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'Obi-Wan Kenobi': Who is Indira Varma's Tala? 'Game of Thrones' star felt 'Star Wars' was 'for the boys'

Even though Obi's traumatic history with Vader forms the crux of the story, expect a solid character arc for the latest entrant

Tala Durith was one of the latest characters introduced in Ewan McGregor's 'Obi-Wan Kenobi'. Essayed by 'Game of Thrones' star Indira Varma, the character plays an Imperial officer who defected. In episode 3, Tala appears in her uniform on a mining planet Mapuzo leading a batch of Stormtroopers only to kill them and save Obi and Leia (Vivian Lyra Blair). She assists the Jedi and their allies by helping them with a safe route via an underground railroad called The Path.

The episode also sees a Darth Vader (Hayden Christensen) vs Obi duel that sees the latter get gravely injured, and is rescued by Tala for the second time, proving that she is one of the good guys. Varma's character is all set to play a crucial role in the latest Disney spin-off. Talking about her character, the British actress said Tala's character was not reprisal. “It's just a given that this is who she is and how she maneuvers and navigates her world,” she told Elle in an exclusive. “And so she’s quite adept to it. [Her rescuing Obi-Wan] was quite offhand.”

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She also added that she was embarrassed for not watching the previous 'Star Wars' movies. "I'm slightly embarrassed because I feel like [not watching the films] could come across as an insult to the fandom and the legacy of Star Wars,” she says. “But it’s really not that. Because I feel like when I was a kid and Star Wars first came out, it felt like it was for the boys. And we were represented by Princess Leia. There wasn’t that much for someone like me in there.”

However, the actress was all praise for director Deborah Chow for her work. "When I spoke to Deborah, I sort of fell in love with her because she was very much like, I want [the show] to be character-driven,” Varma remarked. “I want your input. It’s about relationships and the emotional connections between people and their journeys. And to me, that’s what I love about acting. I’m not really interested in being in a massive action thing where you are a cog and you are sort of just a body doing amazing things.”

“I feel like this is a really exciting time to sort of change the landscape of the way women are perceived. And it’s really exciting to have a female director leading this and trusting that it will be... We will be represented in the right way because she’s on it.” With the show reaching the midway mark, Tala will be more pivotal in her role as a formidable ally to a rather worn-out and rusty Obi. Even though his traumatic history with Vader forms the major crux of the story, expect a rather solid character arc for the latest entrant on the block.

'Obi-Wan Kenobi' Episode 3 is streaming on Disney+