The final season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars is finally airing on Disney+ after getting cancelled toward the end of the animated series’ original run. In 2008, the series introduced a young character who is now a beloved fan-favorite among most Star Wars fans. That character is none other than Ahsoka Tano, voiced by actress Ashley Eckstein. We were recently lucky enough to chat with Eckstein herself about The Clone Wars, her books, and more! Check out the full interview below!
SH: I was definitely caught by surprise when I saw Ahsoka appear in Rebels for the first time, how were you approached about reprising the role of Ahsoka in another series?
AE: When I found out that they were going to bring Ahsoka into Star Wars Rebels, I was so excited. Obviously, that was after Clone Wars had been cancelled, which was a really sad time. So to find out that Ahsoka lives, was very exciting. And then that we would get to continue her storyline in another series was really just wonderful news. So it was a dream come true to be a part of Star Wars Rebels.
SH: What was it like to record the voice of Ahsoka for The Rise of Skywalker?
AE: Oh wow! I mean, that was a dream come true to be able to voice Ahsoka in The Rise of Skywalker. To be a part of The Skywalker Saga – which is arguably one of the biggest franchises in our history – is something that I never thought I’d be able to say. It was a shock to get the news when they asked me to go in and record some lines. And I didn’t quite believe it until I actually heard it, until I was sitting in the movie theater and I heard it for myself that Ahsoka had made the final cut. It was truly an honor.
SH: Is there any part of Ahsoka as a character, or in terms of personality, that you identify or connect with?
AE: It’s an interesting question because I’ve been allowed to bring so much of my own personality to Ahsoka, that I definitely connect with her because so much of what fans know of Ahsoka is really just my personality. I’m forever grateful that Dave Filoni allowed me to do that. That he allowed me to bring my own personality to the character. And he’s allowed me to do that from day one. So a lot of Ahsoka’s humor, and the way that she talks, and her sarcasm, and her wit, and just kind of her heart and soul, I’m very grateful that they allowed me to bring so much of my own personality to the character.
SH: I know one part of the final season of The Clone Wars that I am really looking forward to is the Siege of Mandalore story arc. So in terms of Ahsoka’s role in that story arc, is there anything that you want fans to watch out for, or pay attention to?
AE: To me, Star Wars represents hope. That’s been my personal takeaway of the Star Wars franchise ever since the beginning, ever since the original trilogy. For me, it’s a story of hope, it’s a story of good overcoming evil. And these episodes of the Siege of Mandalore, to me, represent hope, especially when it feels like all hope is gone. And I feel like, obviously, none of us saw the coronavirus coming, and what would happen, that we’d basically be on a worldwide quarantine. I feel like, there couldn’t be a better time for these episodes of hope to be released. To me, that’s what they represent, and I hope fans feel that way as well.
SH: We’ve talked a lot about your role in The Clone Wars, but I know you also recorded the audio book for the Ahsoka novel, which I read and enjoyed. Was there anything memorable about that experience that you’d like to talk about, or point out?
AE: Well, it’s definitely a fantastic book, and I appreciate you reading it. E.K. Johnston is a wonderful writer, and I was honored to be able to narrate the audio books. So if fans haven’t read the book yet, I highly recommend it. Anything more we get from Ahsoka, I think there’s so many more stories to tell, whether it’s in books, or film, television, animation, games, whatever it may be, it’s another glimpse into Ahsoka’s story, and it’s just a wonderfully written book.
The audio book was actually quite difficult to do. I was in the studio for about 35 hours over the course of a week recording it. So it was actually harder to record and narrate an audio book than it was to do several episodes of a show. But I’m forever grateful that I got to do it, and I hope that, if there’s another Ahsoka book one day, I get to narrate that as well.
SH: Something else our readers might want to know more about is your children’s book, I Am a Padawan. Can you tell us a little bit more about that book, and what it’s about?
So, it’s a part of The Star Wars Little Golden Book “I Am” series. So, it’s an existing series, there’s, I Am a Princess with Princess Leia, I Am a Pilot with Luke Skywalker, I am a Sith, there’s a whole series of them. And so this is another book in that series specifically about Ahsoka, and about what it means to be a Padawan. And I love The Little Golden Books, I learned to read on them when I was a little girl. I literally grew up on these books. And it was a dream come true to be able to write it. And it was a lot of fun writing it too, I got to go back and basically binge The Clone Wars, and pick out my favorite moments, and favorite lessons that Ahsoka learned, and include those in the book to pass on to a new generation of Padawans.
SH: I know you also wrote your own book called, It’s Your Universe: You Have the Power to Make It Happen, released a while back. A lot of your fans are probably familiar with the book. What is it that you hope readers takeaway from it?
AE: I tell my story, but I only tell my story as a means to say, “Well, here’s what I did, and here’s how you can do it too.” Because what the book really is, is a step by step guide on how to make your dreams come true. It’s a roadmap on how you can dream it, and do it. So, I share my story to say, “Here’s what I did. Here’s how I did it. Here’s why I believed I could.” But ultimately the book is meant to be a roadmap for the reader to say, “What is your dream? And here is the step by step kind of plan on how you can make your dreams come true too.”
SH: A convention that I have always wanted to go to is Star Wars Celebration. Could you describe that event in terms of unique qualities and atmosphere?
AE: Star Wars Celebration is one of my favorite conventions, because it is just what it’s name says it is. It’s truly a celebration of all things Star Wars. From the moment you walk into the door, until the moment that it’s over and you walk out, there’s so much positivity, so much love for Star Wars. And it really is just fans celebrating Star Wars nonstop for several days. The feeling of excitement is contagious. And I highly, highly recommend attending Star Wars Celebration to anyone if they haven’t attended yet, because it’s really just a blast. I love it.
SH: Is there anything else you’re up to, or that you have coming up that you want our readers to know about?
AE: I have been working on a program with Disney and Lucasfilm and hospitals, and it continues with the theme of what I’ve been doing with Mental Health Mondays, and really focusing on mindfulness, and the mental aspect of being a Jedi. It’s something I’m very proud of. I can’t quite share more details yet, but stay tuned because it’s a program that I’ve been working on, and has been a dream of mine for about five years now, and I’m very, very excited about it.
Ashley Eckstein can be found on Instagram @ashleyeckstein, and I Am a Padawan is currently set to be released on April 7th. New episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars are made available to stream every Friday on Disney+.
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