ANDOR Stars Denise Gough & Kyle Soller On Syril's Big Setback & Dedra's Desire For Power (Exclusive)

ANDOR Stars Denise Gough & Kyle Soller On Syril's Big Setback & Dedra's Desire For Power (Exclusive)

Andor is finally here and ahead of its three-episode premiere, we had a chance to sit down with stars Denise Gough and Kyle Soller to talk about their villainous characters and what to expect this season!

By RohanPatel - Sep 21, 2022 03:09 PM EST
Filed Under: Star Wars

Andor has finally arrived and, ahead of its action-packed three-episode premiere, we had an exclusive opportunity to sit down with stars Denise Gough (Under the Banner of Heaven; Monday) and Kyle Soller (Anna KareninaThe Titan), who play two of the villains of the series, Dedra Meero and Syril Karn, respectively.  

While we do spend a lot of time with Syril in the first three episodes, we don't meet Dedra until episode four, so there are a few minor spoilers in our conversation as Denise touches on her character's evil intentions this season while Kyle reveals some of what to expect from Syril after that big setback in episode three. 

Check out the full video interview below and please remember to LIKE and SUBSCRIBE


ROHAN: Denise, I believe we first meet your character, Dedra Meero, in episode four and you give us a lot of reason to believe she has a much bigger agenda than what we've seen. What can you tell us about her journey this season?

DENISE: Well, I think when you meet her, she's trying to prove herself, we've been talking a lot today about what these characters have in common is their desperate need to be seen, and to get control for whatever reason, whatever they're lacking in themselves, they're going to try and get in their job. So, she's incredibly obsessive and meticulous in her desire for power.

I think for Dedra, it's definitely about power, and so you see throughout the season, you see her get closer and closer to what she thinks is going to make her have her like status and make her seen, essentially, and so the lengths that she'll go to, who she will hurt, essentially, in order to get what she wants.

I love playing that because I think that seeing women be able to be those things too, there isn't a moment where you go, “Oh, but maybe she's really nice.” We don't need to be doing that, she gets to actually be like, she's complex in so many ways, but I do get to be one of the bad guys without apologizing for it, which is really good fun.

ROHAN: Kyle, we spend a lot of time with your character, Syril Karn, in the first three episodes, and let's just say, he has a bit of a setback in that third hour. How would you describe his mindset moving forward?

KYLE: Oh, wow, yeah, his mindset is a bit like, “oh, [frick], what do I do now?” And, it takes a really interesting turn, something that I'd never expected a Star Wars series, a series to investigate, which is what does his home life look like? You know, he gets fired from his job and he has no other recourse but to go back home…

DENISE: …To his mom! It’s absolutely mad that that’s happening in Star Wars!

KYLE: *laughs* It’s incredible, it turns into like a Pinter play. It's really amazing, and with the most beautiful actress playing my mother, Kathryn Hunter, who's incredible.

DENISE: We're huge fans, like from the stage. She's one of our goddesses of the theater. We would have studied her work in drama school. This is a woman that is incredible. I mean, Fiona Shaw, also, she was on the front cover of a play that I did in drama school. These are like my theater heroes, and here we are getting to be in Star Wars with them. You're in like a space apartment. *talking to Kyle*

KYLE: Yeah, yeah, really incredible, and so like, what's great from that perspective, is that he feels like he's on top of the world as he's right about to capture Cassian, and then the world is removed from underneath his feet, and he has nothing left. Then, he goes back to his trauma-filled apartment with his mother, and what does he do? It's such a human kind of story of him then trying to figure out where, what's my navigation now? And, then he crosses paths with Dedra.

DENISE: Hitches his wagon!

KYLE: Exactly, like instigates a fire! It gives him back the fire of like, oh, no, there's another person like me out there that wants what I want, and she's doing it in a really great way, and yeah, so he gets his fire back.

DENISE: And then they live happily ever after!

ROHAN: Both of you are accomplished stage actors and Star Wars is, at its core, a massive space opera - did your prior experience inform stepping into this series?

DENISE: Well, for me, it's like I was saying earlier that it's the first time I walked onto a set and felt how I feel when I'm in a play. That never happens. It just doesn't, and yet something about this because it exists in all its operatic form already and you're stepping into this thing that can hold, like it's a pulsating entity already and then, the writing was so good that all you have to do is dance, and the way that it's constructed or the storylines in this show, the way everyone is looked after, like, my attention to detail thing is, that's what you get in the theater.

You're constantly finding the new details and shining and touching up and polishing and you can do a run for like six months and you want to feel on your last night that you're just getting started, and that's how working on this felt. It felt like, and I'm gonna get to go back and do more like we're gonna do more things together, that, I don't get that feeling of excitement when I'm working on-screen.

I never do, it feels like usually quite a lonely process, and a bit disjointed, but this feels like you're going into a very, like beautiful community that's there to help you find the detail and the more detail the better, and then you have this fandom that is out to make sure and hold you accountable to make sure that you get that detail. So, you feel like you're making an offering to something that's taking it really seriously.

