Katee Sackhoff Didn’t Act For Nearly 3 Years After ‘The Mandalorian’

Despite getting to play around in a galaxy far, far away, Katee Sackhoff took some time to find “The Force” again after appearing in the Star Wars franchise.

The actress, who starred as Bo-Katan Kryze on The Mandalorian, recently explained how the role “just broke me” and led to a nearly three-year hiatus from onscreen acting roles.

“I lost all of my confidence after Mandalorian. All of it,” she explained on her podcast The Sackhoff Show. “I’ve always played two steps removed from myself, in a sense. It always felt grounded in some part of my belly, of who I was. Bo-Katan is nowhere near who I am as a human being. Her life, what she wants — I didn’t understand her. As much as I understood her, I never felt her in my stomach. I never identified with her. I didn’t know how to find her.”

Despite previously voicing the character in the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels, Sackhoff’s tenure in the live-action role of Bo-Katan on The Mandalorian from 2020 to 2023 proved to be a more challenging undertaking.

“It broke me. It just broke me,” explained Sackhoff. “I started doubting everything about myself. I’m not a strong auditioner on tape, and I was having to put myself on tape. I wasn’t booking anything. And for three years, I basically didn’t work, and it just destroyed my confidence.”

Sackhoff has since connected with a new manager and acting coach, who has told her, “‘My goal is not to teach you how to act. You know how to act. I just need to get you back in your belly. You just need to find your confidence again.’ That’s it.”

With the exception of a Law & Order episode last year and the action-comedy Fight or Flight, Sackhoff has primarily only done voice work since her Mandalorian arc, including reviving the voice of Bo-Katan for a May 2024 episode of Star Wars: Tales of the Empire.

In June, Sackhoff signed on for Mike Flanagan‘s Amazon MGM series adaptation of Stephen King‘s Carrie, joining the cast in an undisclosed role after working with the horror auteur on 2013’s Oculus.

“I trust Mike,” said Sackhoff on her podcast. “I’ve relinquished control and I trust Mike, ’cause I’ve worked with him before and I know he’s amazing. I don’t know if I trust myself yet.”