--- description: Oscar Isaac takes on the role of Poe Dameron in the upcoming, hotly anticipated Star Wars: The Force Awakens. title: This Will Change How You See Darth Vader Forever image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc23982f4a2222add/698873335f570fb074b1e95e/oscar-isaac-darth-vader.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # This Will Change How You See Darth Vader Forever ## Video: Star Wars The Force Awakens Trailer [Watch (HLS stream): Star Wars The Force Awakens Trailer](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/UyGxWpXw.m3u8) (2:35)  _Published 2015-10-20. Star Wars The Force Awakens Trailer_ by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 2, 2015 3:34 PM CUT  Oscar Isaac attends 'Show Me A Hero' New York Screening at The New York Times Center on August 11, 2015 in New York City. Oscar Isaac attends 'Show Me A Hero' New York Screening at The New York Times Center on August 11, 2015 in New York City.John Lamparski/WireImage by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 2, 2015 3:34 PM CUT Oscar Isaac takes on the role of Poe Dameron, a X-wing pilot in the Resistance and a leader in the fight against the First Order, in the hotly anticipated [_Star Wars: The Force Awakens_](http://time.com/4127901/watch-han-solo-open-fire-in-the-new-trailer-for-star-wars-the-force-awakens/ "undefined")_._ While the J.J. Abrams-directed film is shrouded in secrecy, Isaac recently sat down with TIME to discuss what the _Star Wars_ series has meant to him throughout his life and his own analysis of his character’s journey. **TIME: What’s your personal history with** **_Star Wars_** **? Were you a fan? Did you see the movies in the theater? What were your feelings about** **_Star Wars_** **before this?** Isaac: For me, it’s been a huge part of my childhood and actually, recent life. My family and I are all pretty big fans. The earliest movie I can remember seeing in the theater was _Return of the Jedi_ and I went with my father and it made a huge impression on me, particularly when Darth Vader’s helmet comes off. You see that he’s just a big vulnerable sad sack underneath that black helmet and how fragile he is and what it says about the way that we look up to our parents sometimes and once we realize that they’re just human. Anyway, that stuck with me a lot and I was a huge fan. It just ignited my imagination in a way I couldn’t have imagined and then as I grew up, my family were huge fans, particularly my uncle and cousins, and they would collect the toys and we’d rewatch the movies. Then when the prequels came out, we were very excited and we would throw _Star Wars-_themed parties and collect the toys and dress up as the characters and actually memorize the fight scenes, the duels. We’d try to reenact them with the lightsabers, but to a T. You know, say, “okay no no no he goes left, right, left, right and then down.” So yeah, it was always a great way for the family to spend some time annoying the rest of the family. **What can you tell me about the character?** I can say that he’s a pilot for the Resistance. He’s incredibly dedicated. He’s perhaps sometimes a little overenthusiastic with wanting to prove himself as a pilot and so can sometimes find himself in slightly reckless situations, in situations that he maybe didn’t anticipate. So I think part of his journey is figuring out what a real leader is, what it means to be a leader, what it means to be a hero, and yet he’s a formidable opponent to the First Order. **Read next:** * [Here’s How Adam Driver Learned to Master the Dark Side](http://time.com/4129579/adam-driver-masters-dark-side-star-wars-the-force-awakens/?xid=tcoshare "undefined") * [Gwendoline Christie on Why Her _Star Wars_ Costume Is a ‘Step Forward’ for Women](http://time.com/4129483/gwendoline-christie-star-wars-the-force-awakens-captain-phasma-costume/ "undefined") * [The 10 Most Fascinating _Star Wars: The Force Awakens_ Fan Theories](http://time.com/4116403/star-wars-force-awakens-fan-theories/ "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4130634/oscar-isaac-darth-vader-star-wars-the-force-awakens/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4130634/oscar-isaac-darth-vader-star-wars-the-force-awakens/"},"headline":"This Will Change How You See Darth Vader Forever","datePublished":"2015-12-02T15:34:12.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T12:59:30.519Z","description":"\"You see that he’s just a big vulnerable sad sack underneath that black helmet\"","url":"https://time.com/4130634/oscar-isaac-darth-vader-star-wars-the-force-awakens/","keywords":["movies","Star Wars topic","Actors","films","Oscar Isaac","darth vader","star wars: the force awakens","The Force Awakens"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc23982f4a2222add/698873335f570fb074b1e95e/oscar-isaac-darth-vader.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc23982f4a2222add/698873335f570fb074b1e95e/oscar-isaac-darth-vader.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"\"Show Me A Hero\" New York Screening","caption":"Oscar Isaac attends 'Show Me A Hero' New York Screening at The New York Times Center on August 11, 2015 in New York City.","creditText":"John Lamparski/WireImage","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4130634/oscar-isaac-darth-vader-star-wars-the-force-awakens/","name":"This Will Change How You See Darth Vader Forever"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Star Wars The Force Awakens Trailer","description":"Star Wars The Force Awakens Trailer","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/UyGxWpXw/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-10-20T02:40:51.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/UyGxWpXw.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4130634/oscar-isaac-darth-vader-star-wars-the-force-awakens/","duration":"PT2M35S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4130634/oscar-isaac-darth-vader-star-wars-the-force-awakens/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```