It’s 2021, which means this is the year we celebrate the 30th anniversary of Heir to the Empire, so we’ll continue with that theme. This time we’re going to cast the role of Talon Karrde, another original character by Timothy Zahn.
Ever since I saw the first visual depiction of the character in the Heir to the Empire Sourcebook and I heard Denis Lawson’s version of the voice, I’ve thought Robert Foxworth would be perfect for the role.
The actor, who began his career on stage, became a household name during his time on long-running night soap Falcon after turning down the role of J.R. Ewing on Dallas a few years before.
His intelligent and assured voice, along with a calm demeanor underlain by a sense of potential danger, would have fit the character of Karrde, a gentleman’s criminal of a sort, with unparalleled exactitude. He also looked like the character based on most of the art that has been released over the years. In his appearance and attitude, he has just enough of a rough edge while remaining genteel to sell the character to the audience.
We know Karrde picked up most of the business in the vacuum created by the death of Jabba the Hutt. In later books, we learn he had essentially inherited the organization from Jorj Car’das, who was one of the only men to intimidate Karrde. Foxworth would have been able to play this humbling part of the character without any difficulty.
As a plus, the actor appears to enjoy working in science fiction and usually as a rogue. He has had roles in Babylon 5, Stargate SG-1, The Outer Limits, Star Trek: Enterprise, and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, as pictured below.
Who would you cast in the role of smuggling kingpin Talon Karrde? Comment below.