It’s fair to say that many of us would’ve been willing to do far more than just haul a few rathtars for the opportunity to have a cameo in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. (Sorry, BB-8, but if Unkar on Jakku had offered to buy you in exchange for a bit part in the film—even if it was uncredited and wearing a First Order uniform the whole time—we would’ve sold you out in a heartbeat. Guess that’s why Rey is the hero.) And we already know folks like Daniel Craig jumped at the chance to play one of the helmeted bad guys, as did composer Michael Giacchino and Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich. But not everyone loves the idea of working as an extra for a day, even on a beloved sci-fi franchise. And Jon Stewart is a proud member of team “not everyone.”
In a new interview with Empire, some of the creative team behind The Force Awakens (namely editors Mary Jo Marke and Maryann Brandon, creature designer Neal Scanlan, and concept artist Doug Chiang) revealed a number of behind-the-scenes facts and design details regarding the film’s production. Among those stories is the discovery that Stewart was actually offered the chance for a cameo. However, it seems Stewart wanted to play a good guy (no Laketown spy work for him!), and since the only opportunities available were as Stormtroopers, he passed on the option. And sure, he wants to perform charitable work, try to help veterans, save rampaging animals, blah blah blah. Today, all of that takes a backseat to his passing on being in The Force Awakens. Which means we’ll take a few minutes to be weirdly hostile to that decision, even if there’s no reason for us to be bothered by his action, which doesn’t affect anyone in the slightest: It doesn’t alter the fact we would’ve happily done terrible things for such an opportunity. Please send us your demands for appalling forms of personal sacrifice in exchange for film cameos, c/o The A.V. Club.