We’re still about three and a half months away from the debut of Lucasfilm’s new live-action series Star Wars: Skeleton Crew on Disney+, but excitement has been building about the show since its teaser trailer debuted at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event last week. And I had the wonderful opportunity to chat with young actress Kyriana Kratter (from Disney Channel’s Bunk’d) about her role as KB in the highly anticipated series.
In the embedded YouTube video below, you can watch my full interview with Kyriana Kratter, and underneath that you can read a transcribed version of the discussion.
Watch Interview: Kyriana Kratter – "Star Wars: Skeleton Crew" actress plays KB in upcoming Disney+ series:
Mike Celestino, Laughing Place: First off, what was your history with Star Wars before you were cast in Skeleton Crew? Were you generally aware of the franchise? Were you a fan?
Kyriana Kratter: Oh, I was a fan. My whole family were big Star Wars fans– my dad introduced me to Star Wars, and I remember they were watching the first movie, A New Hope, and I loved Princess Leia. I love her so much, and I love R2-D2… I love his scream. We also had lightsabers, and I would play with them with my brothers. We would do fights, and we had a Darth Vader [helmet]. We were big Star Wars fans, so when I got the role I was just like, ‘Oh my gosh!’
LP: How did your acting career get started? Is that something you were interested in from a very early age?
Kratter: Yeah, I started with singing and eventually I moved to regional theater. And then I just really fell in love with the performing aspect of theater. We went to L.A., I did some acting classes, and everything just started to flow like that. I just fell in love with the craft. That’s about it.
LP: What were some of your earlier roles that stuck out to you as experience before this project?
Kratter: Well, when I was in Colorado– before I came to L.A.– I did this movie called The Healing Garden, and I loved doing [that film]. I met so many amazing people, and it really gave me a taste of the acting world. It was a Christian indie film, and it was really fun. It was really great.
LP: Getting into Skeleton Crew, how did you get cast in this series? What was the audition process like?
Kratter: It was very secretive… I didn’t even know it was Star Wars until the callback. I think they just told us it was a Marvel movie– all the names were different, too. The script was slightly different. Everything was very, very secretive. I didn’t even know. [laughs]
LP: And how did it feel when you got the part?
Kratter: It was crazy. I was shocked. I didn’t think I was gonna get the role, because you never know with auditions. It’s just a long process and there’s a lot of different aspects. You go into like, ‘I’ll probably not get the role, but you know what? I’m gonna do my best performance, and I’m gonna have fun.’ It was a shocker, and I was crying. [laughs] It was great.
LP: Without getting into spoiler territory, what can you tell me about your character KB?
Kratter: Well, she’s more on the introverted side. She’s kind of like me, which I really loved.
LP: Was it comfortable to wear that visor on set?
Kratter: We went through a bunch of different prototypes. There was a big team who helped me with fitting that all in– we did scans. It was really cool, but it was dark whenever I was wearing it. They still made it really easy to look through; they did a good job. There’s actually many little holes in the visor whenever I’m looking through it, and so that’s the way I could see. But it was really dark– it was like looking through a colander most of the time. [laughs]
LP: Skeleton Crew creators Jon Watts and Christopher Ford have compared this series to 1980s Steven Spielberg kids’ movies like The Goonies and E.T. I’m curious if you’ve had the chance to watch any of those.
Kratter: Yeah, actually, before we started filming I watched E.T. and The Goonies with all the kids. It was like a little bonding experience. I loved them. I love E.T.– he’s so cool, and I love his little voice… he’s so cute. [laughs] And I love the journey in Goonies– it’s just really fun.
LP: And once you finished filming the season, did you agree that the spirit of the show matched what you saw in those movies?
Kratter: Yeah. It has that fun aspect with the journey, but I think Skeleton Crew is still different. It’s really cool because it’s a Star Wars version. It was really, really fun.
LP: I saw you and your fellow castmates on stage at Star Wars Celebration promoting the show last year. What was that experience like for you?
Kratter: It was amazing. I had never been to London before, so I got afternoon tea. And then the day of the convention, we were in a green room and I got to meet all the other Star Wars people. I was fangirling. [laughs] I took photos with everyone, and then before I got on stage it was very nerve-wracking. But it was really cool to see everybody and also to meet some people. I had a really good time with all the other kids, too– all kind of having the same fangirl experience.
LP: Is that something you think you would like to continue, going to those conventions now being part of the Star Wars family?
Kratter: Yes, definitely. It’s so amazing to meet fans. It’s like, ‘Wow, I’m actually in something, and people like me.’ [laughs] Everything comes to life [in that moment].
LP: How did you feel about the teaser trailer and all the other Skeleton Crew announcements coming out of D23 last week?
Kratter: It was amazing– I was so excited to see the trailer. It was my first time seeing it, and I watched it with my dogs and my family. It was so exciting to see things coming to life… the reality was coming to me that the show is coming out, because it was such a long process. And I saw all the little characters– it was cool to watch them and be like, ‘I know their story.’ [laughs]
LP: How long has it been for you since you actually shot this series?
Kratter: About a year.
LP: Also at D23, Industrial Light & Magic was showing off its StageCraft technology and the Volume. Did you get to utilize that at all in the production of Skeleton Crew?
Kratter: Yeah, we used the Volume, and it’s crazy how big it is. When I saw photos of it online, it looked smaller than I thought. And then when I was there, it was huge, and it was crazy to see all the little backgrounds and the way when the camera moved, the scenery would move. And also how they built the sets around the Volume– one of my castmates, he actually banged into the Volume, because it was so realistic. [laughs] He didn’t know if it was part of the set or if it was the actual screen and [LED] panels.
LP: What was it like working with Jude Law as an actor?
Kratter: It was amazing. He was really like a second father to all of us. We bonded so much over the course of filming, and it was amazing to work with him because I feel like there’s something really special about working with such an experienced and talented actor. One time we were doing a scene, and it was really hectic– it was just me and Jude. And what I love about Jude is that he’s very collaborative: he brings the energy and he passes it to you, so you’re feeling the same thing. Also how he could switch from ‘fun mode’ and [making] us laugh to professional mode. That’s something I’ve always wanted to tap into.
LP: What about some of your castmates who are your age? Have you kept in touch with them since production wrapped?
Kratter: Yeah, we have our little group chat and actually last week we played Roblox together for like four hours. [laughs] We’re all still good friends, we’re still talking and chatting. I see Ryan [Kiera Armstrong] a lot. Ravi [Cabot-Conyers] and Robert [Timothy Smith] are a little farther away, but hopefully we’ll all see each other soon and hang out. It’d be really fun.
LP: I saw that you have a LEGO minifigure based on your character of KB. How does that feel?
Kratter: I didn’t even know that was happening! [laughs] I saw the photo and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh! I’m so cute!’ Then I saw little Neel and Wim and Fern– it was so cute, and also the spaceship [the Onyx Cinder]. I should buy that. My brother is really experienced with LEGO, so that’d be a fun little activity to do.
LP: Lastly, is there anything else that you think Star Wars fans should know about Skeleton Crew as it approaches?
Kratter: Stay tuned for the journey. I think it’s gonna be really, really fun, and hopefully everyone’s gonna love it. I think it’s gonna be great.
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew will premiere on Tuesday, December 3rd, exclusively via Disney+.