For Billy Dee Williams, Playing Star Wars' Lando Was All About The Cape

The Star Wars franchise boasts a whole lot of rogues, from Han Solo (Harrison Ford) to Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), but none can hold a candle to Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams) in the charm department. From the first moment we meet him in "Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back," the man oozes charisma from every pore. Part of it is Williams' natural charisma (which was carried on beautifully with Donald Glover's portrayal in "Solo: A Star Wars Story"). Part of it is the delivery of lines like, "Everything you've heard about me is true." A very big part of it is that cape he always has on. Williams swirls that thing around and wears it like he was born in it. 

For a quick refresher — not that anyone could forget Lando – this gambler and con man-turned General of the Rebellion met Han Solo as a young man and lost his favorite ship, the Millennium Falcon, to him in a game of chance. In "Empire Strikes Back," he is forced to betray Han, Leia (Carrie Fisher), Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew), R2-D2 (Kenny Baker), and C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) to Darth Vader (David Prowse, voice of James Earl Jones), but later helps most of them escape. He joins the effort to free Han from carbonite in "Return of the Jedi" and aids Rey (Daisy Ridley) and her friends in "The Rise of Skywalker," all while looking absolutely fabulous.  

In a recent feature on StarWars.com promoting the next issue of "Star Wars Insider," Billy Dee Williams spoke about that cape and how it was the thing that got him into character. 

Lando is a charmer, and Williams put a lot of himself into the role. He said, "Well, there's an awful lot of Billy Dee in Lando. I think I'm a pretty charming guy. I don't take myself seriously, and I think that's a good thing. I've always admired men who were subtly cool. I loved Duke Ellington. But he was also very entertaining at the same time."

Of Lando's signature fashion accessory, Williams said: 

"When I got that cape, I really tried to use it as much as I could. That was a key factor as far as finding the character was concerned. It reminded me of all those wonderful swashbuckling movies I used to see when I was a kid, with Errol Flynn. That was exciting for me. The cape was something to work play around with and find the character through. When I wore the cape for the first time, I made it very much a part of Lando's persona. I mean, Lando has style. There's no doubt about it!"

You can't think of Lando without that cape. Williams even starts his Star Wars theme song routine on "Dancing with the Stars" in that cape. 

Williams had more to say about Lando and who he is in the interview, and unsurprisingly, the actor compares him to a Las Vegas mogul. He explained: 

"I think Lando was like a Steve Wynn. When he had Cloud City, he was running something that was comparable to Las Vegas, and he was very wealthy and running the whole show, so he was quite a businessman. But he was a great gambler. Oh, and the ladies were there. There were an awful lot of ladies!"

This is not surprising. Probably more than just ladies, though, with "Solo" screenwriter Jonathan Kasdan (who wrote the script with his father, Star Wars legend Lawrence Kasdan) confirming that Lando is pansexual. You can read more about the heroes of the Star Wars universe in "Star Wars: The Galaxy's Greatest Heroes," which is a collection of Star Wars features from Star Wars Insider. 

All of the "Star Wars" films are currently streaming on Disney+.