The Force Runs Strong In This Family: Jett, Amanda & Katie

Observant fans who kept an eye out for various Easter eggs in Revenge of the Sith are usually quick to point out filmmaker George Lucas' first-ever Star Wars cameo as the blue-faced Baron Papanoida standing inside the Coruscant Opera House. However, he's not the only Lucas family member to get some screen time. His children -- Katie, Amanda, and Jett Lucas -- also make brief appearances in the movie as Senators and Jedi.

Though Jett, Katie and Amanda portray background characters in the previous two prequels, Revenge of the Sith marks the first time they all act in more substantial roles.

Katie Lucas has appeared in each film of the prequels, sometimes under a pseudonym of "Jenna Green." In Episode I, she played Amee, one of Anakin's childhood friends on Tatooine. In Episode II, she roams the Outlander Club as a purple-skinned Twi'lek named Lunae Minx. In Episode III, she moves into politics as the Twi'lek Senator, Chi Eekway.

"She's just a really old soul," Katie explains. "They asked me to help develop my character and when my dad told me my name, I said 'She sounds a little bit granola-ish.' But he showed me pictures of her and I kind of helped him develop it. We looked at costumes, we talked about it and that was fun, because last time I picked it out, and it was fun to have input from my dad."

"I think this character is just really spiritual," Katie continues. "I know this is lame to say since I'm only in a few scenes, but I drew some of that spirituality from some family and friends I have who are deeply spiritual, and it helped get me in that kind of mood. Some of our family friends are Buddhist and Hindu. I took my tone from from one of them because she's such an inspiring person. "

Senator Eekway's dedication to spirituality is visible in decorative symbols showcased on her ornate cloak. Costume Designer Trisha Beggar is known for her talent to convey a character's personality through subtle fashion details, and Katie looked forward to discovering what kind of unique Star Wars fashions she would be wearing for her scenes.

"For the first movie, I made my own costume," Katie reveals. "I sewed it and everything. I designed it which was really cool because I've always kind of wanted to be a costume designer. And for the second movie, I designed my outfit with Trisha's help. They showed me pictures and because my character would be in a nightclub, I wanted something a bit sexy. But for this movie my costumes were probably some of the most complicated."

Katie soon learned the high price of regal fashion with a beautiful yet awkward accessory. "The most challenging thing was the headpiece, because it was so heavy," she explains. "My entire outfit was made of silk, so you'd think that a silk headpiece would be lighter than velvet, but it's so much heavier. It was incredible because I was like, 'Oh yes, finally, something not hot, and something airy and nice and light.' But I kept having to take off my headdress and they'd hold it up in the back because so it wouldn't hurt my head. Katie's older sister Amanda was also honored with a Senator title for Episode III as she played Senator Terr Taneel. In Episode I, Amanda provided the voice of Neimoidian pilot Tey How, and could also be seen in Jabba the Hutt's luxury box during the Podrace scene as Diva Funquita. In Episode II, she plays Adnama, a patron of the Outlander Club. But in her more-stately role as a Senator, she would need much more refined and elegant costumes.

"I felt very regal and royal wearing that costume," Amanda says. "I don't sit upright because I'm kind of a tomboy, and the minute I got in it and they started fitting me they said, 'You have to be proper and you have to sit up.' I had this big, wide hat, and I don't normally wear hats and it was just cool. It was much easier to get into character because of the costume and all the different fabrics. Trisha just has a knack and these costumes have so much detail. She puts so much attention into the littlest thing."

In addition to costume fittings, both sisters found themselves sitting in the makeup chair to complete the transformation from mere earthly humans to galactic Senators.

"In the first film I was a human, and the second I was an alien," Katie recalls. "And I told my dad I wanted to be an alien in this one too because I just think that's so cool. I was purple in the last one and it took about six hours to do! My call time was at 3 a.m., and my makeup took until 7 a.m., and we wouldn't start shooting until two hours after that. The makeup went all down my arm and they airbrushed spots down the tentacles. I was exhausted by the end of the day."

"But this time it was much more relaxed," Katie continues. "I worked with the makeup artist Bliss [Vivienne MacGillicuddy]; she's incredible. She's worked on all these great movies like Lord of the Rings, The BeastMaster, and Peter Pan. And my makeup only took two hours!" Even though her time in the makeup chair was substantially shorter than the previous time around, the character's look still had a few challenges to overcome.

"The worst part I think would be the character's eyebrows because in the design I only have half an eyebrow," Katie laughs. "And so we were debating whether I should shave them off, or bleach them all and then do one part black. And I was like, 'Yeah, okay, we're not doing any of those options because I wasn't about to shave off my eyebrows or bleach them.' So they had to take the hot wax and glue them down. Then they would take cold wax and roll it over. The makeup ended up looking really cool."

Another of Senator Eekway's striking features in addition to her stylized brows was her vibrant yellow eyes and dark blue skin color. "I had bright yellow contacts and they just glowed out of my head," Katie says. "Kee Chan [Senator Malé-Dee] kept saying, 'I can't stop looking at you, your makeup is just so bright!' and he'd have to turn away. Unfortunately, the contacts didn't fit well and I had to take them out. So they just added it in the movie."

Even though both Amanda and Katie's speaking roles were cut from the final release of the movie, fans can still see them perform in their deleted scenes on the Revenge of the Sith DVD. "My one big scene was in Padmé's apartment, where she gets all of her closest friends together and she has a meeting about the Chancellor overtaking the Senate," Katie explains. "It's really the beginning of the Rebel Alliance, and that was so cool to be a part of since they were always my favorite in all the movies. I was like, 'Yeah Rebels!'"

Both Katie and Amanda were also present in the landing platform scene standing behind Chancellor Palpatine who briefly addresses Mace Windu and Bail Organa after his daring escape from General Grievous thanks to Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi.