I had seen his picture online, he described himself as tall dark and handsome, I could see he was tall, but as for handsome, well, I had never actually seen him without his helmet.
I had joined the computer dating site after many failed relationships, my last boyfriend was a nice guy at first, but then he started going to meet this horrible old guy and ended up being half machine, always dressed in black and intent on universal domination... Or something, like that... Anyway it was also impossible to sleep next to him because of his terrible asthma.
Then I went out with this hunk of a guy, lord he was gorgeous, but he got frozen in Carbonite, so that was doomed too.
Then there was this cute gold droid from Tatooine, he was such a gentleman and so polite, but he was far too intelligent for me, I mean, he could speak over 6 million languages!
So now I'm meeting this new guy, he seemed very nice on-line and after all, I thought,I had dated men, had had a go at half men, half machines, so why not a clone? He said he worked as a bounty hunter, it sounded so glamorous. Born in a place called Kamino, he had been cloned from his late father Jango, who was also a bounty hunter, nice I thought, carrying on the family business, plus I was a sucker for a man in a uniform.
I reapplied my lipstick, checked my watch and stared at the door, he was late, not the best start, but he had a long way to come, he was coming straight from a job apparently, I had never heard of Alderaan but I guessed it was further than Croydon.
Then I saw him, he stood at the door surveying the room, he was carrying roses, how sweet, I thought. I stood and waved him over. He looked as nervous as me.
I poured him a glass of wine and we sat in silence, for a trained soldier he was very shy. Then he lifted off his helmet, to my surprise, underneath was a silver fox, it Jeremy Bulloch, an actor of fine reputation, he had been in movies as diverse as Bond movies (‘Octopussy’ and 'For your eyes only'), to the TV series Dr Who, as well as the obvious - StarWars ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ and the ‘Return of the Jedi’.
He was also in Revenge of the Sith, but as another character called Captain Colton… Boba was little more than a boy during this chapter, Jeremy is a fine, fine actor, but all the prosthetics in the world ain’t going to make that happen!
But to me, helmet or no helmet, this was Boba Fett…
We ordered our food, I had the seafood risotto and he had the steak, we both chose the cheesecake pudding, but after the waiter had left, we sat nervously playing with our cutlery and starring around the room, some one had to say something to break the ice, we'd been talking online for weeks, but it was different in the flesh… But I had learnt a lot about him, so I thought I'd ask him a few questions...
I thought about him playing in the 2005 film ‘Revenge of the Sith’ as captain cotton and realised that he wasn’t just Boba Fett, he had played three different characters in 3 of the Star Wars films…
"There was no one available to play Sheckil the imperial officer and I was asked if I would like to play Captain Colton in the final film."
I wondered if he was offered any role in the next trilogy what sort of character would he like to play?
"It would have to be Boba Fett.”
Of course it would… Silly question really! I took another sip of wine and continued.
I remembered that his half-brother Robert had helped him get the role of Boba, that was nice of him, I thought, how kind. I wondered why he’d thought it was a good role for him? And how he'd thanked him?
"I just said thanks as playing the part of Boba fitted in with a role I was working on in the theatre."
I noticed his suit, well you couldn’t miss it! I had to ask, I knew that when he first saw the Boba Fett costume was it a sketch, which one was it? The white prototype suit or the coloured version?
"The Colour version.”
And what was your first reaction to it? I enquired
“I thought that the costume was strange looking but once I put it on I felt very at home."
Our meal came, but now the conversation was really starting to flow, so I just carried on as we ate.
So what was the first piece of Boba Fett merchandise you owned? I asked, munching into my rice.
"The full size BOBA FETT statue."
Men and their toys eh?! It reminded me of the Boba Fett action figure that my brother had and... Hey?! I remembered something about the gun, I asked how did he feel when he discovered the missile firing action of his action figure had to be welded in place due to safety concerns?
"It could have been very dangerous if the rocket was loose."
And when was the point he realised Fett was going to be such a huge character for the fans?
"I think when they re released the first three films in 1996."
And did he feel Boba lost a lot if his coolness once his back story was explained?
"Yes I think that once you saw his face he lost the mystery that surrounded him."
Our main course finished and two bottles down, we were handed our puddings and ordered coffee and the conversation continued...
Did you have any say in the costume or character at all?
"No I just watched what was going on so I could settle in to the scene."
Boba dropped a glob of cake down his front, as he wiped himself down and I noticed something, exactly what were the hair plaits hanging from his armour?
"They were Wookie Scalps." He replied.
I wondered if he had any funny stories about shooting?
"The only funny stories was when I tripped over Darth Vader's cloak in the carbon freezer."
This did make me chuckle at the thought.
We finished our cheesecake, drowned the last of our coffeeand signalled the waiter for the bill. He asked me how my coffee was, I replied "The caffeine is strong in this one", making myself laugh and prompting my next question...
When was the last time you quoted a line from Star Wars, in an everyday situation?
"Nearly every day, usually when I am in the garden. HOW WEIRD!"
And one last question just had to be asked...
What is it like being the best sci fi character ever?
He answered, with a smile "its totally awesome being Boba and I get to fly in Slave 1..."
What a lovely time, what a lovely man, under his cool façade was a genuinely fantastic guy… This could work, I thought as I excused myself and went to powder my nose, and after 2 bottles of wine it needed a good powdering!
I looked at myself in the bathroom mirror as I reapplied my lipstick… hmm… Mrs Boba Fett… It had a good ring to it. I straightened my dress and exited the bathroom….
Boba had already paid and was standing by the door, I smiled and started towards him, maybe it was time to settle down... But then...
That's when I saw him… He entered the restaurant through the open door and crossed the room like a hairy Greek god… He must have been well over 7 foot tall, glistening blue eyes, brown hair, well… everywhere… Wow, this was a whole lot’a Wookie.
But that’s a whole other story…
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