The following contains spoilers for “Star Wars: Skeleton Crew” season 1, episode 4, “Can’t Say I Remember No At Attlin.”
“Star Wars: Skeleton Crew” episode 4 once again brings Jod Na Nawood (Jude Law) and his adolescent castaway crew to a new planet, where we meet just enough new faces that they get a chance to make an impact. One key figure on the episode’s planet, At Achrann, is Troik clan member Hayna (Hala Finley), who soon gains respect for Neel (voiced by Robert Timothy Smith) and his anti-violence streak. While Finley has a good few projects on her acting CV, film fans might perk up their ears even more when they see her father, Troik leader General Strix.
If Strix looks familiar, you’ve probably paid attention to international cinema in the 1990s and 2000s. The general with a penchant for training child soldiers is played by none other than actor and filmmaker Mathieu Kassovitz, a three-time Cézar award winner. Seeing a name like Kassovitz turn up in the episode directed by the Daniels (“Everything Everywhere All at Once,” “Swiss Army Man”) is reminiscent of the director pair’s history of deploying some truly inspired actor choices for viewers, and it will be intriguing to find out whether “Skeleton Crew” intends to use this character more going forward.
Mathieu Kassovitz has made his mark on both sides of the camera
Though you might not make the connection thanks to the grizzled features and glorious beard Mathieu Kassovitz sports in his “Skeleton Crew” role, odds are that the film you know him from best is Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s quirky French indie romcom “Amelié” (2001). In the movie about the titular eccentric café waitress (a career-making performance by Audrey Tautou), Kassovitz plays Nino Quincampoix, the mysterious passport photo booth repairman who eventually turns out to be Amelié’s soulmate. This, of course, is just one port of call in Kassovitz’ lengthy acting résumé that includes projects like Steven Spielberg’s “Munich” (2005) and the Robin Williams war comedy-drama “Jakob the Liar” (1999). As a filmmaker, his most acclaimed work is likely “Hate,” aka “La Haine,” an acclaimed 1995 social thriller starring Vincent Cassel, which Kassovitz both wrote and directed.
Though primarily known for his work in artsier and more serious projects, “Skeleton Crew” isn’t as much of an aberration in Kassovitz’s career as you might think. In fact, he’s been known to embrace the occasional major sci-fi project. He’s had small roles in both Luc Besson’s “The Fifth Element” and “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets,” and he even wrote and directed the 2008 Vin Diesel sci-fi film “Babylon A.D.”
New episodes of “Skeleton Crew” are released weekly on Disney+.
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