At times actors deliver such riveting performances in fan-favorite shows and movies, that people fail to distinguish between reel life and reality. Something similar happened to actor Billy Dee Williams when his character acted nefariously in Star Wars: Episode V—The Empire Strikes Back and betrayed Harrison Ford.
Die-hard fans failed to distinguish between what happened on screen and ended up threatening Billy Dee Williams in a public place. After Williams’ Star Wars character Lando Calrissian betrayed Han Solo at the end of the 1980s Star Wars film, he fell out of fans’ favor. Noting his experience in his mémoire, Williams explained the incident.
Billy Dee Williams and Harrison Ford in Star Wars
Rising to fame following his appearances in franchises and fantasy films like Batman (1989) and Star Wars films, Billy Dee Williams turned into a household name. Offering fans riveting performances throughout his career, the actor even became a fan-favorite icon. However, his role as Lando Calrissian in Star Wars failed to maintain fans’ favor after betraying Harrison Ford’s Han Solo.
In The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Lando Calrissian (Williams) who was a supposed ally of Han Solo (Ford) and his friends, was seen betraying them. In an attempt to protect his people, Lando chose the easy way out and betrayed Han and his friends, by giving them up to Darth Vader. This scene undoubtedly infuriated Star Wars fans around the globe.
There’s no denying that Star Wars fans have always rooted for Han Solo, and with fan-favorite Indiana Jones actor Harrison Ford taking up that role, there are even more people showing their unwavering support for the character. Eventually, that’s exactly what happened, which was later explained by Billy Dee Williams in his mémoire What Have We Here?, set to release on February 13.
Sharing the screen with Harrison Ford, Billy Dee Williams recalled in his mémoire how he faced public criticism and backlash because of the way his character behaved onscreen, against Ford’s Han Solo. According to his interview with PEOPLE, the actor noted experiencing racism after playing Lando Calrissian. More than anything, he faced public threats for betraying Han Solo.
Fans threatened Williams After His Character Betrayed Han Solo
According to Billy Dee Williams’ first-hand experience, fans failed to distinguish between reel life and real life, when they turned against the actor for how his character behaved onscreen. Fans failed to realize he was just working as per the script and storyline. Thus, eventually, Williams noted how his character’s performance in Star Wars: Episode V—The Empire Strikes Back had an impact on his real life.
“Nearly everywhere I went, fans harangued me for betraying Han Solo. I got dirty looks on airplanes. “How could you?” A flight attendant scolded. At the grocery store, a man shopping with his teenage son looked at me with disgust. “I should put you in the deep freeze,” he said, as his son nodded in agreement.”
Explaining the situations he faced in public, Billy Dee Williams expressed his shock at how people confused him with his Star Wars character. Although initially he took the incidents lightly, Williams soon realized things were turning grave. The actor recalled in his mémoire, how things soon aggravated to racism.
“It was laughable until it wasn’t—until I sensed a Black-White thing might be brewing. That’s when I took a step back, put up my hands, and told people to wait a minute before they criticized me any further. I guess I had done a good job playing Lando as a dubious character. But Lando wasn’t a bad guy, I explained. Although it looked like he’d betrayed his best friend, the truth was that Lando was caught in the middle of a situation between Han Solo and Darth Vader.”
Billy Dee Williams realized that he had undoubtedly nailed his role as Lando Calrissian in the Star Wars movies. But soon as he realized people were turning against him, and not his character, the actor took a step back and tried clarifying it to the fans.
