It's been a while since we last saw Din Djarin's face. Throughout the whole of The Mandalorian's Season 3, our hero doesn't take his helmet off once, leaving us yearning to see that sweet Pedro Pascal glance at his Foundling-turned-son, Din Grogu. Still, Mando has no easy life, so not only is his helmet required all the time, the physical aspect of the character is what is most demanded of him, and that's when the two other guys who wear the armor get to shine. Yes, there are two other actors under that helmet, Brendan Wayne and Lateef Crowder, and they are the real MVPs of Season 3.
You might have noticed their names finally being credited as co-leads in the credits of Season 3 — it's about time! Mando is a rather complex role, with different sides to him that are as important as his personality. Being a bounty hunter by trade, he spends most of his life basically fighting and handling weapons to secure his prize, and that's where Wayne and Crowder come in. Together, those three actors make up the character we all know and love, and not one of them is more important than the other.
Who Are Brendan Wayne and Lateef Crowder?
Brendan Wayne and Lateef Crowder were first mentioned back in the Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian special for Season 1 on Disney+, when Pascal revealed that he's not the one in the armor all the time. In fact, due to the nature of the character, it's safe to say that he's the one who is there the least, with Wayne and Crowder taking on the lion's share of time in Din's suit. They express sides to Din Djarin that Pedro Pascal simply can't. Not every actor can do everything, so, whenever possible, new people are brought in to "complete" the role.
In Mando's case, there are different needs according to the scene. He deals with lots of weapons, especially shooting ones, and that's where Brendan Wayne comes in. Fittingly, he's the grandson of Western legend John Wayne, and acting and handling firing weapons comes naturally to him. He's the one spending most of the time in character and has even helped come up with Din Djarin's look, providing insight on armor design based on where and how his weapons would be the most easily accessible, as he revealed in an interview with Vulture. That signature gunslinger pose Mando has? Not only is it influenced by Westerns, but it also has traits of actual legends of the genre thanks to Wayne.
The other kinds of scenes that demand a lot of work are the action and fighting scenes, and those are Lateef Crowder's specialties. He's a Brazilian actor and stuntman and takes over when Mando finds himself in direct combat and overall dangerous situations. Crowder is a master of the Brazilian martial art of capoeira, so his real challenge is making it not seem too easy for Mando to defeat everyone in a fight. All kidding aside, though, traces of capoeira are easily recognizable in the character, especially from the way he moves when fighting (what Brazilians call "gingado," also applicable to dancing, soccer, etc.). His work goes way beyond just Mando, though, as he also helps coordinate fighting scenes for other characters. In Season 3, for example, he was part of Jedi Master Kelleran Beq's rescue of Grogu from the Jedi Temple, as revealed by Ahmed Best himself.
Why Do We Need Three Guys for One Character?
A character being played by multiple actors is something rather common in Star Wars. Darth Vader, for example, was also played by three actors in the Original Trilogy: James Earl Jones did his voice, David Prowse played him in regular scenes, and Bob Anderson did the lightsaber fighting scenes. For The Force Awakens, both Peter Mayhew and Joonas Suotamo are credited for playing Chewbacca, too. Boba Fett was originally played by Jeremy Bulloch and is now played by Temuera Morrison, and those are two completely different takes on the same role.
So Mando being shared by Pascal, Wayne, and Crowder is not only natural, but it creates a stronger character and show. Pascal is one of Hollywood's biggest stars right now, which means that being present only occasionally to film on set means he can work on different projects (looking at you, The Last of Us). Of course, he is there despite that and donned the suit more often in Season 2, but most of his acting happens by voice work after the scenes have already been filmed.
In Season 3, Din Djarin's role was somewhat reduced, as Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff) took the lead. That even led to rumors about the possibility of Din being killed off, but thankfully, it wasn't the case. It does seem that this time Pedro Pascal wasn't on set as often, so it's Brendan Wayne we are usually looking at. Also, fighting scenes became more complex, especially towards the end of the season. The last two episodes, "The Spies" and "The Return", saw Din finally be pulled back into action, fighting Moff Gideon's (Giancarlo Esposito) new beskar-plated Stormtroopers and the Elite Praetorian Guards. Any Brazilian would recognize that Mandalorian capoeira gingado anywhere, so that was definitely Lateef Crowder doing his thing inside the Mando suit, too.
Of course, when we watch The Mandalorian, it's Pedro Pascal we imagine being under the helmet. He's a Hollywood icon, and the tenderness inherent to Din Djarin's character is on him. But while we may still argue that he should be around more, the character we see on screen is one-third his, the other two-thirds going to Brendan Wayne and Lateef Crowder. Without them, the Mando we know would simply not exist, or not be as badass as he is now, at least. Pascal often says they are the ones who "do the heavy lifting," so they deserve their names on the end credits just like him. Whenever you see a kid playing Mando, it's Brendan Wayne's swag, and it's Lateef Crowder's awesome fighting moves that they are imitating. They keep the show going, literally. This is the way.