Star Wars Characters: Names, Actors and Who They Are

The main Star Wars characters are Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, Han Solo, Darth Vader, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, Chewbacca, R2-D2, C-3PO and Palpatine from the original trilogy, plus later arrivals grouped by era below. The saga was released out of order and several roles were recast, so sorting by era is the clearest way to read the list.

The characters appear across nine saga films and four spin-offs, and a single role often passes between actors. For the order in which the films themselves should be watched, see star wars movies in order.

The original trilogy is made up of Star Wars (1977, also known as A New Hope), directed by George Lucas, The Empire Strikes Back (1980), directed by Irvin Kershner, and Return of the Jedi (1983), directed by Richard Marquand. Between them they introduce the core group that every later film leans on, which is why the same names return in the sequel films decades later.

• Luke Skywalker: a young farmer on Tatooine who finds Leia's message inside R2-D2. Mark Hamill is billed first in all three original films and returns in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
• Leia Organa: the princess who hides the stolen Death Star plans in a droid before she is captured. Carrie Fisher plays her, credited as Princess Leia Organa in 1977 and as General Leia Organa in The Rise of Skywalker.
• Han Solo: the smuggler hired to fly Luke and Obi-Wan away from Tatooine. Harrison Ford plays him in the original films and The Force Awakens, and Alden Ehrenreich plays the younger Han in Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018), directed by Ron Howard.
• Chewbacca: Han's copilot and a Wookiee. Peter Mayhew plays him in the original films, while Joonas Suotamo is credited as Chewbacca in Solo and The Rise of Skywalker, and as Chewbacca Double in The Force Awakens, the credit TMDB gives him there.
• Obi-Wan Kenobi: the hermit on Tatooine for whom Leia's message is meant. Alec Guinness plays him in the original films, Ewan McGregor in the prequels, and James Arnold Taylor voices him in Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008).
• Yoda: a Jedi master voiced by Frank Oz in six films: The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith and The Last Jedi. Tom Kane is credited as Narrator and Yoda in The Clone Wars.
• Darth Vader: the Imperial enforcer who captures Leia in 1977. David Prowse is credited as the performer, and James Earl Jones voices Darth Vader in Star Wars (1977) without an on-screen credit.
• R2-D2: the droid that carries Leia's plea. Kenny Baker is credited as R2-D2 in Star Wars (1977), The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi and The Phantom Menace.
• C-3PO: the protocol droid who travels with R2-D2. Anthony Daniels is credited across the saga, including a voice credit in The Phantom Menace and voice work in The Clone Wars.
• Palpatine: the senator who becomes Chancellor of the Republic. Ian McDiarmid is credited under several titles, including Senator Palpatine and Chancellor Palpatine, across five films, and Ian Abercrombie voices him in The Clone Wars.
• Lando Calrissian: the friend of Han who runs Cloud City in The Empire Strikes Back. Billy Dee Williams plays him in the original films, and Donald Glover plays a younger Lando in Solo.
• Boba Fett: the bounty hunter who takes a frozen Han away in The Empire Strikes Back, played by Jeremy Bulloch.

The prequels, directed by George Lucas, are The Phantom Menace (1999), Attack of the Clones (2002) and Revenge of the Sith (2005). They add the younger generation of the story, and the credits show how many roles changed hands between films. Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) sits among them in story order, which is where Ahsoka Tano belongs.

• Anakin Skywalker: an enslaved boy on Tatooine in The Phantom Menace, played by Jake Lloyd. Hayden Christensen is credited as Anakin Skywalker in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, Matt Lanter voices him in The Clone Wars, and Sebastian Shaw is credited as Anakin in Return of the Jedi.
• Padmé Amidala: the Queen of Naboo who becomes a senator, played by Natalie Portman in The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith.
• Qui-Gon Jinn: the Jedi sent to settle the Naboo blockade, played by Liam Neeson in The Phantom Menace (1999).
• Darth Maul: Darth Sidious's apprentice, who hunts the heroes and fights the two Jedi in Theed in The Phantom Menace. TMDB's cast list for the film credits no performer for the role.
• Count Dooku: the former Jedi who leads the separatist movement, played by Christopher Lee in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith and voiced by him in The Clone Wars.
• Mace Windu: a member of the Jedi Council, played by Samuel L. Jackson in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, who also voices him in The Clone Wars.
• Jar Jar Binks: the Gungan outcast who guides the Jedi toward the Naboo capital in The Phantom Menace, played by Ahmed Best, who is also credited in Attack of the Clones.
• Ahsoka Tano: in Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008), the young Padawan assigned to Anakin, voiced by Ashley Eckstein.

The sequel trilogy runs from Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), directed by J.J. Abrams, through Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019). It sets a new group beside the veterans, and several of the older actors return in the same roles.

