While Pedro Pascal may be the face and voice of Din Djarin, someone else usually brings the Mandalorian to life on screen. Unless the helmet comes off, another performer is typically inside the suit. In a recent interview with Variety, Mandalorian suit actor Brendan Wayne, revealed that three different men play the role—and explained how fans can tell them apart.
The Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) and Grogu in Lucasfilm’s THE MANDALORIAN, season two, exclusively on Disney+. ©.
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Wayne has worn Mando’s armor since the beginning of the Disney+ series. Because the bounty hunter rarely removes his helmet, physical performance matters as much as dialogue. His posture, walk, and movements all help define the character. As Pascal has taken on additional projects, the actor has acknowledged that The Mandalorian has increasingly become a voice-acting role for him.
The Western Influence Behind The Mandalorian
The first season of The Mandalorian was often compared to a classic western. When Brendan Wayne auditioned for the still-unnamed Lucasfilm project, he had already worked with director Jon Favreau on Cowboys & Aliens. As the grandson of Hollywood legend John Wayne, stepping into the role of a big-screen gunslinger came naturally.
Variety reports that one of the first things Wayne did was suggest practical improvements to the costume and weaponry.
However, Brendan Wayne is only the actor inside the Mandalorian suit part of the time. During action-heavy sequences, stunt performer Lateef Crowder takes over. While Wayne didn’t reveal how often he and Crowder play Mando compared to Pedro Pascal, he suggested attentive viewers may be able to spot the differences between the performers.
Brendan Wayne at The Mandalorian and Grogu world premiere – ScreenSlam, YouTube
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“I have the longest neck, so I have a little more space between my cowl to the cape. That’s how you know,” he explained. “I’m long, like a straight line. As my daughters like to call Lateef, he’s a Dorito. His shoulders are out to there, his waist is down here and he’s got these trap muscles. I don’t even know what those are; my body didn’t produce those. Plus, he’s got dreads, so they’re even filling it out even more and his cape sits a little higher.”
His comments suggest that unless the Mandalorian helmet comes off, Pedro Pascal is rarely the actor in the suit.
Inside The Mandalorian Armor
Wearing the Mandalorian armor is not easy. The suit reportedly weighs 62 pounds. During production, Brendan Wayne would sometimes remain in it for 13 hours at a time. While he could remove the helmet during meals, fully getting out of the costume took seven minutes—or 10 minutes if Grogu was attached to his shoulder.
A screenshot from The Mandalorian and Grogu Super Bowl spot – Lucasfilm
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Wayne suggested that, despite the heavy armor, he was still able to move naturally. “You see the angles when he sits at his hip, there’s a reason why people like, ‘That looks like John Wayne.’ It’s because it’s me. That’s just my natural resting body,” he said. While Wayne says he never intentionally copied his grandfather’s mannerisms, he admitted that working with Jon Favreau made him realize some of it may simply be genetic.
The Future of The Mandalorian
While doing promotion for The Mandalorian and Grogu, Pedro Pascal expressed a desire to keep playing Din Djarin. “Hopefully I get to continue playing him for as long as my body, or as many bodies as we put into the suit, can take it,” he said.
Pedro Pascal says he wants to continue playing The Mandalorian as long as he’s alive & audiences still want to see the character.
“Whatever my body can do and however long people want to experience these characters is how long I want it to last.” pic.twitter.com/RfpFgm1KY3
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) May 15, 2026
Now that it’s becoming increasingly clear Pedro Pascal rarely carries the burden of the armor himself, the future of The Mandalorian on screen may depend less on the men in the suit and more on the film’s box office performance.
Were you surprised that there are different suit actors for the Mandalorian? Let us know in the comments!
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