Grant Feely

"[Director] Deborah Chow asked me not to watch any of the movies before filming. She didn't want me to do any homework at all. She told me when she offered me the part that I had everything she wanted in young Luke and didn't want me imitating the older Luke in any way. Luke has no idea that he is special when he is 10 years old, so I just wanted to portray a curious young boy."

―Grant Feely^[2]

Grant Feely is an actor. He appears as a young Luke Skywalker in the Obi-Wan Kenobi television series.

Biography[]

Grant Feely was born in Brunswick, Georgia^[2] in October 15, 2011. At seven years old, he watched the show Stranger Things and was interested in the behind-the-scenes material. He wanted to be a part of that world, so he decided to become an actor.^[1] The Mandalorian was the only Star Wars content that Feely had seen.^[4] In April, 2021,^[2] Feely's agent sent him the audition for a role.^[5] He then filmed an audition for "Boy - Untitled Disney+ Series," not knowing the role was for the Obi-Wan Kenobi television series,^[2] and he did not think anything of it.^[5] A week later, he had an hour-long Zoom callback with Carmen Cuba, the casting director for Obi-Wan Kenobi. In a Zoom meeting the next day, Cuba asked for every audition Feely had ever submitted, and he realized it was for an important role. In early June, he had a director's callback with director Deborah Chow.^[2] When he was in Hawaii^[5] during the end of June,^[2] he was asked if he could come to Los Angeles. He was not able to go, so they flew him to LA^[5] to do an in-person audition with Chow. In early July, Chow called Feely to offer him the role of Luke Skywalker.^[2] For about nine months, Feely kept his role a secret and only told his close family.^[6]

Feely wanted to do research for his portrayal, but Chow told him to not watch any Star Wars movies so that he could act like a regular boy instead of how Mark Hamill played Skywalker in the original trilogy. Chow explained that Skywalker does not learn about the Force until he's around twenty years old. Feely said that crafting was his favorite part of being on set.^[5] He was not told anything about Skywalker or any other characters in the series.^[6] Feely made a connection with Joel Edgerton,^[6] the actor who played Owen Lars.^[7] During filming, Chow instructed Feely how to film a certain shot, and Edgerton translated the instructions into something Feely understood.^[6]

LarsFamilyBTS — Grant Feely, Joel Edgerton, and Bonnie Maree Piesse on the Lars Homestead set

When the rock scene^[2] of Skywalker being chased by the Inquisitor Reva^[8] was being filmed, Feely was in a harness running along the top of the set. The crew wanted to see how far he could run on a certain wire, so they instructed the actor to step on a boulder a few feet away. The harness pulled Feely back very fast, which scared the crew and delighted Feely.^[2] When Feely and Moses Ingram,^[6] the actor who played Reva,^[7] were waiting in the cast room, Ingram told him that he could ask the props department if he could see a lightsaber. Feely and his mom walked to the props department and Feely was given a red lightsaber. The lightsaber was changed to blue and Feely was photographed with it in different poses.^[6] Feely's favorite part about playing the character was the connections and the experience.^[6] Feely watched all of the Star Wars movies after filming the series and became a big fan.^[4]