15 Best Star Wars Characters, Ranked
When “Star Wars” hit cinemas in 1977, it changed movies forever, bringing a fully realized space opera to the screen that continues to pump out content almost 50 years later. The reason the story of a galaxy far, far away has resonated so much with fans over the decades can be directly pointed to a cast of characters that are as popular as the films in their own right.
Maybe the reason for that is because the characters were not only expertly portrayed by the actors and actresses who played those roles — most of which shot them into the stratosphere of fame — but also because there’s a little bit of something for everyone in those roles. The dreamer. The princess. The rogue. The furry little green alien.
Here’s a look at the best Star Wars characters of all time, ranked.
15. Luke Skywalker
Played by: Mark Hamill, Grant Feely
Live-action appearances: Episode IV: A New Hope (1977), Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983), Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005), Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017), Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019), The Mandalorian (2020), The Book of Boba Fett (2022), Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022)
Bottom line: There’s a moment in “A New Hope” when Luke Skywalker stands outside of his aunt and uncle’s family home on Tattoiine and looks out over the desert, two moons lingering on the horizon, that a lot of people point to as the moment they realized they were in love with “Star Wars,” representing one of the more iconic moments in cinema history.
Skywalker’s arc is the basis of the original trilogy. He has been solely portrayed by Mark Hamill, save for an appearance of Skywalker as a baby in “Revenge of the Sith.” And one of the great shocks in television history came with his digitally rendered appearance in the Season 2 finale of “The Mandalorian.”
So, why is this character not ranked higher? Actor Mark Hamill’s open distaste for his arc in the first two films of the sequel trilogy made us wish he was a little more of a team player instead of being such a hater. Points docked here for being a whiner for the last 40 years.
14. Ahsoka Tano
Played by: Rosario Dawson
Live-action appearances: Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019, voice only), The Mandalorian (2020), The Book of Boba Fett (2022), Ahsoka (2023)
Bottom line: Ahsoka Tano was such a popular character from the Star Wars animated series “The Clone Wars” and “Rebels” that she eventually made the leap to live-action with actress Rosario Dawson playing the part. Ahsoka is important to the Star Wars universe because she’s the first fully realized female Jedi character, and her relationship as Anakin Skywalker’s Padawan trainee is key to his character’s development.
13. Cassian Andor
Played by: Diego Luna
Live-action appearances: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), Andor (2022)
Bottom line: In terms of the Star Wars universe, the story of Cassian Andor is just in its infancy — although we’ve already seen his heroic death in “Rogue One,” as he triggered the events that would set off the original trilogy by stealing the plans to the Death Star.
Brilliantly portrayed by Diego Luna in “Rogue One” the character went to another level in 2022 with the live-action “Andor” series on Disney+. It was arguably the best of the live-action television series made for Star Wars and garnered Luna a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actor in a Television Series, Drama.
12. Lando Calrissian
Played by: Billy Dee Williams, Donald Glover
Live-action appearances: Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983), Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018), Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
Bottom line: Billy Dee Williams took a throwaway part in “The Empire Strikes Back” as one of Han Solo’s former smuggler pals — and the original owner of the Millennium Falcon — and turned it into a pop-culture icon as Lando Calrissian.
The “Solo” film in 2018, depicting the origin story of Han Solo, featured Lando as one of the main characters and brought in some major star power with Donald Glover playing the role, which was one of the film’s few highlights.
11. Grand Admiral Thrawn
Played by: Lars Mikkelson
Live-action appearances: Ahsoka (2023)
Bottom line: This is one of the only characters on this list to have its origin come mainly from novelizations and various animated series. Originally a creation of author Timothy Zahn as an extension of the Star Wars universe in book form was what we primarily relied on in the decade-plus following the release of “The Return of the Jedi” in 1983.
We finally saw Thrawn in live-action with the “Ahsoka” series on Disney+ in August 2023 — this could be one of the great Star Wars antagonists and a character the series might build on moving forward.
