Maya Erskine's Brother Jokingly Threatened To 'Disown' Her Over Obi-Wan Kenobi

There are dream jobs, and then there are dream jobs. Acting seems like one of the more potentially fun dreams, especially when someone gets cast in a major franchise. Who among us hasn't imagined getting to be a part of "Star Wars," "Star Trek," the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or whatever movie or television series makes our hearts beat faster? Talk about living the dream. Heck, sometimes those dreams can even be shared, with friends or family members getting to live vicariously through the actor. In the case of actor Maya Erskine, who recently starred as one half of the spy duo "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" on Prime, one particularly intense "Star Wars" fan in her family even (jokingly) threatened to disown her if she didn't take a role on the Disney+ series "Obi-Wan Kenobi." 

On the series, Erskine plays Sully Stark, a pilot who helps rescue and transport Jedi who survived Order 66, which sought to completely eliminate the Jedi. She ends up aiding legendary Jedi master Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and the young Leia Organa (Vivien Lyra Blair) in their ongoing struggle with the evil Empire. It's a smaller role that Erskine called a "speck" in an interview with Variety, but she also recognized just how much even a tiny role can mean to a big "Star Wars" fan. 

Erskine told Variety that she had a lot of fun with the extras on set and that "a lot of them were mega 'Star Wars' fans," which meant some had full-body "Star Wars" tattoos and more. She revealed that many of them built droids as well, which is a massive sub-fandom within "Star Wars," with some fans building droids so well that "production companies will rent [them] from the fans." 

She also explained that her brother was adamant that she take the role even though she had just recently given birth to her son, recalling: "My brother, who's a mega fan, was like, 'If you don't take this, I will disown you. You have to be part of this universe.'"

It's pretty understandable that Erskine's brother wanted her to take the role so badly, as being a part of the "Star Wars" universe feels like being permanently cemented in pop culture history. Even the more obscure "Star Wars" series and films have dedicated fans, and they meticulously document every detail online, something that unfortunately doesn't always happen for art films and indie shows. "Star Wars" is huge, and it makes Erskine's brother's excitement feel totally justified. 

Erskine also revealed that there's another family member tangentially involved with the series, although she wished he could have done a tiny bit more. She apparently brought her baby to set in order to film her scenes, and she wanted to "wrap him in a shawl and have him pass as an extra," which would have been pretty great. After all, Erskine's son has two actor parents (his dad is "This is Us" star Michael Angarano) and there's a chance he could decide to be an actor himself one day, and "Star Wars" is about as good of a first credit as someone can get, even if it would be for something like "Imperial refugee child #2." Everyone has to start somewhere!

It seems like Erskine can do almost anything, from co-creating and co-starring in the hilarious cringe comedy series "Pen15" to voicing the lead character in Netflix's animated revenge series "Blue Eye Samurai." Next she'll be starring opposite Nicole Kidman in the HBO miniseries "The Perfect Nanny," based on the 2016 Leïla Slimani novel of the same name.