Billy Dee Williams has revealed that Star Wars fans gave him a tough time for “betraying” Han Solo.
Appearing on Entertainment Weekly‘s Dagobah Dispatch podcast, the Lando Calrissian actor explained how his character’s actions in The Empire Strikes Back – which included making a deal with Darth Vader that lead to Han Solo being captured and frozen in carbonite – resulted in a backlash that extended into his real life.
“When I would pick my daughter up from school, the kids would run up to me and say, ‘You betrayed Han Solo!’” Williams said. “I’d go on an airplane and the airplane stewards would say, ‘You betrayed Han Solo!’ I got that for a lot of years.”
Williams said that he would try to reason with upset Star Wars fans, telling them: “Look, think about the whole situation. You’re up against a pretty formidable character in Darth Vader. And then there’s, of course, Boba Fett. And these people were invading my space and I had to bargain with them. But the bargain at least prevented the complete demise of Han Solo and his friends. But I had to hold on to my whole situation.”
He continued: “So I found myself explaining all this stuff to a point where I finally said to people, ‘Look, I’m tired of explaining all of this.’ I said, ‘Did anybody die? Nobody died!’ I think that was a clear indication that Lando was trying to figure something out and he was trying to figure out primarily how to hold onto his situation without the complete demise of his friend.”
Williams reprised the role of Lando in Return Of The Jedi and then again in 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker.
A younger version of the character was portrayed by Donald Glover in Solo. Last July, news broke that Glover and his brother, Stephen, were on board to write a new Lando TV series for Disney+. However, it was later confirmed that the project would be developed as a film instead.
Williams, meanwhile, is busy promoting his new memoir What Have We Here?, which will be released on February 13.
In other news, Daisy Ridley recently spoke of her excitement for her upcoming, Rey-led Star Wars film, saying the plot is “cool as shit”.