The star of on Apple TV+ (and , and , and ) reveals how he climbed to the top of Hollywood — and what comes next. Joel Edgerton owes his career to George Lucas, who cast an unknown Australian as Uncle Owen in the . To fans, Edgerton plays the stoic, conflicted, angry, steely-eyed father figure who is ever doomed to the gruesome fate that scarred theatergoers some 50 years ago.

But as the actor tells it, he sometimes wishes his character had been more than just a rural farmer with a whiny adopted son. “I’ve always joked that I’m the most boring character in Star Wars history,” Edgerton says. Recent developments in the franchise have led plenty of fans (Edgerton included) to believe there might be more to Uncle Owen than just harvesting moisture in the Tatooine outback.

But in the meantime, he’s found another role where he gets to play both the most ordinary and the most interesting man in a very different sci-fi multiverse. In — the gripping new Apple TV+ series adapted by Blake Crouch from his 2016 novel of the same name — Edgerton stars as Jason Dessen. Or more precisely, Edgerton plays a handful of Jasons across the multiverse, each one determined to be the sole lead character in the story of their shared and divergent lives.

The decidedly unhip Jason 1 is the character we sympathize with the most. His doppelgänger, Jason 2, has stolen his life by switching places with him and stealing his wife Daniela (Jennifer Connelly). After reading the book, Edgerton .