So, I take it very seriously when I'm doing any job, but this, I feel very, like spiritually connected to, I feel like there's a responsibility to do something for all the people that are going to watch this, and also just to say, we've been talking too about how it's the only thing you're in that a five-year-old could have a conversation with a 75-year-old about how much they love this thing. You can't do that with any other show, maybe Game of Thrones or Harry Potter in years to come, but although, I don't know if five-year-olds should be watching Game of Thrones. *laughs* But, you know what I mean, this one is so special because I would see a five-year-old get as excited as a 75-year-old. It's so beautiful to think that it crosses so many generations. I love it. It's such a gift.



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 is 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.

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bkmeijer1
bkmeijer1 - 9/21/2022, 3:08 PM
For a second I thought that was Sam Witwer in the banner image, and now I kinda want him to show up in a Star Wars show.
GhostDog
GhostDog - 9/21/2022, 3:10 PM
This show is so good
soberchimera
soberchimera - 9/21/2022, 4:49 PM
@GhostDog - Didn't really pick up steam until episode 3, which makes me apprehensive that this season is 12 episodes. There's probably going to be more slow episodes like the 1st two where nothing really happens. Still, so far it's much better than Obi-Wan and Boba Fett.
GhostDog
GhostDog - 9/21/2022, 4:54 PM
@soberchimera - i was hooked but it definitely feels like a film that they edited like a tv show. Those first 3 feel like a 120 minute movie.
KaioKen
KaioKen - 9/21/2022, 3:53 PM
This is the best Disney Star Wars content so far.
TheVandalore
TheVandalore - 9/21/2022, 6:59 PM
@KaioKen - let see how it wraps up first, but so far I strongly agree.
mountainman
mountainman - 9/21/2022, 4:02 PM
Haven’t seen it yet, but I’m loving what I’m hearing from the reviews! This weekend I’ll be checking this out!
TheVandalore
TheVandalore - 9/21/2022, 6:07 PM
This show is phenomenal, if not a bit too slow. I actually like the slow pace and world building and attention to detail in the esthetic of each shot, this show looks like a TON of work went into it, which really really shows when they linger on shots for a super long time and have 13 establishing shots of people walking around before every scene with dialog. This show feels like an anime the way it takes its time and allows the atmosphere and setting be characters. All of that comes down to production value, and having great people behind the camera who know how to milk the hell out of the cinematography.

I play Star Wars The Old Republic daily so I'm in the Star Wars universe esthetic non stop pretty much, and this show made it feel like they brought it to life.

And they are actually making me care about Cassian, which I didn't in Rogue One, and I really enjoy the new characters they introduced. I hope the teen girl leader of Andors tribe didn't die and comes back at some point, she seemed like a bad ass.

I liked Cassians back storyline of being part of a world that was abandoned after a mining accident and they are the remaining survivors, then a ship crashed and he was picked up by salvagers. That's a cool original backstory I wanna know more about.

And look at that, suddenly I care about a character I didn't before. I honestly loved these first 3 episodes. My only nit pick is it did seem to drag a bit a parts. I think these 3 episodes could have been like 2 episodes with a slightly longer run time. But I liked that they slowed it down and let us just live in this universe too... so idk if I really want them to trim the fat.

I just love this universe when it's treated with respect, and these first 3 episodes have been respectful and responsible with the legacy and did a great job injecting some creative newness to the franchise with some of its filming choices. This may be the first TV Show that actually rivals the film quality. It doesn't rush, it takes its time and tells a well crafted story.

TheBlueMorpho
TheBlueMorpho - 9/21/2022, 8:37 PM
Really like the show. Digging the slow burn
SpaceParanoids
SpaceParanoids - 9/21/2022, 9:23 PM
I’m only like 20 minutes in. It doesn’t feel like Star Wars. It feels like a cross between Blade Runner and 2001 A Space Odyssey.
AnthonyVonGeek
AnthonyVonGeek - 9/21/2022, 9:50 PM
Just finished the first episode, extremely slow but luckily it’s a good slow. So far it’s a good serious show which grabbed my attention immediately unlike Obi Wan and BOBF.
SuperSoldierG
SuperSoldierG - 9/21/2022, 11:18 PM
The show is giving us some of the grittiest setup of desperation by people affected by the empire. Rogue one gave us heroes from a rag tag bunch of regular people (minus the guardians) who decided to sacrifice themselves. This story is being particularly unique in making us see people and how hard things were for everyone not friendly to the empire. Yeah we always want someone to pop out with a lightsaber and save the day but that’s not this story and unless they’re gonna adopt a star killer storyline we don’t need anymore SkyWalker stories.
McMurdo
McMurdo - 9/22/2022, 12:00 AM
This is the closest feeling to real SW I've gotten since RotJ. I think so far this is far better than Mando s1 and 2. This is a show for adults. Period.
McMurdo
McMurdo - 9/22/2022, 12:05 AM
Gilroy by not imitating "SW" but doing what George did and bringing in homage and serial/western/ and now SPYTHRILLER sensibility to this universe but doing it with REAL CHARACTER WORK. enemies who are fascist but ones we like to watch chase down our protagonists because they are real characters with motivations that thrust them into this story, albeit littered with hubris and folly. What s great first 3 episodes. The real model work In the antagonists ship. Tons of blade runner vibes too
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