Via Starwars.com:

THE SEARCH FOR NIEN NUNB CONCLUDES — AND A STAR WARS CIRCLE IS COMPLETE!
Actor Christian Simpson concludes his detective work-meets-Star Wars magic true story of trying to track down Kipsang Rotich, the original voice of Nien Nunb in Return of the Jedi, to reprise his role in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Be sure to read part one in case you missed it!

After looking high and low for any leads regarding the whereabouts of the original Nien Nunb — and beginning to think the case was closed — a tip finally came through. “I am an American named Larry,” began an e-mail I read with a mixture of excitement and curiosity. “I am currently a guest in the house of Kipsang Rotich…”

On my search for Kipsang Rotich, someone had seen my original local forum post that biographer L.D. Goldberg’s info had led me to, and within hours I was on the phone to a “Mr. Bill Rotich.” Was it the original voice of Nien Nunb in Return of the Jedi?

“Bill” was very understanding as I explained things in broad strokes and asked if he’d mind verifying some due diligence checks. I asked Bill about the wedding date from Kipsang Rotich’s postcard, Kipsang’s wife’s name (I figured he should know that), and more.

I texted supervising sound editor Matthew Wood just two words as Bill told me his answers in a friendly and distinctive voice.

“Found him!”

Bill had answered it all 100 percent correctly! Within minutes he was telling me tales of Pat Welsh, of Hemingway safaris, how his family knew fellow Kenyan Lupita Nyong’o, and how Ben Burtt had offered him the voice of E.T., but he had graciously passed it along to Ms. Welsh as his senior!

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Via Starwars.com:
LOOKING TO MAKE THINGS RIGHT, ONE MAN DECIDED TO TRY TO TRACK DOWN THE ORIGINAL SULLUSTAN — KIPSANG ROTICH — FOR THE FORCE AWAKENS.
Christian Simpson has written before of curious on-set coincidences that seemed to be the Force at play. But what transpired on The Force Awakens was to be perhaps his most forceful fan adventure of all…

EXT. SPACE

A rollup slowly crawls into infinity:

Episode VII
THE FORCE NUNB AWAKENS
Luke Skywalker Nien Nunb has vanished. In his absence, the sinister friendly FIRST ORDER VOICE ACTOR has risen from the ashes of the Empire ADR session and will not rest until Skywalker Nunb, the last Jedi Sullustan, has been destroyed found.

To quote Ben (Kenobi, not Solo), my bumping into “old friend” Matthew Wood, Skywalker Sound’s supervising sound editor, at dinner at Star Wars Celebration seemed at first to be nothing more than a nice coincidence. But when he mentioned to me and fellow Star Wars actress Orly Schuchmacher that he possibly needed some union voice actors later that summer for a “mystery project,” it was to be the start of the next magical chapter in a Star Wars journey for me that had begun on the set of The Phantom Menace in a galaxy called 1997 — playing starfighter pilot Gavyn Sykes.

Starfighter pilots are relevant because, wonderfully, that mystery project was The Force Awakens, and when its ADR session did take place at Fox Studios in L.A. (and after I literally forgot to speak into the mic because Han Solo had just appeared on the screen in front of me for the first time in 32 years), Matthew mentioned that he was searching for another pilot — Nien Nunb himself.

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