Werner Herzog knows that he played a good villain in Disney+’s The Mandalorian.
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, the Fitzcarraldo director opened up about his villainous performances in recent television series and movies such as the first season of The Mandalorian and 2012’s Jack Reacher.
“You see, everything to do with film makes me happy,” Herzog said. “Directing, writing the script, editing, working as an actor… It fills me with joy. And I play the bad guy because I’m good at it. You can’t stick me in a romantic comedy, it just wouldn’t work. I was well placed in that film and in that series, the casting was good, the subject matter was good, so I gladly accepted. I know I was good. The audience still remembers those performances.”
Who does Werner Herzog play in The Mandalorian?
In The Mandalorian, Herzog played a character referred to as “the Client,” an off-putting antagonist who was formerly a leader of the Galactic Empire and has close ties with Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito). The Client initially hires the titular Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) to retrieve Grogu; however, he’s later killed by Death Troopers after the Mandalorian has a change of heart.
Created and executive produced by Jon Favreau, The Mandalorian launched on Disney+ in 2019. The Star Wars series has now run for three seasons, while a fourth season is in development. Along with the aforementioned cast, the series stars Carl Weathers as Greef Karga, Omid Abtahi as Dr. Penn Pershing, Katee Sackhoff as Bo-Katan Kryze, Amy Sedaris as Peli Motto, Emily Swallow as the Armorer, and Mercedes Varnado as Koska Reeves.
Herzog, meanwhile, recently completed a new memoir titled Every Man for Himself and God Against All, which releases on October 10, 2023. He also told The Hollywood Reporter he’s currently working on two film projects, at least one of which will be fictional and likely shot in England.
