Meet the UAE twins starring in ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’

It’s a classic accidental movie discovery story. But it’s one Dubai twins Liana and Thea Shengelaia will be telling for a long time.

Last year, the 27-year-olds went to audition for extras in Emirati director Ali Mustafa’s upcoming post-apocalyptic film The Worthy. They did their interview and left. But something happened.

“My sister forgot her bag in the studio,” recalls Liana. “So we had to go back to get it. Then someone noticed us, spoke to us and told us he might have a very special role for us.”

The “special” role, the twins would find out two weeks later, would be a walk-on part in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, that was going to be filmed in the Abu Dhabi desert.

“We couldn’t believe it. And there was no way in the world we would have said no to them,” says Liana.

A month later, in May of last year, the sisters were driven to Abu Dhabi, put up in a hotel and given instructions.

“There was to be total secrecy. No phones or photographs were allowed,” recalls Liana.

On their first day on set, the two were taken in a bus from their hotel along with about 40 other people and driven about an hour into the Abu Dhabi desert. They were all extras from different parts of the world, she says.

“We met the costume designer there. He chose what we were supposed to wear and then sent us to the make-up artist. We were there for a couple of hours and then driven back to the hotel.”

The next day, they repeated the same process. “The designer was so happy with the result and said we looked really good and pretty and complimented us,” says Liana.

The drive from the make-up and costume camp to the actual set was a long one, too.

“JJ [Abrams, the director] was super sweet to both of us,” recalls Thea. “When he first saw us, he came to us straight away and introduced himself and he asked us our names. For the next four days, he was always complimenting us. Even Tommy Gormley [first assistant director] came to us and asked us where we were from and then Tommy and JJ had a small chat about us.”

The twins were told they’re playing rich aliens in a marketplace and were supposed to be hanging around shopping.

British actors Daisy Ridley and John Boyega, who are making their Star Wars debuts, were also at the Abu Dhabi shoot. Thea and Liana filmed a non-speaking scene with them.

“Daisy and John were so down-to-earth and friendly. It was really inspiring for both of us as we could see how hard actors work to achieve that one perfect scene,” says Thea.

On the final day of their four-day schedule, they filmed a massive explosion scene in a marketplace.

“So much care was taken for that one shot,” Liana says.

Abu Dhabi is believed to be playing the planet Jakku in The Force Awakens. The film’s cast and crew reportedly spent around six months on the desert set, which many say resembled a small city. The production took advantage of Abu Dhabi Film Commission’s 30 per cent cash back on film productions in the UAE capital.

Liana and Thea, originally from Georgia, are aspiring singers and are currently working on their debut album under the name Healer Twins.

“We recorded an original single a few weeks ago and we want to start making a music video for the song,” says Thea, who divides her time between Germany and the UAE. “As far as acting goes, we’ll keep at it and hopefully something interesting will come up.”

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Star Wars: The Force Awakens releases in the UAE on December 17.