn were also born to Jewish fathers and non-Jewish mothers. Armie Hammer and Chris Pine are part Jewish.
Actors with one Jewish-born parent and one parent who converted to Judaism: Dianna Agron, Sara Paxton (whose father converted, not her mother), Alicia Silverstone, Jamie-Lynn Sigler.
I believe Lerman’s mother is Christian but I may be wrong… it really shouldn’t matter anyway, he is a phenomenal actor & truly humble. He basically has no social media or paid-for PR hype surrounding him unless it is made by his fans. He shows no desire to become egocentric or ostentatious like a lot of the big names out there. He has great potential & is commited to doing good work no matter the cost to his name; while still exploring different genres and realms of the industry no matter the salary or attention he will get. I can’t wait to see Indignation it was just bought at Sundance and should be coming out soon.