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How Oscar Isaac Got His Star Wars Superfan Uncle an Extra Gig in the New Movie

Oscar Isaac.

This is how cool Oscar Isaac is. When he got a part in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (also known as Episode VII), he let director J.J. Abrams in on a little family secret — he comes from a family of Star Wars geeks. “My family couldn’t even believe it, it was the most amazing thing that ever could have happened,” Isaac told us on Sunday at a Peggy Siegal–hosted reception for his most recent film, A Most Violent Year. “My uncle, my brother, my cousin are all Star Wars geeks. They’re like the biggest Star Wars fans of all time. My uncle almost passed out when he found out.” So Isaac arranged for his uncle to visit the set, where Abrams surprised him with an offer he couldn’t refuse. “He asked him, ‘You want to be in the movie?’ And so he put him in as an extra!” Isaac said. “Isn’t that the most amazing thing?” What his uncle gets to do, or, for that matter, everything he gets to do, Isaac can’t reveal just yet — “I can’t tell you any of that stuff!” — but he will admit to being a fan of the new-and-improved lightsabers. “They do look very cool.” Isaac’s never been to Comic-Con, but with his his first trip there on the horizon, as he’ll surely go to promote Star Wars and X-Men: Apocalypse, he’s contemplating whether or not to go in costume. “Maybe I’ll go as a gonk droid. Then I can observe anonymously.”

Oscar Isaac’s Uncle Is in Star Wars, Too