Inside Andor: How real locations shaped Denise Gough and Ben Mendelsohn’s darkest roles

Interview with Edith Bowman

“Somebody built all of this for us to come and play on it.”

Denise Gough

Andor is a show built with hands as much as imagination. Denise Gough remembers arriving on set expecting digital trickery and discovering that everything around her had been physically constructed. As she puts it, “I thought this was all going to be on green screens” but instead “everything was built.” That shift changed her performance. Walking into Dedra Meero’s apartment, she felt as if she had entered a world crafted with the precision of couture. “Every cupboard opened onto some new detail,” she says, and the real textures kept her “playful” and “in awe.”

Ben Mendelsohn felt it too. He recalls a small enclosed set where the tension of a key scene sharpened simply because of the space. The walls and shadows dictated the atmosphere long before the characters spoke. Responding to something real underfoot, he says, made all the difference.

“Everyone was given the freedom to bring their best”

Denise Gough

Denise describes the production in terms of collective elevation. “Lighting, sound, design, costume design, hair and makeup” all levelled up, she says, because “nobody was strangling anything.” Tony Gilroy “steered the ship” while giving every department permission to push further, and it created a rare harmony between craft and performance.

Watching the finished series was emotional for her. Edith tells her she ended episode twelve “broken” and Denise smiles, saying she is “so proud to be part of it” because it shows “everyone at the top of their game.” That sense of scale gives Andor its weight. It feels made with purpose.

“Try being under that finger”

Denise Gough

The lighter moments in the interview reveal the trust between the actors. Edith laughs about a scene where a single finger tap becomes unexpectedly threatening. Ben joins in, saying “never has one finger on a head felt so menacing,” and Denise fires back, “try being under that finger.” It is a snapshot of their dynamic, equal parts teasing and steel.

Ben goes further, comparing Denise’s scene-setting instincts to Deliverance. In that film’s most intense moment, he explains, it is the actor “having like things that have difficult” who sets the emotional pitch. “Same with her,” he says. She “keeps handing it to me,” which gives their scenes their charge.

“I thought this was all going to be on green screens.”

Denise Gough

For Denise, the physicality of Andor’s locations stirred something childlike. “It’s literally like being a kid,” she says. “Somebody built all of this for us to come and play on it.” Even the props in Dedra’s bedroom hinted at a private narrative. She remembers opening drawers and finding “weird things by her bed,” left by a mischievous crew member named Luc. “Come on. Really? Those are the things you put there?” she laughs. Yet those details helped her unlock parts of the character.

The tactile nature of the sets meant nothing felt theoretical. She was inhabiting a world rather than pretending one existed behind her.

“Rogue One is the most faithfully looking to the original New Hope”

Ben Mendelsohn

Edith’s instinct after finishing episode one was to go straight into Rogue One. She talks about the vista as the characters land to find Galen Erso, calling it “remarkable.” Ben agrees. Rogue One, he says, is “the most faithfully looking to the original New Hope” because of its devotion to place. Gareth Edwards and his team grounded everything in real landscapes, and that truth runs directly into Andor’s DNA.

“Because it’s all real,” Ben says. “We’re responding to everything around us.” The cliffs, the courtyards, the industrial corridors. All of them are physical. All of them shape performance. That seamless connection between world and story is one of the reasons Andor feels like a natural extension of the original trilogy.

“I hope she gets wheeled out when I’m eighty”

Denise Gough

Asked whether Dedra might return, Denise jokes that she hopes the character “gets wheeled out when I’m eighty,” ancient, brilliant and “radicalised.” Edith calls her “the best realised Empire character,” and Ben, smiling, replies that while he “wouldn’t say scared,” he does “appreciate very much.” A beat later he admits, “when I go, I’m scared,” which makes them all laugh.

The affection for the character is genuine. Dedra feels complex enough to grow old. That is rare territory for an Imperial officer.

“I’ve been part of something really iconic”

Denise Gough

As the interview closes, Denise admits she is pleased the series resisted stretching the story across five instalments. “What if it doesn’t sustain for five,” she says, “because it can be awful if you’re in something and the quality just goes down.” Ending with strength made her feel “part of something really iconic.”

Ben echoes her sentiment, praising how “real space” informs every beat. Edith signs off with heartfelt congratulations. By then it is clear why. Andor is a story rooted in craft, performance and place, and its actors carry that world with them long after the cameras stopped rolling.