10. The Droids: C-3PO, R2-D2, BB-8
Played by: Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), Kenny Baker (R2-D2)
C-3PO live-action appearances: Episode IV: A New Hope (1977), Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983), Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999), Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002), Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005), Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017), Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
R2-D2 appearances: Episode IV: A New Hope (1977), Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983), Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999), Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002), Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005), Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017), Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019), The Mandalorian (2020), The Book of Boba Fett (2022), Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022)
BB-8 appearances: Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017), Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
Bottom line: Definitely a bit of a cheat here by bunching all the droids together, but this seemed like the best way to give them each their props while making some room on the list for more characters.
The biggest compliment you can probably pay this trio of beloved droids is that they each have their own personalities, and that’s considering C-3PO is the only one who actually speaks because R2-D2 and BB-8 both speak strictly in binary code.
One of the truly genius marketing moves ever from Star Wars was to create versions of BB-8 that you could actually bring home and control with your phone — various sizes all the way up to an actual, working version. Like, you could really bring it home and watch it roll around. What a time to be alive.
9. Kylo Ren/Ben Solo
Played by: Adam Driver
Live-action appearances: Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017), Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
Bottom line: The casting department deserves big props for putting an up-and-coming actor in the central antagonist of the sequel trilogy. They truly thought outside of the box with Adam Driver — a brilliant actor who has been nominated for two Academy Awards since he first portrayed Kylo Ren (formerly Ben Solo) in “The Force Awakens” for the first time in 2015.
It’s no shame to admit that a lot of the love for this character isn’t just from the Star Wars movies but from arguably two of the funniest Saturday Night Live sketches of the last 20 years.
8. Darth Maul
Played by: Ray Park
Live-action appearances: Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999), Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
Bottom line: Of all the myriad mistakes made in the three prequel films, perhaps the most egregious was killing off Darth Maul in Episode I — effectively getting rid of an all-time villain instead of letting that story unravel over two or three films.
It’s a testament to the lasting popularity of Darth Maul that George Lucas originally planned to make him the central villain of the sequel trilogy before selling the Star Wars rights to Disney. Maul was brought back for not only the animated “Clone Wars” series but also in another live-action film, making a brief appearance in “Solo” in 2018.
7. Chewbacca
Played by: Peter Mayhew, Joonas Suotamo
Live-action appearances: Episode IV: A New Hope (1977), Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983), Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005), Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017), Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018), Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
Bottom line: Does everyone have at least one friend who can speak in Chewbacca’s voice or is it just me? Han Solo’s furry companion, known for ripping limbs off his enemies, is one of the most beloved sidekicks in movie history. Chewie has been featured in seven of the nine “Skywalker saga” films — he very briefly appeared in “Revenge of the Sith,” in 2005 — but the character got a bad beat in “The Rise of Skywalker” thanks to director J.J. Abrams’ mind-numbing decision to portray the fake death of the beloved Wookie. (It’s just one of the many reasons people hate that movie.)
Credit for Chewbacca becoming so popular must be given, in part, to the late Peter Mayhew, the 7-foot-3 Englishman who portrayed Chewbacca from the original trilogy through two films in the sequel trilogy before his death in 2019. Mayhew’s kind nature was often singled out by Star Wars creator George Lucas and his co-stars, and the down-to-ride persona of the character himself was what always set him apart. You ain’t never had a friend like Chewie.
6. Yoda
Played by: Frank Oz (voice/puppeteer)
Live-action appearances: Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983), Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999), Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002), Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005), Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015, voice only), Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017), Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019, voice only)
Bottom line: The tiny green humanoid alien with the weird syntax stole the hearts of sci-fi fans all over the world in “The Empire Strikes Back” in 1983. Of course, he became a mainstay in the Star Wars universe from then on out — most notably in the prequel trilogy, where we got to see Yoda throw down in several epic light-saber battles after the character went from essentially being puppets-only to an entirely CGI creation.
The great thing about Yoda was creator George Lucas purposefully kept his origins a secret. It’s never even been disclosed what species Yoda comes from, which would ultimately give us another legendary Star Wars character. One interesting fact about Yoda is that Lucas originally envisioned him as having blue skin, and in the novelizations of “The Empire Strikes Back,” he’s described as such.
