'Andor' actor raves about 'Star Wars' star Jimmy Smits

Jimmy Smits played Bail Organa in Star Wars, but due to scheduling issues, he was recast in Andor.

Now, Benjamin Bratt plays the character, but he has warm words for the actor who played the role for over twenty years.

“I’ve always known Jimmy to be an incredibly talented actor. He possesses elegance, a natural grace, a goodness really, an earnestness that this particular character requires,” he said in an interview, gushing about Jimmy.

“It is clear he takes the role seriously, and came to play in a series that focuses on the more understated parts of the Rebel Alliance," the Poker Face star added.

Benjamin also shared what attracted him to Bail Organa as a character. “We learn that he’s a brilliant strategist and capable of bringing some heat to the degree that it’s needed. That’s what excited me and drew me to playing the character," he added.

Meanwhile, the series creator Tony Gilroy previously explained why Jimmy did not reprise his character. 

"It's really hard to bring legacy characters back for a whole variety of reasons. Money and scheduling and I mean, he [Jimmy Smitts] just wasn't available. It didn't work out," the showrunner told Screen Rant.

"He was doing his other show and we were under the gun and they couldn't work it out... They just couldn't work it out. Believe me, we really tried, but it couldn't happen."

Andor's latest episodes have been released on Disney+.