Star Wars/Rugor Nass
| Rugor Nass | |
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| Homeworld | Naboo |
| Species | Gungan (Ankura) |
| Gender | Male |
| Height | 2.06 meters |
| Eyes | Yellow |
| Skin | Green |
| Title | Boss of the Gungan High Council |
| Voiced by | Brian Blessed |
| First appearance | The Phantom Menace (1999) |
Rugor Nass, usually called Boss Nass, is the leader of the Gungans in The Phantom Menace. As Boss of the Gungan High Council, he ruled his amphibious people from Otoh Gunga, a glowing bubble city deep beneath the waters of Naboo. Loud, proud, and built like a boulder, Nass is best remembered for his rumbling voice, his head-shaking bellows, and the moment he chose to forgive: setting aside generations of distrust to join the Gungans and the human Naboo together against the Trade Federation.
1 Biography✎
1.1 Background✎
Nass served in the Gungan Grand Army before rising to lead the Gungan High Council. As Boss, he governed from Otoh Gunga, hidden beneath Lake Paonga, and liked leaving his mark on the city — he ordered new bubbles built, including the City Bigspace, a popular gathering place. Relations with the human Naboo who lived on the surface were cold; Nass considered them arrogant and condescending, and the two peoples kept apart. Shortly before the invasion, Nass banished Jar Jar Binks from the city for crashing the Boss's personal submarine.
1.2 The invasion of Naboo✎
When the Trade Federation invaded Naboo, the Jedi Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi arrived in Otoh Gunga, guided by Jar Jar, and warned Nass that the droid army threatened Gungans and humans alike. Nass refused to get involved, insisting it was the surface-dwellers' problem — though under the influence of Qui-Gon's mind trick, he lent them a bongo submarine and the fastest route to the capital, through the planet's dangerous core. When Qui-Gon pointed out that Jar Jar owed him a life debt for saving him, Nass released the banished Gungan into the Jedi's care, probably glad to be rid of him.
Nass was wrong about being safe. The Federation soon attacked the Gungan cities too, driving his people from their homes to a hidden sacred place in the swamps. It was there that Queen Padmé Amidala came to him — and, casting aside her royal disguise, knelt before him and begged for his help, promising the two peoples would stand as equals. Moved that the proud Naboo queen would humble herself before the Gungans, Nass burst out laughing and declared, "Maybe wesa being friends." He committed the Gungan Grand Army to the Battle of Naboo, and as a reward for uniting the two peoples, made Jar Jar a general — laughing uproariously when Jar Jar fainted at the news.
1.3 Later life✎
After the victory, Nass stood beside Queen Amidala at the great celebration in Theed, where she presented him with the Globe of Peace, a glowing symbolic orb. Holding it high, Nass declared peace between the Gungans and the Naboo. He later championed the colonization of Ohma-D'un, one of Naboo's moons, expanding his people's horizons beyond the planet for the first time. By the time of the Clone Wars he had been succeeded as Boss by Lyonie, but Nass appeared one final time in Revenge of the Sith: an old Gungan with a heavy heart, walking in Padmé Amidala's funeral procession to mourn the friend who had once knelt before him.
2 Personality✎
Boss Nass was loud, stubborn, and theatrical — a ruler who shook his jowls, boomed his words, and laughed with his whole body. He was deeply proud of Gungan civilization and quick to take offense at anyone who looked down on it, which was exactly why Amidala's humility won him over where the Jedi's arguments could not. For all his bluster, Nass was fair-minded: he honored Jar Jar's life debt, forgave the Naboo their arrogance, and kept his promise of peace. His grudges were real but never permanent.
3 Behind the scenes✎
Boss Nass is a computer-generated character created by Industrial Light & Magic and voiced by British actor Brian Blessed, famous for having one of the loudest voices in film. Blessed reprised the role for Nass's brief silent appearance in Revenge of the Sith (2005). Nass's distinctive lip-flapping head shake became one of the most imitated moments of The Phantom Menace.
