Actor and longtime dialect coach Andrew Jack died at the age of 76, just days after being diagnosed with COVID-19. Jack will be remembered for his roles as General Ematt in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, and the voice of Moloch in Solo: A Star Wars Story. He worked with the cast of the Star Wars, Lord of the Rings and Marvel movies as a dialect coach as well.
Andrew Jack died in a hospital in Surrey, England on Tuesday while his wife, Gabrielle Rogers, was in quarantine in Australia, per NBC News. Rogers said he was in no pain at the time of his death and “slipped away peacefully knowing that his family were all ‘with’ him.” Jack was signed on to be a dialect coach for Matt Reeves’ The Batman, which recently stalled production in London.
Most cases of coronavirus involve a fever and cough, and the Hollywood talent was most at risk for COVID-19 due to his age. People aged 65 years and older and/or those with underlying medical conditions tend to be more likely to contract a severe illness from COVID-19. Jack’s wife said he was diagnosed with coronavirus just two days before his passing.
Upon hearing the news, quite a few of his colleagues took to social media to share their memories with Andrew Jack. Lord of the Rings’ star Elijah Wood said this on his Twitter:
So heartbreaking to learn that Andrew Jack has passed away. He, along with Roisin Carty, lead all of us through the many accents of Middle-Earth. He was a kind and lovely human being. My love to his family and friends.
The Samwise to Elijah Wood’s Frodo, Sean Astin also paid tribute to Andrew Jack, who was the supervising dialect coach on all three original Lord of the Rings films. In Astin’s words:
Andrew Jack made a mean curry. Andrew Jack was powerful & gentle in equal measure. Andrew Jack was funny. Andrew Jack was brilliant. Andrew Jack loved a unique theory of gravity, that we are all being pushed down, instead of pulled down. We loved Andrew Jack.
The Star Wars community also showed a strong presence in remembering him as well. Former co-director and executive producer on Solo: A Star Wars Story Christopher Miller wrote a sweet message about Andrew Jack, saying:
Andrew Jack was the dialect coach on Solo, and a kind and thoughtful man. We asked him to teach Alden to speak Shyriiwook, and I’ll always remember listening to them gargle-roar at each other back and forth. RIP
It sounds like Andrew Jack was instrumental behind the scenes in Alden Ehrenreich’s Han Solo nailing an alien language too. Star Wars’ Snap Wexley, Greg Grunberg, decided to share a picture of himself with Jack:
And finally, here’s C-3PO actor Anthony Daniels' reaction to the news:
I had a good day today. Then I heard Andrew Jack had been killed by the C.Virus. He was a joy to be with on the new trilogy. As dialect coach, he helped the cast get it right through his talent and humour. As an actor, his distinguished features made him stand out in any scene.
Along with his work on these franchises, Andrew Jack also recently worked with Robert Downey Jr. on his Welsh accent for Dolittle. Jack worked closely with Chris Hemsworth as the actor played Thor in movies such as Ragnarok and Infinity War, as well as his recent role in Men In Black: International. Jack left a permanent mark on movies with over 100 dialect coaching credits and over a dozen acting roles. We here at CinemaBlend offer our condolences to his family and friends.
