{"id":604,"date":"2026-05-24T17:08:02","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T17:08:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=604"},"modified":"2026-05-24T17:08:02","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T17:08:02","slug":"the-man-behind-mandalorian-how-brendan-wayne-became-pedro-pascals-body-double-and-channeled-his-grandfather-john-wayne","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=604","title":{"rendered":"The Man Behind \u2018Mandalorian\u2019: How Brendan Wayne Became Pedro Pascal\u2019s Body Double and Channeled His Grandfather, John Wayne"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\tPedro Pascal may be the face of bounty hunter Din Djarin in \u201cMandalorian and Grogu,\u201d but there\u2019s another actor who does much of the walking, talking and gun-slinging as the \u201cStar Wars\u201d character: Brendan Wayne.<\/p>\n

Read more Box Office: \u2018Mandalorian and Grogu\u2019 Lifts Off With $102 Million Over Memorial Day Holiday, \u2018Obsession\u2019 Scores $28 Million in Huge Second Weekend<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tIn 2018, Wayne auditioned and screen tested for an untitled Lucasfilm project, where he had to put on a bulky costume that looked strangely similar to Boba Fett with boots that were too big for his feet. Director Jon Favreau, with whom Wayne had worked on \u201cCowboys and Aliens,\u201d and Lucasfilm president Dave Filoni were there, watching Wayne closely as he picked up a sci-fi rifle. Immediately, Wayne noticed something was wrong. He pointed out that his rifle was too long and would catch on his boot when he walked, so he told the team to shorten the gun by six inches and add a holster to the suit. How did he know the intricacies of this all-new, cowboy-inspired character? Well, his grandfather was Western icon John Wayne.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI love westerns,\u201d Wayne says. \u201cI love the cowboy code. My mom demanded that it be a part of the way I lived. I failed constantly at upholding it, but it was always striving to have that idea of \u2018If I go up, we go up. It\u2019s never me, it\u2019s always we.\u2019 That was the way I was raised, also with the idea of rugged individualism. I have a very different opinion than you, and it\u2019s okay that you disagree with me. I\u2019m going to be smart enough to understand why I believe in what I believe in. The funny thing is, all of that informed Mando, because his process from day one is trying to figure out why he believes in the creed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWayne booked the role of Din Djarin, aka Mando, on \u201cThe Mandalorian,\u201d which now is headed to theaters after running for three seasons on Disney+. The rugged warrior is a no-nonsense drifter who fires off more laser bolts than one-liners and looks out for the adorable Grogu, aka Baby Yoda. All Mandalorians live by a strict creed (summed up by the phrase \u201cthis is the way\u201d), which involves never removing their helmets out of fear of banishment. <\/p>\n

\n\tOn the rare occasion Mando does take off his bucket-like helm, Pascal\u2019s face is underneath. However, Wayne walks the walk and talks the talk for every other non-action scene. But when a Stormtrooper shootout occurs or Mando has to take down a colossal space beast, stuntman Lateef Crowder dons the armor. While he won\u2019t disclose exactly how much of the time it\u2019s him underneath the helm compared to Pascal, Wayne gives one tip for spotting him.<\/p>\n

Read more Cannes Grand Prix Winner Andrey Zvyagintsev Uses Acceptance Speech to Address Putin: \u2018Put an End to This Carnage\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI have the longest neck, so I have a little more space between my cowl to the cape. That\u2019s how you know,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019m long, like a straight line. As my daughters like to call Lateef, he\u2019s a Dorito. His shoulders are out to there, his waist is down here and he\u2019s got these trap muscles. I don\u2019t even know what those are; my body didn\u2019t produce those. Plus, he\u2019s got dreads, so they\u2019re even filling it out even more and his cape sits a little higher.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWayne credits his grandfather\u2019s legacy for informing his movement as Mando.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cYou see the angles when he sits at his hip, there\u2019s a reason why people like, \u2018That looks like John Wayne.\u201d It\u2019s because it\u2019s me. That\u2019s just my natural resting body,\u201d he says. \u201cI tried to stay away from the idea that I was going to ride [my grandfather\u2019s] coattails. I was never going to be him, but Favreau slowed me down so much that I went, \u2018Oh my god, this is genetics.\u2019 I really didn\u2019t have to think about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tMando\u2019s full costume weighed 62 pounds, and Wayne was putting in 13-hour days on set without taking it off. He could pop the top off to eat food, but it took around seven minutes to get undressed \u2014 plus an extra 10 minutes if the Grogu puppet was positioned on his shoulder. Despite the heavy costume and long days, it was all worth it for Wayne. After appearing on shows like \u201cAgents of S.H.I.E.L.D.\u201d and \u201cSons of Anarchy,\u201d \u201cThe Mandalorian\u201d gave him his biggest role yet.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt gave my children and us some peace of mind,\u201d Wayne says. \u201cI worked seven days a week through Season 1 and part of 2, and on the weekends I\u2019d still bartend because you never trust Hollywood. I\u2019m signing a contract every day, and the reality is I\u2019m on an incredibly small-budget contract for such a big production. But to me it makes the biggest difference. I\u2019m a father of three girls, and I wanted them to give them a chance to succeed in life. I was able to put my kids in places where they had an opportunity to learn values and have a great education because of this. It was life-changing. Even as just an actor, I got to create a character on a show who is literally defining an era of \u2018Star Wars.\u2019 If that\u2019s not life-changing, I don\u2019t know what you\u2019re looking for.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more \u2018Euphoria\u2019 Season 3 and the Strange Case of Rue\u2019s (Mostly) Missing Mom<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

‘Mandalorian and Grogu’ actor Brendan Wayne talks being Pedro Pascal’s body double, being John Wayne’s grandson and more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":603,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[627,281],"class_list":["post-604","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-film","tag-brendan-wayne","tag-the-mandalorian-and-grogu"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Man Behind \u2018Mandalorian\u2019: How Brendan Wayne Became Pedro Pascal\u2019s Body Double and Channeled His Grandfather, John Wayne - Relocation Observer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=604\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Man Behind \u2018Mandalorian\u2019: How Brendan Wayne Became Pedro Pascal\u2019s Body Double and Channeled His Grandfather, John Wayne - 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