It’s another week of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story coverage from Entertainment Weekly‘s Anthony Breznican and today’s piece is all about mysterious pilot Bodhi Rook.

Riz Ahmed, who plays Bodhi, told EW all about his character and how he relates to him.

“When Kathy was calling my character a troublemaker, I think she was actually talking about me,” Ahmed joked in an interview with EW.

According to Ahmed, Bodhi is not a natural fighter and finds the situation he ends up in a little freaky.

“A character like Bodhi is not born into the life of a soldier,” Ahmed says. “He’s a pilot working for the Empire, doing his job, getting on with it. But when you put ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances, it can freak them out. It can inspire deep passions. So I’m gonna defend Bodhi.”

We all know by now that Bodhi Rook was once an Imperial pilot who defected from the Empire to join the Rebel Alliance. Breznican really hits the nail on the head when he says that the Imperial cog symbol on Bodhi’s costume is symbolic:

That sprocket gear is actually symbolic. Bodhi is just a cog in the Imperial machine. He isn’t an ace dogfighter who knocked Rebel rivals out of the stratosphere; he’s just a pilot who kept Palpatine’s forces supplied.

I really love what Ahmed has to say about Bodhi. He seems to understand the hodgepodge style of the Rebel Alliance and how the different backgrounds and cultures of its members are part of what make it so unique and special. It sounds like Rogue One is going to give us a nice look at the characters of the Alliance whose sacrifices lead to heroes like Luke Skywalker and Han Solo defeating the Empire.

Thanks EW and Anthony Breznican for the interview! Go and check out the rest here.