Qui-Gon Jinn - Behind The Scenes

Behind The Scenes

As revealed in The Art of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, director George Lucas conceived the character of Qui-Gon Jinn during pre-production of the film. This is shown by concept art where Obi-Wan Kenobi is shown alone in the Trade Federation flagship and while meeting Jar Jar Binks. Even when Qui-Gon was conceived, Lucas toyed with making him the younger Jedi, as shown in concept art depicting Obi-Wan as an old man. Lucas originally envisioned an American actor for the role of Qui-Gon, but ultimately cast Liam Neeson, who is Northern Irish, because he considered Neeson to have great skills and presence, describing him as a "master actor, who the other actors will look up to, who has got the qualities of strength that the character demands." Initially, Lucas had planned for Qui-Gon to have long white hair, but that idea was scrapped and in the film Qui-Gon is depicted as having long brown hair. For various fight scenes of the film, including the lightsaber duels, British actor Andrew Lawden served as Neeson's body double.