• Rey: played by Daisy Ridley, who is billed first in The Force Awakens, fourth in The Last Jedi and third in The Rise of Skywalker. She is a scavenger living alone on Jakku.
• Kylo Ren: a dark warrior in black who serves the First Order, played by Adam Driver.
• Finn: a stormtrooper who has lost his nerve, played by John Boyega in all three films.
• Poe Dameron: the Resistance pilot who hides a map fragment inside BB-8, played by Oscar Isaac in all three films.
• Maz Kanata: the owner of a cantina visited in The Force Awakens, played by Lupita Nyong'o in all three films.
• Snoke: the First Order's Supreme Leader, played by Andy Serkis in The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi.

The four spin-off films add characters such as Jyn Erso, Cassian Andor, Qi'ra and Din Djarin, and they fill gaps around the saga characters above. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) is directed by Gareth Edwards, Solo by Ron Howard, The Clone Wars by Dave Filoni and The Mandalorian and Grogu by Jon Favreau.

• Jyn Erso: played by Felicity Jones in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016).
• Cassian Andor: the intelligence officer sent with Jyn, played by Diego Luna in Rogue One.
• K-2SO: the reprogrammed droid, played by Alan Tudyk in Rogue One.
• Qi'ra: played by Emilia Clarke in Solo: A Star Wars Story.
• Tobias Beckett: the smuggler Han meets on Mimban, played by Woody Harrelson in Solo.
• Din Djarin: credited as The Mandalorian and played by Pedro Pascal in The Mandalorian and Grogu, released on May 22, 2026.
• Grogu: the young child Din Djarin protects. TMDB's cast list for The Mandalorian and Grogu credits no performer for Grogu.
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008): the fourth spin-off, which introduces Ahsoka Tano (Ashley Eckstein) as Anakin's new apprentice.

The credits show that Star Wars treats its characters as roles that outlive any single performer.

Start with the first film. Production on Star Wars began on March 22, 1976 in Tunisia, according to StarWars.com, and the character now called Luke Skywalker was still named Starkiller in earlier drafts, per the same source. The finished film opens its character story with a small, practical scene: Leia hides a plea inside R2-D2, and the droid pair reaches Tatooine, where Luke ends up with them. Note how the cast credits split Darth Vader in two, with David Prowse as the performer and James Earl Jones as the uncredited voice. That split is the clearest early example of a character being assembled from separate contributions.

The Empire Strikes Back shows the same idea at larger scale. Principal photography at Finse in Norway began on March 5, 1979, and StarWars.com describes harsh conditions and avalanches during the Hoth shoot, with interiors built at Elstree and a wampa puppet for the snow creature. That creature appears in the first act, when it attacks Luke while he is scouting and Han Solo finds him nearly frozen. Compared with the 1977 film, this entry gives the supporting cast room to grow: Lando Calrissian and Boba Fett arrive here, and Frank Oz is credited as Yoda's voice for the first time. In my opinion, the Hoth sequence is where the ensemble first feels bigger than its three leads.

The prequels turn recasting into a pattern. Compare the billing: Jake Lloyd is fourth in The Phantom Menace as the child Anakin, while Hayden Christensen is billed first in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. Wikipedia's production notes list an age change for Anakin in the first film. Attack of the Clones is also where Yoda changes form: StarWars.com reports a digital Yoda in a film captured fully on digital cameras, with more than 2,000 visual effects shots, most by ILM. The Phantom Menace adds its own musical anchor for Darth Maul's scenes, John Williams's Duel of the Fates.

The sequel trilogy leads with new faces, which is a visible change from 1977. Daisy Ridley is billed first in The Force Awakens, but The Last Jedi bills Mark Hamill first and Ridley fourth, and The Rise of Skywalker bills Carrie Fisher first. The credit lines also show the legacy cast carried forward: Joonas Suotamo appears as Chewbacca Double in the first film and as Chewbacca in the third. The Mandalorian and Grogu continues the shift to a new lead, with Pedro Pascal billed first, and its production is described by California's governor's office as the first Star Wars feature shot entirely in California.

Tarkin is the best single case for how credits track continuity. Peter Cushing is credited as Grand Moff Tarkin in 1977, Wayne Pygram as Governor Tarkin in Revenge of the Sith, and Guy Henry as Governor Tarkin in Rogue One. Three performers across three films carry one character, and the credits make that chain easy to follow.

The best-known female Star Wars characters are Leia Organa, Padmé Amidala and Rey. They are Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher), Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman), Rey (Daisy Ridley), Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones), Qi'ra (Emilia Clarke), Maz Kanata (Lupita Nyong'o) and Ahsoka Tano (Ashley Eckstein). The list widens with Shmi Skywalker (Pernilla August), Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie), Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran), Vice Admiral Holdo (Laura Dern), Asajj Ventress (Nika Futterman) and Mon Mothma (Genevieve O'Reilly).

The best-known non-human Star Wars characters are Chewbacca, a Wookiee, Jar Jar Binks, a Gungan, and Jabba the Hutt, a Hutt. Jabba's son Rotta and his uncle Ziro are Hutts as well.

Star Wars has about 40 recurring characters across its films, and there is no official ranking, top 50 or top 100. Many more characters appear in the television series. The next film, Star Wars: Starfighter, is scheduled for May 28, 2027 and has not been released. For the people behind the roles, see the star wars cast page, and for the story order see the star wars timeline.