The creator of Disney+’s “Andor” has expressed disappointment that lead actors Diego Luna and Genevieve O’Reilly were overlooked for Emmy nominations, despite the Star Wars series receiving 14 nominations overall.
Tony Gilroy told reporters on Tuesday that he wished the Emmy voters had recognized the performances of Luna and O’Reilly, along with other cast members from the show’s second season.
“These are epic, long-term character studies that they’ve done over 24 episodes,” Gilroy said. “I think the ultimate victory is that these performances will be celebrated and discussed for years to come.”
The series received only one acting nomination – for Forest Whitaker in the Guest Actor Drama category for his role as rebel fighter Saw Gerrera. If Luna had been nominated for Best Actor in a Drama Series, it would have made history as the first time two Latino actors were nominated in the category, alongside Pedro Pascal who received a nomination for HBO’s “The Last of Us.”
Despite the acting snubs, “Andor” became the third most nominated Star Wars show in Emmy history, behind only the first two seasons of “The Mandalorian” which received 15 and 24 nominations respectively.
The show did receive recognition in technical categories, with nominations for production design, costume design, and music. Gilroy himself received a nomination for original music and lyrics, shared with Nicholas Britell for the song “We are the Ghor” from Episode 8. His brother Dan Gilroy was nominated for writing.
Gilroy praised the Emmy voters for recognizing the production design team led by Luke Hull and the costume team headed by Michael Wilkinson, both of whom were overlooked during the show’s first Emmy campaign.
“Andor” serves as a prequel to the 2016 film “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” and has been praised by critics for its sophisticated storytelling and political themes. The series follows events leading up to the original 1977 Star Wars film.
When asked about future Star Wars projects, Gilroy, who has worked on “Andor” for nearly six years, said he is currently preparing a new film called “Behemoth!” starring Oscar Isaac, set in the world of film scoring.
