Two more young actors have been added to the Star Wars: Episode VII cast, with Lucasfilm announcing actors Crystal Clarke and Pip Andersen as the latest lead roles following open auditions.
The two actors were chosen from 37,000 hopefuls who attended open casting calls held in 11 cities across the UK and US and another 30,000 others who applied online with video auditions for the parts.
“The Star Wars universe has always been about discovering and nurturing young talent and in casting Episode VII, we wanted to remain absolutely faithful to this tradition,” said film producer Kathleen Kennedy. “We are delighted that so many travelled to see us at the open casting calls and that we have been able to make Crystal and Pip a part of the film.”
The Star Wars franchise’s tradition of casting actors picked from open casting calls dates back to the first Star Wars flick in 1977 when the then unknown Mark Hamill scored the starring role as Luke Skywalker.
Crystal Clarke is an American actress currently studying at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Next year she is due to appear in her first feature film, The Moon and the Sun, a fantasy film directed by Sean McNamara starring Pierce Brosnan and William Hurt.
Pip Andersen is a 23-year-old parkour champion who showed off his freerunning skills in a 2012 Spider Man commercial for Sony. It’s still unknown exactly what roles Clarke and Andersen will portray.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the original open casting call description included two characters, named Rachel and Thomas. Rachel was described as “street smart, independent, athletic, natural beauty” while Thomas has “grown up without a father’s influence. Without the model of being a man, he doesn’t have the strongest sense of himself.”
It was announced recently the shooting of the film, taking place at U.K.’s Pinewood Studios, is set to take a two-week hiatus in August after actor Harrison Ford injured his leg on set.
Star Wars: Episode VII is scheduled for a Christmas 2015 release.
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