Natasha Liu Bordizzo Talks About Her Lightsaber Training For 'Ahsoka'

Actress Natasha Liu Bordizzo is bringing the character of Sabine Wren to life in the new Disney+ series "Ahsoka."

Sabine Wren first appeared in the animated series "Star Wars: Rebels" and will join Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) on her adventures in a galaxy far, far away.

The Australian actress recently talked to Empire Magazine as part of their 20-page Star Wars spread for the magazine's Summer 2023 issue and opened up about the lightsaber training that she had to receive for her role.

Collider dropped a sneak peek of Natasha's interview with Empire Magazine, which focused on Sabine's Mandalorian heritage and the lightsaber training that was required for her new role.

“I’m just really glad that’s out there. It’s been really hard talking about my fight training without talking about the fact that it’s saber training, which is literally all I’ve been doing for so long," she explained. "The Mandalorian [physicality] is very Western, and then the ‘saber style is very samurai-influenced. Trying to embody those two things – sometimes one right after the other – in the choreography was super interesting because they’re such different modes of being. I really had fun with the journey of trying to master both."

Although fans are wondering just whose lightsaber Sabine is using in her fight against Ivanna Sakhno’s character, Shin Hati, Natasha played coy, asking, “What can I tease?" She went on to say, "It’s just part of her journey. Not just the saber itself, but what comes with that, and what that means, and what mindset it takes to wield that weapon.”

In a previous interview with Entertainment Weekly, Nastaha revealed that her audition was "a very, very quick process" despite the fact that she didn't have many acting credits to her name. Bordizzo first made her debut in Netflix’s 2016 movie “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny.” She was later featured in Netflix's "The Society" in 2019, but the series was canceled after its first season.

Natasha revealed that she sent in a self-tape for a role and was cast very quickly. At the time, she had no idea that she was auditioning for a "Star Wars" project. “I was suspicious!” she admitted. “I was like, ‘Wait, I have the offer for this?’ I met [showrunner] Jon Favreau later, and he was basically like, ‘I get it. I’m an actor. I don’t want to put you through the wringer, and I don’t want to make you do a million takes and auditions and tests. We know we want you, and that’s it.’ I really appreciated that.”

After making small appearances in the live-action series "The Mandalorian" - which just wrapped up its third season - and "The Book of Boba Fett," Rosario Dawson will finally star in her own show as she continues Ahsoka's journey from the animated series "The Clone Wars" to the present.

“What I love is that these little things we’ve gotten to hint at in these other shows, we get to more deeply explore,” Dawson told Entertainment Weekly. “I think whether you’ve seen the previous animations or have only seen these episodes, she’s still quite mysterious at this stage and point in her life. That’s what I think is the most exciting part of Ahsoka having her own series here, that you get to better understand her in this part of her journey.”

She also discussed her intricate costume, which includes face paint, contacts, and head tails. Although she explained that the make-up process took around three hours to complete her look for "The Mandalorian," they were able to cut that time in half for "Ahsoka."

That being said, the actress is more than happy to sit in a chair for hours on end if that's what it takes to perfect every detail of Ahsoka's elaborate costume. “Every single day, you’re not dialing it in,” she said. “There’s no dialing it in in Star Wars.”

"Ahsoka" will premiere on Disney+ in August 2023.