Daniel Durant mesmerized us as Leo Rossi in the Oscar winning film CODA and he has recently electrified the dance floor on Season 31 of Dancing with the Stars.
But after The Blast caught up with the gifted actor EXCLUSIVELY, it is what he told us about his ideas for a future Star Wars character that has us thinking how cool his ideas would be in a galaxy far far away!
Daniel Durant Has Been Captivating On Season 31 Of DWTS
Season 31 of Dancing with the Stars has been incredible with many celebrity dancers in the running to win the Mirrorball Trophy, and Durant should be considered as a lofty contender to win it all himself. He has improved week in and week out with his partner Britt Stewart and when we asked what has been a challenge for him he mentioned, “Well, a lot of people ask me that challenge question, because they want me to say that it’s a challenge for me because I’m Deaf. But no, it’s not a challenge for me because I’m Deaf. I’ve noticed that all the competitors have their own challenges and so every week it’s a new challenge for me in a different way. Right now, so far the biggest challenge for me has been my frame because I’m learning how to dance and hold this frame and follow these rules. Which is new to me and I forget and I let my arms drop or let my legs drop. So, a few weeks ago, the judges criticized me. That I wasn’t finishing my lines and using my hands and finishing them off. I’d let them dangle when I danced. So I take that advice.”
And with that, he learned a lot more from that advice after 007 week adding, “So dancing as 007. They said I improved and I finished my lines and I kept my frame and that’s a huge compliment for me, but I want to keep it up. That’s my weakness. And also I noticed that you know, it’s my first time dancing in the ballroom. And I feel like the first week was, I was really nervous and the second week and the third week, you calm down and you get used to the routine and you’ll learn your dance a bit faster and you pick it up faster. So it’s a new learning process for myself, but I’m learning about myself, too.”
And with the process, we have seen over these past few weeks how incredibly Durant has improved and has won over the fans of the show who have really enjoyed what he has brought to the ballroom. And as much as he has brought the ballroom, it just happens to be his other ideas when his journey is over on Dancing with the Stars that has us really excited and intrigued.”
Daniel Durant Wants To Be In A Future ‘Star Wars’ Film
After you win, lose or draw on Dancing with the Stars, many celebs that do the show move on to many different and great opportunities, when we asked Durant about his goals after the show, he EXCLUSIVELY told us some fun things he had in mind, “Well, I love that question. I’m a method actor. So I love to dive into a role, like, both feet in the pool. I’m inspired by people like Daniel Day-Lewis who just changes their appearance and becomes a totally different character. And I want to do that, I could do any role, however different they are. And also, I’d like to add about the 007 week a few weeks ago. I want to be a bad guy because I’ve never been a villain. So I wouldn’t mind to be a character to make everyone hate me, and if I make the world hate me, then that’s a pat on the back for me. I can do anything. I can be romantic. I want to fight, all of those things. So, I want to do that. And really, one of my dreams is, I’d love to be in Star Wars.”
The self admitted Star Wars fanatic added what he would like to do in the Star Wars universe and simply put, it would be something completely different that we have never seen before as he told us his idea on the character he’d like to play as he spilled, “I would love it, because Star Wars, I’m a huge fan. It’s very inclusive for Deaf people. It was the first show that people could watch with special effects and imagine having a Deaf Jedi. Now, it’s just, you know, having a Deaf Jedi that couldn’t hear anything. And they depended on their other senses. And you could show how sensitive I am. Or something like that. I could smell better and use that in my fight. A Deaf Jedi would be so cool. So they’d be strong with the force in a different way. I don’t know if I’d speak to people through their mind or something, but I want to develop a character for that. That’d be cool. There are so many things I want to do really.”
And with this unique character, we needed to dive into it more and find out if he wanted it to be in a original story with other original characters or if he would like to share scenes with icons like Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker and he was quick to add, “I would love to pop up as someone where no one knows where or who I am. No one knows who I am and maybe I’m not labeled as a Jedi or a Sith. Maybe I’m independent and I’m something weird. And I’m good at being kind of like a Jedi. It would be interesting with that character and how we communicate. Maybe we gesture. Like the Tusken Raiders kind of, you know, Troy Kotsur developed that sign language and he actually played a Tuscan Raider that had one. He invented an alien sign language. So maybe I could pull up and do something weird like that. You know, Star Wars has never had a Deaf role because it’s in the future and technology’s amazing and people wear things on their ears, or whoever is deaf, they fix that. So, if someone popped up, like I did and I was Deaf and they wondered why I didn’t fix my ears or whatever, I think it would be interesting, and be a cool backstory and we could dive into that. But being in a scene with Darth Vader or Luke. I don’t know, I can’t answer that part.”
But we need answers, so whoever needs to read this, it needs to happen, but in the meantime, Disney Plus also has Star Wars in their film library, so for a future theme for the show, Durant could show his skills as a Jedi or Sith if the show were to tackle a Star Wars themed week.
He would be all for it when asked about his dream theme week he added, “Star Wars, we’ve already said. But yeah, I would love it. Imagine everyone dancing with like an alien background and just craziness. I would love that. And also, yeah, I don’t know. That’s the first thing in my mind, Star Wars, and we’re on Disney Plus and Disney’s got Star Wars, untapped material.”
To see more of Daniel Durant on the dance floor, Daniel Durant and pro Britt Stewart will perform a Jazz to “Enjoy the Silence” by Depeche Mode on Monday 7th November 2022 at (8:00pm ET / 5:00pm PT), on Disney+ in the United States and Canada.
You can also watch episode replays on Disney+ within the hour following the livestream. But when DWTS is finally over this season, the ball is in your court Lucasfilm. It is time to get Daniel Durant his dream role. It would be spectacular!
