SAN DIEGO – Steve Blum was on hand at Comic-Con 2014 to discuss his roll as Zeb Orrelios in the upcoming “Star Wars Rebels” show on Disney XD. Blum got into character for us, showing off Zeb”s unique accent.
“It”s actually an amalgamation of several accents. We started with a real Cockney type thing which is completely unintelligible. We tried a whole bunch of different things. And it turned out to be a bad British accent.”
But while Zeb may have an instantly recognizable voice, the “Rebels” actor wasn”t at liberty to reveal what planet his character hailed from or even what his species is. The only detail cleared for reveal was a cryptic morsel about Zeb”s relationship with the Empire.
“We do know that his [Zeb”s] people have been severely persecuted by the Empire. Some terrible things have happened in his history and we”re not sure what that is yet.”
Blum also gave a few tantalizing tidbits about his character”s characteristics, all of which make him a perfect fit as the brute enforcer on the “Rebels” ship, Ghost.
“He”s also sort of got this simian ability. He”s got prehensile feet where he can grab stormtroopers by the head with his foot and pull them out of vehicles.”
Despite his gruff exterior and archetype as the ship”s muscle, Blum claims Zeb has a cordial-to-tolerant relationship with his fellow crew members. All except one, anyway.
“He hates Chopper…that much we can reveal.”