- "It was a pleasure working with everyone, especially the epic CFX team."
- ―Charlotte Louise, about working on Solo: A Star Wars Story
Charlotte Louise Baker (born on October 27, 1991 in Surrey, England), known professionally as Charlotte Louise, is a British actor and puppeteer. She has worked on several Star Wars projects, including minor roles in the 2016 Anthology Series film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and the sequel trilogy films Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi and Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker, released in 2017 and 2019, respectively. Louise portrayed the concierge Margo in the 2018 Anthology Series film Solo: A Star Wars Story, along with portraying a few background characters.
In 2022, she portrayed a dancing hologram in "Kassa," an episode of the first season of the television series Star Wars: Andor, and also did puppeteer work for several other episodes. Louise also puppeteered for the episodes "Lost / Found" and "Day" of the television series Star Wars: The Acolyte, as well as episodes in Andor's second season.
Biography
Film work
- "Star Wars allows me to play such as [sic] variety of interesting, beautiful creatures, for example Margo. Margo does not have long, flowing locks of hair, nor does she have smooth, blemish free skin, but she is beautiful and powerful regardless."
- ―Charlotte Louise
Charlotte Louise in Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi
Charlotte Louise Baker was born on October 27, 1991,[1] in Surrey, England. The British actor[2] did puppeteer work for the 2016 Anthology Series film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,[5] though was uncredited.[6] The next year, Louise was credited as a creature and droid puppeteer in the sequel trilogy film Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi.[7] She auditioned for the film without knowing what it was due to the high levels of security involved. Creature effects supervisor Neal Scanlan was at the audition, and Louise became excited, then realizing it was a Star Wars film. After a costume fitting and plaster cast for her costume, Louise was cast as an orange-skinned alien, which appeared in Canto Bight[2] on the planet Cantonica.[8] Louise was thrilled to have gotten the part, having been a longtime Star Wars fan.[4] In 2018, Louise portrayed the concierge Margo in the Anthology Series film Solo: A Star Wars Story.[9] She was cast for the role after the completion of The Last Jedi. While the actor was originally hesitant about portraying Margo because of the plaster costume, she found it easy to adapt once the process started. Louise enjoyed working with the CFX team on the film's set, finding them like a second family.[4]
Louise as Margo in Solo: a Star Wars Story
Louise received dialect training under the coach Andrew Jack for the role because Margo had an alien dialect. Louise also participated in movement rehearsals for the film to master Margo's graceful movements. The prosthetic costume for the role took around five and a half hours to put on.[4] Louise also portrayed four other minor characters in the film, including two[2] Twi'leks.[10] For the Twi'lek she portrayed on a jungle world, she participated in cast sabacc lessons.[2] In 2019, she was cast as[11] the smuggler[12] Lazu Lirona[11] and the dance troupe member[12] Charlu Sisi in the sequel trilogy film Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker. The name Charlu Sisi was inspired by Louise's own name.[13]
Andor Season One
- "I love playing these chunky, manly creatures! It's always fun to embody a creature that is the complete opposite of your natural body type and movement 🎉 Also, he's a grumpy and confrontational little so and so"
- ―Charlotte Louise, about one of her Andor Season 1 creatures
Charlotte Louise portrayed a creature she referred to as a "Cockroach" creature in "Announcement" of Andor.
Louise portrayed a dancing hologram woman in "Kassa"[15] but was credited as a puppeteer.[16] The installment was the first episode of the first season of the television series Star Wars: Andor, which aired on September 21, 2022.[17]
She was credited as a puppeteer in several other episodes of Andor, including "Reckoning,"[18] "Aldhani,"[19] "The Eye,"[20] "Announcement,"[21] "Narkina 5,"[22] "Nobody's Listening!,"[23] "One Way Out,"[24] and "Rix Road."[25] The episodes released on September 21, September 28, October 12, October 19, October 26, November 2, November 9, and November 23 of 2022, respectively.[17] For "Announcement," the puppeteer portrayed an alien she referred to as a "Cockroach" creature, which was sculpted and designed by Louis Wiltshire. She felt that it was fun to portray a character with a more robust and manly physique, reflecting that embodying the alien was vastly different than her natural body type and movement style. While in costume, she had limited visibility. Louise enjoyed that her character's demeanor was grumpy and confrontational.[14]
Star Wars Celebration and The Acolyte
- "I hope you all had as much fun as I did at this year’s @starwarscelebration!! 💫 👽 It was so lovely to see you all and to get to show you the process of being a creature performer on set."
