‘Mandalorian’ Star Katee Sackhoff ‘Basically Didn’t Work’ for 3 Years After ‘Star Wars’ Show Because She ‘Didn’t Understand’ Her Character: ‘It Broke Me’

“The Mandalorian” actor Katee Sackhoff, who starred as Bo-Katan Kryze in the “Star Wars” show, has opened up about the struggles she had playing the character and finding work in the last few years.

On a recent episode of her podcast, “The Sackhoff Show,” she discussed with her former “Battlestar Galactica” co-star Tahmoh Penikett how playing Bo-Katan on “The Mandalorian” dealt a blow to her confidence.

“I lost all of my confidence after ‘Mandalorian’, all of it. I’ve always played two steps removed from myself, in a sense. It always felt grounded in some part of my belly, of who I was. Bo-Katan is nowhere near who I am as a human being. Her life, what she wants — I didn’t understand her. As much as I understood her, I never felt her in my stomach. I never identified with her. I didn’t know how to find her,” she said, adding, “My style of acting has always just been, ‘Your first instinct is the right instinct. Do that. Play the reality of the situation.’ And I’ve never really played a character.”

Sackhoff originated Bo-Katan in the animated series “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” in the 2010s then brought her to live-action in “The Mandalorian” Season 2 in 2020. Her role as a fellow Mandalorian warrior was expanded in Season 3, where she was upped to co-star with lead actor Pedro Pascal. Rather than continuing the story in a fourth season, Disney is releasing “The Mandalorian and Grogu” in theaters next May; Sackhoff has not been announced as part of its cast. She said she struggled to get work in the three years following “The Mandalorian” Season 3, which released in 2023.

“It broke me. It just broke me,” Sackhoff said. “I started doubting everything about myself. I’m not a strong auditioner on tape, and I was having to put myself on tape. I wasn’t booking anything. And for three years, I basically didn’t work, and it just destroyed my confidence.”

Since then, Sackhoff hired a new manager and acting coach, who told her, “‘My goal is not to teach you how to act. You know how to act. I just need to get you back in your belly. You just need to find your confidence again.'” In 2024, she appeared on an episode of “Law & Order,” plus some voice acting on animated series, and she’s part of the cast of the upcoming “Carrie” series on Prime Video.

Watch her video below.