What SM-33 From Star Wars: Skeleton Crew Looks Like In Real Life

History dictates that any space adventure set in a galaxy far, far away needs to have its compulsory comedic robot to join in on the action. In the case of "Star Wars: Skeleton Crew," that duty falls to burley, one-eyed mechanoid, SM-33. Lurching his way through every episode and battering any villain that dares cross the show's heroes and their captain, Fern (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), some keen-eared viewers might've already realized who is responsible for the raspy voice ringing through the wires of this hulking bot. Indeed, Disney and Lucasfilm turned to Nick Frost, the co-star of the Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy, to help bring this thuggish, grouchy companion to life.

Frost's breakout role came in the cult series "Spaced" alongside Simon Pegg, before the two and the show's director, Edgar Wright, forever changed horror-comedies with 2003's "Shaun of the Dead." Wright, Pegg, and Frost would later reunite for the other two entries in the Cornetto trilogy, "Hot Fuzz" and "The World's End," with Frost and Pegg also co-writing and starring in the 2011 sci-fi comedy "Paul." Since then, Frost has gone on to appear in films "Attack the Block" and "Fighting with My Family," in addition to playing a role in another cult favorite series with "Into the Badlands." Horror fans may also know that Frost chilled the bones of anyone who's ever gotten into a London taxi thanks to his role in the film "Black Cab."

So far, critics are by and large united in heaping praise on "Skeleton Crew." For Frost, however, it was actually the fact that he wouldn't be appearing in the series that drew him to the project in the first place.

In an interview with Fantha Tracks TV, Frost was asked why it's taken so many parsecs for him to finally join the "Star Wars" franchise after his buddy Pegg played Unkar Plutt in 2015's "Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens." Frost compared his reluctance to entering another favorite world of his – the one involving Steve Coogan's much-loved alter-ego, Alan Partridge.

"I got offered a role once in 'Alan Partridge,' a long time ago and I turned it down because I liked 'Alan Partridge' too much for me to just be in it," he explained. Thankfully, "Star Wars: Skeleton Crew" offered a workaround for Frost. "But this was a way for me to kind of have my cake and eat in terms of 'Yes, you can be in Star Wars' but I don't have to look at myself. I get to look at a beautiful SM-33, titanium casing," Frost added.

There was also an extra add-on that no other "Star Wars" character could compete with that helped convince Frost to accept the role. "Well, they showed me some concept art and he had a rat in his eye and I love the thought there was like a naughty pirate robot who was potentially like a 'Ratatouille' style character and he had a rat thing in his brain and I didn't think I'd ever seen that before in the universe, so I thought yeah, this is great," the actor noted.

New episodes of "Star Wars: Skeleton Crew" premiere Tuesdays at 6 pm PST on Disney+.