- ―Charlotte Louise
One of Charlotte Louise's aliens in The Acolyte
Louise attended Celebration Europe,[26] which was held from April 7th–10th in 2023.[27] On the convention's opening day,[28] Louise and several other puppeteers from Star Wars projects participated in a panel showing their audience the process of being a creature performer on set. Louise expressed gratitude toward the team she worked with on the franchise, saying she loved them like family.[26] For the event, Louise was in costume as Lazu Lirona, with the makeup artist Molly Bowen-Schofield having done her makeup and dressing.[28]
Louise worked as a puppeteer on "Lost / Found," the first episode of the television series Star Wars: The Acolyte,[29] which released on June 4, 2024,[30] as well as the series' fourth episode "Day,"[31] released on June 18 of the same year.[32] In "Day," Louise portrayed an alien creature shown in[33] the planet[8] Coruscant's Jedi Temple she described as a "sassy old lady." The character was performed with the puppeteer at a full ninety degree angle, resulting in the character being the height of her hips. Louise felt that the character was fun to play, finding the alien one of her favorites from The Acolyte.[33]
Andor Season 2
- "My 'Squid' creature from Andor Season 2. Featured in the 'Day on Andor Season 2' promo. This is what I call a 'blind/deaf head' with zero visibility and almost completely sound proof. Once the animatronics are on inside the head, you are unable to hear anything but the trusty Puppeteer in your headphone. I was lucky enough to have my CFX sister @claireroiharvey in my ear. What few people know about this job, is that you put your safety and performance in the hands of that puppeteer; they watch out for hazards such as camera cranes, stairs, people and sometimes fire/explosives and are literally your eyes and ears!"
- ―Charlotte Louise, about her work on Andor Season 2
One of Charlotte Louise's aliens in Andor
Louise also contributed to Andor's second season and was credited as a puppeteer in "One Year Later," "Sagrona Teema," and "Harvest," the first three episodes of the season.[35][36][37] During at least one of the scenes from those episodes, Louise portrayed an alien who attended the wedding[38] of the young Chandrilan couple Stekan Sculdun and Leida Mothma.[36] Her alien's animatronics were created by Nicolas Ferrard, and she worked with fellow puppeteer Claire Roi Harvey for the shoot,[38] who helped Louise via headphone.[34]
Louise described the alien as a "Squid" creature, noting that the animatronic head was a "blind/deaf head," which meant it offered no visibility and was soundproof. During the shoot, Claire Bannister assisted the puppeteer with ensuring the animatronic head had batteries, as well as ensuring Louise's well-being while stuck in the costume. Louise praised the all-female team involved with bringing her alien in the wedding scene to life, expressing her love for their efforts and noting the trust involved with wearing a costume with limitations.[34] The three episiodes aired on April 22, 2025.[39]
Released one week later,[39] she also was credited for the same work in "I Have Friends Everywhere," the fifth episode of the season.[40] Louise also contributed in the same capacity for the seventh, eighth, and ninth episodes "Messenger," "Who Are You?," and "Welcome to the Rebellion,"[41][42][43] which debuted on May 6 of the same year,[39] as well the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth episodes, "Make It Stop,"[44] "Who Else Knows?,"[45] "Jedha, Kyber, Erso,"[46] released the week following.[39]
Works
Filmography
| Year | Title | Series | Role | Notes |
| 2016 | Rogue One: A Star Wars Story | Creature and droid puppeteer | Uncredited[5] | |
| 2017 | Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi | Orange-skinned alien,[2] creature and droid puppeteer[7] | ||
| 2018 | Solo: A Star Wars Story | Margo, two Twi'leks, creature and droid puppeteer[5] | ||
| 2019 | Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker | Lazu Lirona[11] and Charlu Sisi[13] | ||
| 2022 | "Kassa" | Star Wars: Andor | Dancing hologram[15] | Credited as puppeteer[16] |
| 2022 | "Reckoning" | Andor | Puppeteer[18] | |
| 2022 | "Aldhani" | Andor | Puppeteer[19] | |
| 2022 | "The Eye" | Andor | Puppeteer[20] | |
| 2022 | "Announcement" | Andor | Puppeteer[21] | |
| 2022 | "Narkina 5" | Andor | Puppeteer[22] | |
| 2022 | "Nobody's Listening!" | Andor | Puppeteer[23] | |
| 2022 | "One Way Out" | Andor | Puppeteer[24] | |
| 2022 | "Rix Road" | Andor | Puppeteer[25] | |
| 2024 | "Lost / Found" | Star Wars: The Acolyte | Puppeteer[29] | |
| 2024 | "Day" | The Acolyte | Puppeteer[31] | |
| 2025 | "One Year Later" | Andor | Puppeteer[36] | |
| 2025 | "Sagrona Teema" | Andor | Puppeteer[36] | |
| 2025 | "Harvest" | Andor | Puppeteer[37] | |
| 2025 | "I Have Friends Everywhere" | Andor | Puppeteer[40] | |
| 2025 | "Messenger" | Andor | Puppeteer[41] | |
| 2025 | "Who Are You?" | Andor | Puppeteer[42] | |
| 2025 | "Welcome to the Rebellion" | Andor | Puppeteer[43] | |
| 2025 | "Make It Stop" | Andor | Puppeteer[44] | |
| 2025 | "Who Else Knows?" | Andor | Puppeteer[45] | |
| 2025 | "Jedha, Kyber, Erso" | Andor | Puppeteer[46] |
Sources
Notes and references
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External links
Charlotte Louise Baker (@charlotte_louise_baker) on Instagram (backup link)- Charlotte Louise Baker (@charlotte_louise_baker) on Threads (backup link)
- Charlotte Louise (@RealCharLouise) on Twitter (backup link)
- Charlotte Louise at the Internet Movie Database
- Ep. 58 Charlotte Louise by The Interesting Podcast (with Brian Ballance) (Podcast) on SoundCloud (backup link archived on August 21, 2020)
- Charlotte Louise SOLO: A Star Wars Story Interview – Margo on The Cloud Riders (original page now obsolete)
