'Ashoka' voice artist reflects on early backlash on Jedi

Ashley Eckstein voiced the Jedi Ashoka Tano in the animated series but revealed that her early reaction to the character was not cheerful.

Appearing on the Star Wars: The Clone Wars stage at the 2023 C2E2 convention, she recalled, “It’s been quite the journey, it really has. From the very beginning where she was hated. And one thing to note, we were always a season ahead of what you all saw. We were well into season two by the time you all saw the first movie, so I knew how far she had come.”

“When it came out, so many people hated Ahsoka. First, I sobbed into my cheesecake,” the actor admitted.

“But then I took a day to have a pity party. Then, I was like, no – this character is amazing. And everyone else is going to see what I see if they just give her time. And so, I asked fans for their patience. I said look, no character is perfect in the beginning, and if they were, then they’d be really boring. So please go on this journey with her.”

Soon her patience paid off as the fans started to like the Star Wars character.

“I think the most important thing for me personally is to see and hear all of the stories of how Ahsoka has been changing lives, and that’s when things really changed for me, because not only did she change my life, but when you all share your stories with me about how she’s changed or saved your life, that sticks with me, and it’s changed me. And I just want to say thank you for trusting me with your stories and sharing them with me, and I will forever strive to be a real-life Ahsoka Tano however I can.”

Meanwhile, Eckstein is voicing Ahsoka in animated Star Wars projects, while Rosario Dawson helmed the character in live-action.