Best, you may recall, voiced the horse-faced goofball Jar Jar Binks in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. The 1999 film was the big Star Wars comeback sequel, and Best must have figured he was getting the career break of a lifetime — until he found himself tangled up in Jar Jar hate from fans, plus accusations that Jar Jar’s accent was racist.
None of it seemed to be Best’s fault. Jar Jar was merely the homely symbol of George Lucas‘s weird plunge into babytalk names and blithering backstory arcana. (“Jar Jar guided the Jedi to the underwater city of Otoh Gunga, where they secured transport to the Naboo capital of Theed,” notes his official bio. Exciting!) Whatever else he was, Jar Jar was no R2-D2.
Best seems to have kept mildly busy in the decade since, mainly with voice work in Star Wars sequels and video games. Here’s hoping for better things for you, Mr. Best, in the decade to come!
From the Who2 blog:
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