"It is my religion. I'm like a cult follower at this point," she says of the 'Star Wars' franchise
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NEED TO KNOW
- Ming-Na Wen speaks to PEOPLE at the May 14 premiere of The Mandalorian and Grogu
- The actress recalls a favorite addition to her collection of Star Wars toys: a life-sized bronze statue of her character from The Mandalorian, gifted by her “lunatic” husband Eric Michael Zee
- “Every single second that I can participate in a Star Wars anything, I am here for it,” raves Wen
Ming-Na Wen is a self-professed Star Wars fan. But her husband may be a full-blown fanatic.
Asked at the Thursday, May 14 premiere of The Mandalorian and Grogu for a favorite part of her collection of Star Wars toys, the actress doesn't hesitate: “It would have to be the bronze statue of Fennec Shand, life-size, that my husband got for me for my birthday.”
Wen, who turned 62 last November, received a statue from husband Eric Michael Zee of her character from the Disney+ series The Mandalorian, The Bad Batch and The Book of Boba Fett. “He's a lunatic,” quips the Mulan star of her spouse, who she's been married to since 1995; the two share daughter Michaela and son Cooper.
Credit: Rodin Eckenroth/Getty
“How much fun is that?” she says of the bronze statue gift. “He kept it in our garage in a big box hidden away, and then surprised me — we had dinner with a bunch of friends and he unveiled it.”
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Star Wars fans, continues Wen, “are a community.” Playing the warrior Fennec in George Lucas' galaxy far, far away has meant “living my childhood dream of wanting to be in this world. Every single second that I can participate in a Star Wars anything, I am here for it. It is my religion. I'm like a cult follower at this point.”
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Dave Filoni, co-writer of The Mandalorian and Grogu and as of this January the president of Lucasfilm, “loves this world,” adds Wen. “He's like the Encyclopedia Britannica of this world. And I'm so happy for a nicest guy to be able to take on this.”
The Mandalorian and Grogu, a big-screen continuation of the three seasons of The Mandalorian, sees the return of Pedro Pascal and his adorable green companion. Directed and co-written by Jon Favreau, the action-packed adventure costars Jeremy Allen White and Sigourney Weaver.
Wen tells PEOPLE that she counts Weaver, 76, among her idols as “the original badass female lead.” At the new movie's premiere, she says, she "gushed so much" meeting Weaver — just like she did the first time she met Star Wars legend Mark Hamill.
“Yeah, I will be forever that nerd who is just one of the fans as much as being on this side of the carpet,” she quips.
The Mandalorian and Grogu is in theaters this Friday, May 22. Among Wen's upcoming projects is playing Hera in the season 3 premiere of Disney+'s Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
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