Here's where else you may have seen Star Wars star Ahmed Best. George Lucas began development on the Star Wars prequel trilogy in the early 1990s, becoming convinced that CGI technology would bring his vision for the universe to life. One of the big breakthroughs of Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace was Jar Jar Binks, who bears the distinction of being the first fully CG character in a live-action movie. Jar Jar was played by Ahmed Best, who nabbed the role after being spotted in a theatre production of Stomp.
Jar Jar Binks was very much designed as comic relief, but both the character and Ahmed Best's performance were met with harsh backlash after the release of The Phantom Menace. Jar Jar was widely despised by audiences and critics alike, which led to a big reduction in the characters' screentime for Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones and Revenge Of The Sith. Best has since opened up about the emotional toll the hostile reaction to the character took on his mental health, which included considering suicide.
Outside of the prequel films, Ahmed Best voiced Jar Jar Binks in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Robot Chicken and numerous video games like Disney Infinity 3.0. The actor appears to have made peace with the response to the character now and has stated he'd be open to playing Jar Jar again in a future movie or show. Away from the Star Wars universe, much of Ahmed Best's credits have been voice roles, including the English dub of anime Armitage III: Dual Matrix alongside Juliette Lewis and 2004 animated sequel Kangaroo Jack: G'Day, U.S.A.!
Alongside appearances on shows like Alias and Cougar Town came voice over work in video games Reservoir Dogs and Scarface: The World Is Yours, with the latter acting as a sequel to 1983 Brian De Palma movie. In 2010 Ahmed Best appeared in horror-comedy sequel 2001 Maniacs: Field Of Screams with Lin Shaye and played Mayor Maxwell in dark comedy Some Guy Who Kills People. He also had a recurring role on meta-comedy series Easy To Assemble in 2011.
Ahmed Best has been keeping busy in recent years, including more voice acting roles in Fallout 76 and The Last Of Us Part II. Most recently he returned to the Star Wars world again as Jedi Master Kelleran Beq in children's game show Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge, which has been well-received critically.