Billy Dee Williams talks about having to defend Lando Calrissian for years after THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK

Actor Billy Dee Williams he was kind of the personification of beautiful like the character Lando Calrissian in the Star Wars franchise, but it turns out he also had to learn to keep his cool in public after taking on the role The empire strikes again.

In a recent interview with the Dagobah Dispatch podcast (via CB), Williams explained the reaction he received from fans:

“When I picked up my daughter from school, the kids would run up to me and say, ‘You betrayed Han Solo!’ … I would go on a plane and the plane stewards would say, ‘You betrayed Han Solo!’ I understood that for many years. So finally I said, ‘Look, think about the whole situation. You’re up against a pretty formidable character in Darth Vader. And then there is, of course, Boba Fett. And these people were invading my space and I had to bargain with them. But at least the pact prevented the complete disappearance of Han Solo and his friends. But I had to maintain my whole situation.”

He continued:

“So I found myself explaining all this stuff to the point where I finally told people, ‘Look, I’m tired of explaining all this.’ I said, “Did anyone die? Nobody died! “I think it was a clear indication that Lando was trying to figure something out and he was trying to figure out mainly how to maintain his situation without the complete disappearance of his friend.”

I think it’s nice that he tried to reason with the fans about it. She could have simply followed the path of actor Han Solo Harrison Ford, who is known to respond to fans who ask him, “Who shot first?” with the response “who cares?”