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Hi, this is Leilani Shu. I play Tika the
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Jawa on Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jawua
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Mandalorian, and Book of Boba Fett. I'm
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the first Jawa to first be credited as
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Jawa in Star War history starting in
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Mandalorian. I'm in season 1, two,
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three. I'm also in the Book of Boba
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Fett. I'm that furry Jawa where she says
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I dated a Jawa. So, that's me. And then
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I am the first Jawa with the name. I'm
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Tika on Obi-Wan Kenobi. So, I barter
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with Kenobi. I uh bring him a the T16.
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He tells me it's dirty and then I tell
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him cleaning costs extra. So that's my
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tagline. I'm the first talking Jawa
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What was it like working with Euan? It
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was amazing. I've always been a big fan
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of his. He He's awesome to work with. Um
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I I love how he said that um he finally
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had a Jawa in his interview. So yeah, it
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was great to work with him.
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Besides Kenny Baker and Warick Davis, it
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was Billy Bardy for me. Um, when I was
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growing up, Billy Barty is the most
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famous little person. He's the one that
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broke us into the movie industry using
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Little People. So, he's actually my
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mentor. He actually got me doing um uh
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getting into acting and stuff. um what
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does their legacy mean to you? Well, um
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just paving the way for us because you
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know we're little and it shouldn't
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matter what size we are, you know,
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because we still have a brain,
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everything. We can do everything that
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other people can do. Uh but what's
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amazing, it created jobs for us. Uh
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like, you know, they use drawers for
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Snow White. Um, you know, there's really
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famous movies. We also I fit in a
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category uh whenever they need little
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people. They call us. Everybody always
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asks me how I get in acting and
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everything. Well, I fit in this
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category. So, they call us and that's
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how I got in Star Wars. Um, and um
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either we do creature work or um I stand
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in for kids. So, because you know we're
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the second team. So, as long as the kid
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is the same height as us, kids only can
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work so many hours. They also have to um
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go learn lines and go to school. So the
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second team, they use us with the
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actors, the main actors to do all the
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other stuff. And then when it's ready
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for the kid for when they start to film,
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then that's when they bring the kid in
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and they switch us out and we tell them,
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"Okay, this is where you stand. This is
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what you do." and uh they bring them in
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and they only film for like what maybe
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that minute or two minutes and then
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they're off off set and then they bring
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us back in. So yeah, so that's what I
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do. I'm a um stand in for kid and um and
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like I said I do creature work. I'm also
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have a game coming out. I'm going to be
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a voice actor too, a lead voice actor in
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It means a lot to me. I was actually uh
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blessed because um my career I uh it's
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not just acting. I actually get records
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played on the radio. So at the time I um
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I do um I help break artists. I work for
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Island Death Jam and Tommy Boy. And um
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at the time when I got called for Star
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Wars, usually they call us, we work one
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day, two days, and that's it. So when I
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got called and I'm finally on set and at
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the end of the day they're like oh okay
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we're going to need you guys all next
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week and I'm like what? I was like um
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and then I finally found out I'm on Star
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Wars. I'm like okay don't fire me but um
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I have a I have a daughter same height
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as me little. She can wear my costume
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everything and then I can come back. Is
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that okay? I'm working with Janet and I
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have to go to New York and I have to
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take her to Ryan Crest and do all MTV
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and stuff. And they're like, "You have a
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daughter?" And I'm like, "Yes, I have a
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daughter. She's saying he might please
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don't fire me." And you work for Janet
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Jackson? And I'm like, "Yes." So they
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used Ariel. They said, "Yeah, yeah,
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Ariel. We'll definitely use her." Well,
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they ended up loving her the week that
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she subbed in for me. And then of course
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the following week, we were working
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again, so I got to go back on. They
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ended up, they love the mother daughter
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team. They ended up using us for
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everything. So when you see two little
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people, you see me, you usually see her
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right next to me. She's the little one
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next to me. And so she's done obviously
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for Obi-Wan. Um, she also did the
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commercial with me. Besides being on
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Obi-Wan with me, she's done Book of Boba
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Fett. Uh, it was during CO when we
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filmed Book of Boba Fett. So they used
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me and her a lot. And then when they had
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a whole bunch of Javas and they brought
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in some other Jawas, but uh it was
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mainly me and her. So it was awesome.
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What it meant to me to portray the
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characters. Um I hope it encourages
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little people, the younger generation,
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um to um portray other characters too.
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Uh, it doesn't matter what height you
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are. Um, you can do anything. Don't let
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that uh crutch you. Um, if me and Ariel
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could do it and other little people do
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it, you can do it, too. So, don't think
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it because you might be in a wheelchair
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or you might be too small that you can't
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do anything. So, I I hope that that
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relates to something. Um, my characters
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I play, I hope it's a role model to you.
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Also for me, I like to be a role model.
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I actually get involved with Ronald
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McDonald House. Uh, and uh, because Star
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Wars have huge Star Wars groups like the
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50 First Legion, all those Star Wars
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groups. They do stuff for charity and
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I'm very involved in that. I do Ronald
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McDonald House. I do children's
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hospital. Right now I'm in a military
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base and I go visit the kids on the
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military base and veterans and um
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actually troops and I love doing that
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because you know if I can put a smile on
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someone's face that means a lot to me
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and and kids love that and I like being
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a mentor. I actually uh talk at high
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schools and stuff because I I did drama
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so and I I did before all this I was
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into animation. My first thing I did, a
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lot of people don't know, I was an uh
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ink, inker and painter before CGI or
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before uh computers, I actually ink and
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paint cells. So I worked on um Looney
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Tunes, I worked on for James Cameron, I
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did Total Recall, The Abyss, uh
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Christmas Vacation, big famous ones,
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Paul Abdul, uh the Scat Cat. I did the
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inking and painting of that. So, you
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it's great, you know, I'm I'm blessed to
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be well, who I am, and I hope I can
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encourage you to do that. And I I love,
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you know, I just love doing what I do,
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and it's and it's an honor to be part of
