You've played Hera for some time now. What does she represent to you? And what makes her fun to play?

Oh my goodness. Well, I feel like she's my heart and soul. I really adore her. In my own journey of self-empowerment as a woman, I have taken all kinds of martial arts classes and I'm maintaining a 50-pound weight loss for 20 years. Not that that should be anyone's goal. But my point is that martial arts changed my body, and I have a sense of understanding for how one might need to protect themselves or their friends and family. I'm wired that way, naturally.

My father is a pilot. I have nothing but respect for aviation and the spiritual elements that my father has been talking about for years. So that means a lot to me personally. I am organized around representation, equality, and I do lots of volunteer work for women's organizations. Step Up Women's Network, women inspiring women to inspire girls. These things mean a lot to me.

So when a character like Hera comes around, who is a pilot and able to protect herself and her friends ... I'm also Italian. I like to feed people. And I did so while we were on set, I was the caterer. I mean, I love people. I love making people feel important. And when they say there's no reason to play small, when you play full out you give other people permission to do the same. I think I try to do that in my own life with younger women. And I felt like Hera did that with Sabine.

And so when I got the first audition and there was talk of light swords and the cause, to me, I projected my love of "Star Wars" onto that scene. And lucky for me, it actually was a "Star Wars" narrative. Everything came together and I'm so deeply, deeply grateful. So I care about her. Maybe she's the best parts of me. I wish I could be more like her all the time, because she is so focused. I can be very childlike and, "Oh, look, shiny beads." I entertain myself quite easily, whereas Hera's very serious. I'm a bit of a jokester, and she's pretty hardcore, but she is the best parts of me and that just is an honor to portray.

If there was one thing you could change about Hera, what would it be?

Well, in "Rebels," when she loses Kanan, I think she realizes just how much the price of ... she was so focused, as I said. And I admire her focus, but I think Hera wishes at the end of "Rebels" that she had taken more time to be present with Kanan and is heartbroken because of that.

But she had to focus because lives would have been lost. It was really non-negotiable. But I think one thing, maybe, she could do is lighten up a little bit. She was so serious [in "Rebels"] and people would always ask me, "Well, is there a romance between the two of them?" And I would say, "Absolutely not, their lives are hanging in the balance. They don't have time for silly romance." I mean, my goodness, we have to go save people's lives. So I think she was organized that way, but it might've cost her precious intimacy with someone that she cared very much about. So she might need to lighten up. So maybe we're good for each other — I can make her laugh and she can help me stay focused.

Given that characters like Bo-Katan Kryze and the actor who voiced her, Katee Sackhoff, have hopped from the animated to the live-action realm with their characters, are you hoping for the same with Hera?

Well, of course, I would love to play Hera. But what I really love is that I have the deepest respect for Lucasfilm and for any and all of their decisions within "Rebels," within any of the content. I trust them implicitly. And if I were asked, the answer is a resounding "yes." If it needs to be someone else — I think a lot of people assume that they'll probably want more of an on-camera celebrity or something like that. If that's the case, I trust that that's what's meant to be. I am grateful that I was able to lend my voice to the character, and I would be honored to play her in any capacity, of course. But what I love about Lucasfilm is that every choice they make is the right choice, always. So whatever it is, I support it.