Ravi Cabot-Conyers said his character in the series Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, premiering Monday on Disney+, has a lot in common with original Star Wars hero Luke Skywalker.

"I felt like I could play a little bit of Luke Skywalker in my performance with Wim," Ravi told UPI in a recent Zoom interview. "I feel like they're a little bit similar."

Mark Hamill was in his mid-20s when he first played Luke but Luke also dreamed of leaving the family farm to join the Resistance against the Empire. Ravi saw more similarities between the characters.

"They're both so brave," Ravi said. "They're both so hopeful. They both would do anything for their friends. They both match the hero's journey archetype."

The mysterious Jod Na agrees to help the kids get home. Across the galaxy far, far away, Wim, Jod Na and the other kids encounter many varieties of alien.

Ravi said he felt like he was really meeting Star Wars aliens because the actors would remain in costume when they went to eat between takes.

Ravi said he grew up in a family of Star Wars fans, who reportedly played the first movie for him when he was an infant. Ravi remembers beginning to watch the films at 5, playing with Star Wars Legos and his father's collection of Star Wars toys.

"I had a lot of experience for Skeleton Crew in preparation," Ravi said.

During the seven-month production of Skeleton Crew's season, Ravi got to play Star Wars with the actual props from the movies. Wim rides a speeder bike to and from school on his home planet.

"I almost did fall off," Ravi said. "I wasn't scared one bit. I was just excited."

Ravi added that there was a team of stuntmen standing below the bike to catch him were he to fall. Stunt coordinator George Cottle taught Ravi the secrets of doing his own stunts.

In addition to the aliens roaming off set, Ravi also learned how different Star Wars special effects were done. He toured Legacy Effects while many of the effects were still in the works.

"It was so surreal watching all of it get done because I'd never seen this in person before," Ravi said. "There were a few people on their computer designing the model and there were people actually crafting it with styrofoam."

Because Skeleton Crew was a Star Wars show, the project was secretive during Ravi's auditions. It had a code name until Ravi was hired, and then it filmed under a code name to prevent leaks.

"It was Grammar Rodeo based on the Simpsons episode where they all want to get out of a math test so they say we were at a grammar rodeo," Ravi said. "Our code names on set were the Simpsons characters. I was Bart. Then there was Lisa, Milhouse and Maggie."

The filming of Skeleton Crew conflicted with a stage production of Macbeth, so Ravi dropped out of the theater production to play Wim. He still hopes to do theater one day, perhaps with his co-star.

"Doing Broadway with Jude would be so much fun," Ravi said. "We even talked about doing Shakespeare together."

Skeleton Crew viewers will notice Ravi's teenage voice. It is deeper than his role in the 2021 animated film Encanto in which he played Mirabel's younger brother, Antonio.

Ravi said he can still do Antonio's high-pitched 5-year-old squeak. He is also happy to have such a significant role in the animated film since it only took him two days to record it.

"When I did Encanto I changed my voice to sound like a 5-year-old," Ravi said. "Being already a part of the Disney family before Skeleton Crew was a lot of fun."

New episodes of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew premiere Wednesdays on Disney+ beginning Dec. 10.