Katee Sackhoff Says The Mandalorian Ruined Her Confidence, And She Didn't Work For Three Years: 'It Just Broke Me'

The Mandalorian was a breakout hit for Disney+, but working on the Star Wars series doesn't exactly conjure up fond memories for Katee Sackhoff.

The Battlestar Galactica veteran, who played Bo-Katan Kryze on The Mandalorian, revealed in a recent episode of her podcast The Sackhoff Show that her two seasons on the show completely shattered her confidence as an actor, leading to her barely working in Hollywood at all for the next three years.

"I lost all of my confidence after Mandalorian, all of it," Sackhoff admitted in a conversation with her Battlestar Galactica co-star Tahmoh Penikett. "Bo-Katan is nowhere near who I am as a human being. Her life, what she wants — I didn't understand her. As much as I understood her, I never felt her in my stomach. I never identified with her. I didn't know how to find her."

As a result, "it just broke me," Sackhoff remembers. "I started doubting everything about myself... I wasn't booking anything. And for three years, I basically didn't work, and it just destroyed my confidence." (Sackhoff appeared in an episode of Law & Order in 2024, along with some voice roles in animated projects.)

Sackhoff debuted as Bo-Katan in the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars before reprising the role in live-action form on The Mandalorian, beginning in Season 2. Bo-Katan played a larger role in Season 3, with Sackhoff appearing in all eight episodes. The story is set to continue next year with the feature film The Mandalorian & Grogu — but Sackhoff has not yet been announced as a member of the cast.

She has rediscovered her love of performing since, though, hiring a new manager and an acting coach, who told her, "You just need to find your confidence again." Sackhoff is next set to appear in Prime Video's upcoming Carrie TV series, reuniting her with executive producer Mike Flanagan, who co-wrote and directed her 2013 film Oculus.