5. Obi-Wan Kenobi
Played by: Alec Guinness, Ewan McGregor
Live-action appearances: Episode IV: A New Hope (1977), Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983), Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999), Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002), Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005), Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015, voice only), Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019, voice only), Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022)
Bottom line: Obi-Wan Kenobi is the OG character that kept the thread between the first series of films and the prequels. He also has the best lineage of actors — Academy Award winner Ale Guinness played Obi-Wan in the first series of films, while Golden Globe Award nominee Ewan McGregor played him in the prequel trilogy and then again in his own Disney+ series in 2022.
Guinness’ performance in the original Star Wars film in 1977 remains the only time an actor from a Star Wars movie has been nominated for an Academy Award — he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor and lost to Jason Robards for his role in “Julia” in 1978.
4. Princess Leia Organa
Played by: Carrie Fisher, Vivien Lyra Blair
Live-action appearances: Episode IV: A New Hope (1977), Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983), Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005), Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017), Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019), Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022)
Bottom line: The smarter, tougher, funnier of the twins born to Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala, Princess Leia Organa was portrayed by Carrie Fisher in the original trilogy and then again in the sequel trilogy, including final turns in “The Last Jedi” and “The Rise of Skywalker” following her tragic death in 2016.
Leia as portrayed by Fisher was one of the most badass female heroines of 20th Century sci-fi, and we got a really neat addition to the canon in 2022 when the character served as one of the main story arcs in the 2022 Disney+ series “Obi-Wan Kenobi” as a small, spunky child portrayed by Vivien Lyra Blair.
3. Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader
Played by: Hayden Christensen, James Earl Jones (voice), David Prose, Jake Lloyd, Sebastian Shaw, Spencer Wilding, Daniel Naprous
Live-action appearances: Episode IV: A New Hope (1977), Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983), Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999), Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002), Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005), Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022)
Bottom line: The debate over the most famous villain in movie history likely ends with Darth Vader coming out on top — in the last decade, only Marvel’s Thanos could enter the conversation. Darth Vader’s backstory became the basis for an entire extra trilogy of films with the prequels, which showed us how former slave Anakin Skywalker went from pod-racing child to dangerously talented Jedi to cyborg freak-killing machine Darth Vader.
While we’ve seen Anakin/Vader played in the flesh by three actors — Hayden Christensen, Jake Lloyd and Sebastian Shaw — it’s the voice of James Earl Jones that has probably come to define the character the most. Fans got a true treat with “Rogue One” in 2016 with a final scene in which we finally saw Darth Vader use his powers to their most extreme. It’s an amazing couple of minutes.
2. Baby Yoda/Din Grogu
Played by: David Acord/Taika Waititi (voice/effects)
Live-action appearances: The Mandalorian (2019-present), The Book of Boba Fett (2022), Ahsoka (2023)
Bottom line: Words couldn’t do justice to the feeling I had the moment I first set eyes on Din Grogu — then known just as Baby Yoda — at the end of the pilot episode of “The Mandalorian” in 2019. It was an overwhelming sense of joy and love in geekdom, like every nerd similar to me adopted a small, green, baby alien at the same time. Even if he was already 50 years old.
Four years later, we still love Baby Yoda as much as that first day, even after a disastrous third season of “The Mandalorian.” We now know him by his given name of Grogu and, more importantly, as Din Grogu after he was officially adopted by Din Djarin aka The Mandalorian. We can only hope Grogu, who was created by Jon Favreau, continues to have a role in the Star Wars universe for many, many years to come.
1. Han Solo
Played by: Harrison Ford, Alden Ehrenreich
Live-action appearances: Episode IV: A New Hope (1977), Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983), Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018), Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019, voice only)
Bottom line: Perhaps the greatest star-making role of all time occurred when Harrison Ford first took the screen as rogue pilot Han Solo in 1977, jump-starting Ford’s career and kicking off one of the greatest true, A-list movie-star runs of all time.
It’s a testament to the popularity of the character that Han Solo received his own spin-off movie in 2018 with “Solo,” although the attempt to take on a character so iconic could have benefited from a better casting eye — producers picked Alden Ehrenreich over Miles Teller for the part. Bad move.
That we were able to get one last great turn of Ford as Solo in “The Force Awakens” in 2015 — 32 years after he’d last played the part — was a true joy. Ford’s version of the character has defined what’s cool about sci-fi for almost 50 years.
