- Andrew, When was the time you knew you wanted to be an actor?

 

I did a lot of acting in school plays growing up, I was in a few musicals and short plays in high school as an actor, but after this I focused mainly on music. I re-discovered acting only a few years ago when I ended up quite unexpectedly on the set of the movie Babylon. I had worked on movie sets before as a PA in New York City, but It was the first time I had been on set as an actor. I thought to myself, wow, this is so exciting, I feel like I’m home. It was only two days, but it really changed my life and opened my mind up to the idea of being an actor.

 

- Among other things, you played in "The Mandalorian" an Mandalorian Drummer. Were you a Star Wars fan before you got cast?

 

Yes! I was a huge fan growing up, I remember for my 6th birthday me and my best friend Liz dressed up as Luke and Leia and had a lightsaber battle in our front yard. (Yes I know we picked the wrong characters for a light-saber duel but please forgive us as we were 6)

 

- Andrew ,Could you share some funny, remarkable, weird stories regarding the filming of your scenes?

 

One of the main scenes I was in was the opening of Season 3 Episode 1. I played a Mandalorian drummer as part of a procession leading out of a cave to the baptism of a young Mandalorian. I had an earpiece in my helmet, and when the director called action I would hear Ludwig Goransson the composer’s music in my ear, which I played along to as we marched in time through the cave. The cave was small and there were camera operators, and additional crew we had to make sure not to hit as we walked, which was pretty difficult at first since my helmet kept fogging up pretty badly the first couple of takes. Later in the day all the Mandalorians stood on the sandy beach planet, and they filmed us chanting “This Is The Way”! It was pretty exciting getting to say that with around 40 other Mandalorians.

 

We had a stretch of 3 days where we filmed overnight scenes on an outdoor set. These days usually start around 4pm, and you don’t go home until around 6am. For these days I got to play a different sect of Mandalorian. I got to wear a blue suit, with no helmet this time, so they braided my hair. I also got to wear a jetpack! The jetpacks were pretty heavy, and you needed help to get them on and off. I’ll never forget the sight of 20+ Mandalorians waiting in line at 2am to get their jetpacks removed.

 

Putting on the Mandalorian armor took a long time. We had to put on maybe 20 different pieces to the costume: boots, leg armor, shirt, breast plate, ammunition belt, arm guards/blasters, gloves, and finally the helmet. The studio has had trouble with people filming and taking photos and ruining the magic in the past, so once we were in costume, we were asked to put on giant black hooded cloaks on our way to set. We looked like we were in Harry Potter, not Star Wars, and so the running joke was if something good happened someone would shout “10 points to Gryffindor!”.

 

– With a role in a Star Wars Series like The Mandalorian comes a Big Fan Community, what are your first star wars fan experiences?

 

When I was 5 or 6 years old, I would get a Star Wars magazine in the mail every month. I remember pouring over the pages and dreaming of being able to afford the memorabilia. There was a beautiful light saber in a glass case you could get, different alien masks (like Greedo in the cantina), but the big ticket item was a full size Han Solo in carbonite statue. It was so expensive I knew I would never get it, but I would imagine having that thing in my room, just taking up an entire wall. Glorious.

 

I also had a computer game called Star Wars Chess that was really fun. All the chess pieces were Star Wars characters, and every time you defeated a piece, that character would fight the other character and kill it. (Darth Vader and Luke were the Kings, Leia the Queen, I think Yoda was the Bishop etc..) 

 

- You also work in "Babylon" with Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie. Something you can share with us?

 

Yes! This was my first time acting in a movie and it was amazing. I was an accordion player wearing a tuxedo and a horse-head mask at a 1920’s Hollywood party. We filmed at the Ace Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. We spent the first day filming a scene where the party is in full swing, when suddenly the doors at the end of the hall open and a raging elephant charges into the room. We run away in abject terror while the music plays and balloons fall from the ceiling. It was madness. The next day I got to play accordion in scenes with Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie, and that was really incredible. Getting to work with Damien Chazelle the director and Justin Hurwitz the composer on set was also really amazing, I learned so much just by watching how everyone worked.

 

 I also got to film a shot that was a close-up of just me, and it made it into the movie! If you watch, near the end of the opening party sequence, you will see me playing accordion for a few seconds, followed by a shot of Jean Smart in a sequined headdress. 

 

- Andrew, you are also a musician.Tell us about your music please.

 

Sure! I have been playing piano since I was 7 years old. (I’m 34 now). I moved to Los Angeles almost 10 years ago. My first job in LA was as a ragtime pianist in the Universal Studios Theme park. I played Scott Joplin tunes on the back of an old movie truck, and I had to speak to the guests in a British accent. Characters like Frankenstein, Lucille Ball, Marylin Monroe, and Doc from Back To The Future would all walk by and wave at me. 

 

In my early 20’s I worked as a pianist on cruise ships, I got to travel all over the world playing music, in the Mediterranean, Argentina, and Brazil. I even got to play in Antarctica which was as beautiful and surreal as you might imagine. I have never seen so many penguins in my life. 

 

Currently I play piano for a lot of musicals. Last year I played Reefer Madness the musical in Hollywood, and right now I am playing for Legally Blonde the musical. I just got back from Arizona where I was playing and singing for a Beatles tribute show, and in a few months I’m playing piano for an Adele tribute show in LA which I’m really looking forward to. 

 

I also have a lot of original music I have released and continue to work on which you can find on Spotify under my name. I love 70’s music and also have a lot of cover videos on YouTube from a 70’s recording session I put together last year which I’m very proud of. 

 

- Is there something special you would love to do in the future? Maybe another role in Star Wars? Or a special actor to work with? Or a singer/songwriter?

 

I would love to play anything in Star Wars again! An alien would be really cool. I loved being on set so much. I really love 70’s movies, and I would love to be in anything set in that era. I also think Medieval type shows like Game Of Thrones would be really exciting. I’m also interesting in directing and making my own movies, I’m finishing up a script for a short film right now that I am prepping to shoot hopefully by next year with some friends.

 

- Thank you for your time Andrew Lederman! Let’s end this interview with some words for the fans?

 

Thank you to everyone for reading this, and thanks Brendt for asking me! Getting to be in Star Wars was so unexpected and more exciting than I could have imagined.

 

 It’s great getting to connect with people through this work and I love getting to share my experiences. I recently sent an autographed photo to a fan in France, and to do your interview from Germany is so cool. It’s been a wonderful surprise to make international connections.

 

If you would like to follow me and learn more about what I do you can find me @andrewlederman on Instagram, and

youtube.com/andrewlederman.

 

May the Force be with you!

 

Andrew