Did you do any “Star Wars” homework when you accepted the role?

I do go back and look at the style of the films. I’m more wanting to know, what does that feel like, where you’re traveling in spaceships or pods that take you to a new place? How would it feel to be in a pressurized capsule for weeks and months, in a state of suspended animation until I wake up and then have to perform and do my duty in a new place? In this new world of film, sometimes we don’t have tangible markers. Sometimes we’re working in a place where there’s nothing in the room except for me, in my costume, in character, and I have to imagine everything: imagine other characters, other vehicles, the terrain. It plays into what I love about working in this world, because anything could happen and you have to use your imagination.

Some of your breakout film roles had an explosive, volatile streak, but over time it feels like you’ve been playing more characters who are more subtle and controlled. Is that the path you see yourself on as well?

I’m wanting to play more thoughtful characters, more soulful and interior characters. When I start to create a character, I want him to have all the elements of a human being. But human beings are not only black and white, light and dark. They have gray areas. My guy Gus Fring, he thought he could do everything better than everyone else. He had a really great sense of business, and was able to implement what he wanted to do, to take over and make things better in his business. I want to explore the decisions we make in our lives. Are we selfish? Are we courageous? Are we warriors? Will we stand up and serve the people or will we serve ourselves? These are major questions in life that I think we all have to answer.

Is there an event or experience in your life that you feel motivated you to follow this path?

I was born in Copenhagen and raised in Italy until I was five. Coming to America, I was, in a way, unwanted. I was half Italian, half black. People didn’t know what I was. They kept asking me, what are you? I had curly hair, and I was light-skinned black. So, I decided, at a very young age, to be a humanitarian — to allow people to be empowered by their backgrounds and who they are. There was a time where I couldn’t get a role that was written for someone white. But things changed for me, and I think it’s been moving in that direction, more and more.

Did you get to keep any of the props you used on “The Mandalorian”?

[Laughs] I wanted it all. And once you see how I look, with my costume and the plethora of weapons I have — but no, no. They wouldn’t let me take anything. They said to me, it’s all going to wind up in a museum. You’re going to be so honored when you see it there in a couple of years. But you can’t have it now.

I assume you’ll at least get a Moff Gideon action figure?

I have one from “Monkeybone,” a film I did years ago with Brendan Fraser. I played Hypnos, the god of sleep. I have that one. I have two or three from “Breaking Bad,” of course. I’m looking forward to having one from this. I’m going to be jumping for joy, because that means I’ve made it.