Who's the Actress Behind the Armorer in 'The Book of Boba Fett'?

Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Episode 5 of The Book of Boba Fett on Disney Plus.

During Episode 5 of The Book of Boba Fett, Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) reunites with two of his fellow Mandalorians, the armorer and Paz Vizsla (Tait Fletcher). Both the armorer and Paz are believers in 'The Way of the Mandalore,' a Mandalorian creed that forbids its followers from ever taking their helmets off. So, we hear the armorer's voice, but we never see what she looks like.

However, it's clear that both Paz and Din view the armorer as their superior. She tells Din more about the fall of Mandalore after she attempts to train him on how to properly wield the Darksaber. However, she quickly declares that Din is no longer a Mandalorian after he admits to her that he removed his helmet. Who is the actress behind the intriguing and intimidating character?

The actress who portrays the mysterious Mandalorian armorer is 42-year-old Emily Swallow. Emily was first seen in the Star Wars universe during Season 1 of The Mandalorian, where she also played the armorer. It was the armorer who recognized that Din needed to return Baby Yoda (we're still not used to calling him Grogu) to his people, i.e. the Jedi, i.e., the enemies of the Mandalorians.

According to the armorer's character Wookiepedia page, Emily actually drew inspiration for the character's commanding presence from Deborah Chow, who directed two episodes of Season 1 of The Mandalorian. She's also the sole director for the upcoming highly anticipated Star Wars series Kenobi.

Emily was born in Washington D.C. and currently resides in Los Angeles. The actress has been on the scene since 2006 and has since built an extensive career in film and TV. She's on NCIS, Rizzoli & Isles, and How to Get Away with Murder, among others. Her most prominent television roles pre-Mandalorian include her 14-episode arc on The Mentalist, 12 episodes as Amara/the darkness on Supernatural, and most recently, 15 episodes as Natalie Pierce on SEAL Team. She also voiced the character of Lisa Tepes on the Netlfix video game series Castlevania.

The armorer effectively banished Din from the Mandalorian sect after he admitted to taking off his helmet. However, she did remind him there was a way for him to prove that he was a true Mandalorian. Din rails against the impossible nature of the armorer's task, but seemingly accepts the challenge. Although there's no official confirmation that we'll see the armorer again, we're pretty certain she'll be back in some capacity, though it's more likely for her to return in Season 3.

Question is: Will the armorer ever accept Din Djarin back into the fold? Din's learned that there's more to Mandalorian culture than the 'Way of the Mandalore' but he still seemed genuinely hurt when he was banished. We'll just have to wait to see what happens! In the meantime, you can watch new episodes of The Book of Boba Fett every Wednesday on Disney Plus.