Pedro Pascal's role in The Mandalorian & Grogu has officially put him in the rare upper echelon of Star Wars talent. Star Wars is a franchise that's been going on for almost 50 years now, with a dozen movies, a handful of TV shows, and even more video games, books, and theme park experiences that have spawned from the iconic sci-fi world. However, in that time, a very exclusive club has emerged.
Throughout Star Wars' 12 live-action theatrical films, only eight actors have been given the honor of top billing in a Star Wars movie. The highest billed actor is typically the one who appears first in the movie's credits. Now that The Mandalorian & Grogu's premiere has taken place, it's confirmed Pedro Pascal's number one spot in the credits, and his first mention makes him the latest actor to join this exclusive club of Star Wars talent.
Star Wars films are typically ensemble pieces, with multiple actors sharing the spotlight as main characters. Nevertheless, one of them has to be listed first in the credits. Throughout Star Wars' dozen theatrical releases, these are the actors who have received top billing.
Star Wars' Top Billed Movie Actors
Pedro Pascal
While Pedro Pascal's face is typically hidden behind the Mandalorian's iconic helmet, the actor has become the face of the Disney+ series The Mandalorian and has now made the jump to Star Wars' theatrical side as well. The Mandalorian & Grogu is the first instance of a live-action Star Wars TV show becoming a film, and it will be a test of whether this formula can succeed.
With The Mandalorian & Grogu's other titular star being an animatronic puppet, there wasn't much competition for Pascal to take the top spot in the credits, and his latest role has cemented him as Star Wars' newest leading man. Pascal is also one of the few actors to appear in DC, Marvel, and now Star Wars films.
Mark Hamill
Mark Hamill has long been the face of Star Wars as the iconic Jedi Luke Skywalker, so it should come as no surprise that he's been given top billing on four Star Wars movies. When the first Star Wars movie was released in 1977, barely anyone knew who Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and Harrison Ford were, so the trio shared top billing credits throughout the original trilogy.
Episode VIII: The Last Jedi in 2017 was the first time Hamill received top billing on his own, which makes sense given he played a much more prominent role in the film than in The Force Awakens, and this was also Luke Skywalker's last living appearance.
Harrison Ford
Another of the iconic trio is Harrison Ford, who played the devilish rogue, Han Solo.
After sharing top billing with his co-stars for the original Star Wars trilogy, Ford received a solo top credit for his role in Episode VII: The Force Awakens. Despite a new cast of characters in the sequel trilogy, these films acted as a bit of a handover from the old stars to the new, and they still paid tribute to the legacy stars by giving them top billing in the credits.
Han Solo had a prominent role throughout The Force Awakens, but it was also Ford's last following the death of Han at the hands of his son, Kylo Ren. Nevertheless, Han Solo's legacy has lived on throughout Star Wars, with a spin-off film focused on Ford's character making it to the screen in 2018.
Carrie Fisher
Rounding out the iconic trio of original stars is Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia Organa. Princess Leia has become an icon of pop culture thanks to Fisher's performance, and she shared top billing with Hamill and Ford throughout the original Star Wars trilogy.
Fisher then returned as Leia, now a General of the New Republic, in the Sequel Trilogy, but tragically passed away in 2016, before she could complete scenes in The Rise of Skywalker. The ninth Skywalker Saga film gave her top billing anyway, recognizing Fisher's immense impact on the Star Wars universe.
Liam Neeson
After lying dormant for 16 years, Star Wars returned in a big way in 1999, with the first of a trilogy of prequel films, focusing on a young Anakin Skywalker, who would one day become Darth Vader. Jake Lloyd, who played Anakin as a boy, was still only young at the time of the release of The Phantom Menace, so top billing instead went to the movie's most recognizable leading star: Liam Neeson, who appeared as the Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn.
Neeson's role in Star Wars lasted for only one film, but Qui-Gon has remained an iconic Jedi in the years since. Responsible for finding Anakin, training Obi-Wan Kenobi, and fighting Darth Maul in one of Star Wars' most epic battle sequences, Neeson earned his place as the star of The Phantom Menace.
Ewan McGregor
Following Neeson's exit from the franchise, top billing in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith went to Ewan McGregor's Jedi Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi. The movies also featured Natalie Portman as Padme and Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker, but ultimately McGregor got the top spot.
He has also continued to play an important role in the Star Wars universe, reprising his role as the lead in the Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Felicity Jones
The first non-Skywalker Saga movie came out in 2016 with Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The movie was based on a simple line in A New Hope's opening crawl, which mentioned a band of rebels had managed to steal the plans for the Empire's Death Star. It became a blockbuster Star Wars adventure featuring a band of new rebels undertaking a daring mission.
Felicity Jones received the top credit, playing Jyn Erso, the daughter of Galen Erso, the man who engineered the Death Star. Jones and Fisher are the only women to hold lead billing in a Star Wars film to date.
Jyn's story was the main narrative of Rogue One; however, her co-star, Diego Luna, later received his own solo TV series, Andor: A Star Wars Story.
Alden Ehrenreich
The only other Star Wars film outside of the Skywalker Saga is 2018's Solo: A Star Wars Story, which served as an origin tale for Harrison Ford's iconic character, Han Solo.
Alden Ehrenreich took on the tough job of portraying Han in his younger years, alongside Emilia Clarke's Qi'ra and Donald Glover's young Lando Calrissian. Ehrenreich was given top billing for the role, which was widely praised, even if the movie had several disruptions throughout production.
