Who Is Clancy Brown Playing in ‘Ahsoka’? Meet Governor Ryder Azadi

We know that the entire ‘Ahsoka’ series is a live-action welcome party for the characters that we met in ‘Star Wars: Rebels,’ as many of the characters featured in ‘Rebels’ are featured in this series. Of course, that would mean that actors had to play characters that used to be featured in the animated Star Wars world. One such actor is Clancy Brown. So, who does Clancy Brown play in ‘Ahsoka’?

Clancy Brown plays Governor Ryder Azadi, who is the governor of Lothal. In fact, the voice actor for Ryder Azadi in ‘Rebels’ was also Clancy Brown. As such, he is one of the few actors to play the live-action role of the character that he also voiced in ‘Star Wars: Rebels’ years before the release of ‘Ahsoka.’

So, with that, Clancy Brown joins the likes of Katee Sackhoff and Lars Mikkelsen as some of the characters who were able to play both the animated and the live-action versions of their Star Wars characters. Of course, it was actually coincidental that Brown also looks like the animated version of Ryder Azadi, and that’s why the transition wasn’t really difficult. Let’s learn more about Clancy Brown’s ‘Ahsoka’ character.

Who is Ryder Azadi?

We all knew that ‘Ahsoka’ would always be season 5 of ‘Star Wars: Rebels’ in many different ways because this live-action series reunited some of the characters we met in the animated ‘Rebels’ series. While the main characters, such as Sabine, Hera, Chopper, and Ezra, would appear in this series, we also discovered that even the supporting characters would be featured. Clancy Brown’s character was also one of the supporting characters who debuted live-action in ‘Ahsoka.’

Of course, Clancy Brown plays the role of Ryder Azadi in this series. Those who saw the events of ‘Rebels’ would be more than familiar with Ryder. But for those who couldn’t watch ‘Rebels,’ let’s look into what we know about Ryder Azadi.

During the events of ‘Rebels,’ Ryder Azadi was introduced as the former governor of the planet of Lothal, which we know is the home planet of Ezra Bridger. He was ousted from his position when the Empire took over and rounded up all people against Imperial occupation. And because Ryder wasn’t willing to allow the Empire to take over the planet, he was replaced from his post and eventually imprisoned with the Bridgers.

In fact, Ryder befriended Ezra’s parents while they were imprisoned together. He was inspired by the fact that the Bridgers were still vocal about their hatred for the Empire even though they were in prison. Ryder was also one of the people who heard Ezra’s speech when he spoke against the Empire.

Ryder escaped prison with the help of the Bridgers. However, according to him, the Bridgers didn’t make it out alive. He was the one who broke the news to Ezra about the death of his parents. But he was thankful to them for inspiring other people to fight against the Empire.

Nevertheless, after breaking out of prison, Ryder decided to stay out of the affairs of the Empire because he didn’t want to return to his days as a prisoner. He stayed on the outskirts of Lothal until the Empire found him again. Thanks to Ezra’s inspiring efforts against the Empire, Ryder found the courage to fight the Imperials as he became the leader of a small group of Rebels stationed in Lothal.

Throughout the entire Rebellion period, Ryder was the one who often told Ezra and the other Rebels about what was happening on Lothal while the Spectres were fighting the Empire on other planets. Eventually, when it was time for Ezra and his allies to free Lothal, Ryder tricked Governor Pryce into thinking he was willing to betray the Rebels for a pardon from the Empire. Ryder’s strategy worked because he could lure Governor Pryce into a trap that Ezra and the other Rebels laid out.

Ryder was invaluable during the Battle of Lothal as he was one of the many people who resisted the Empire and helped Ezra and his friends defeat Grand Admiral Thrawn. After the Rebels ousted the Empire from Lothal, Ryder Azadi was reinstated as the planet’s governor. He stayed in that post until the events of the ‘Ahsoka’ series, which took place around a decade after the Battle of Lothal.

Clancy Brown also voiced Ryder Azadi

When Clancy Brown’s Ryder Azadi made his ‘Ahsoka’ debut as a live-action character, he gave a speech during the anniversary of the Battle of Lothal. He was about to introduce Sabine Wren to the people so that she could give a speech on behalf of the heroes who helped liberate Lothal from the Empire. Of course, Sabine wasn’t there because she had other plans in mind.

Whatever the case, fans were quick to notice that the live-action Ryder Azadi sounded exactly like the character’s animated version. That’s because Clancy Brown was also the one who voiced Ryder Azadi in ‘Rebels.’ It is also interesting to take note that Brown actually looks like the animated version of Ryder, as it is possible that Azadi’s design was based on the voice actor’s appearance.

Because of that, Clancy Brown became one of the few actors able to reprise the roles of the characters they voiced in the animated Star Wars universe. Two of the other notable actors that played both their live-action and their animated versions are Katee Sackhoff (Bo-Katan Kryze) and Lars Mikkelsen (Grand Admiral Thrawn).

Of course, while many people were happy to see Ryder Azadi appearing in the ‘Ahsoka’ series, Clancy Brown might not have the same important role he had in the animated version because Lothal is no longer a prime location in ‘Ahsoka.’ Nevertheless, seeing his character making his live-action debut in this series was great.

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