Boss Nass
Boss Nass is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe. He is computer-generated and voiced by Brian Blessed.
Born in the Gungan city of Otoh Gunga, Rugor Nass quickly cut a figure above his contemporaries with his warrior's spirit and unwavering determination. He became a legend among his people by winning the Big Nasty Free-For-All, a gruelling physical challenge in the annual Gungan Festival of Warriors, an unprecedented three years in a row. By the time the elections for Top Boss came around, everybody knew who Nass was, and he won the race in a landslide.
Rather more conservative than the other Gungan leaders (and physically different from most of them, as he was of the older, heavier-set Ankura Gungan race), Nass developed a reputation for stern, no-nonsense, yet fair and just leadership. Exceedingly proud of his city, Nass made unprecedented steps towards civic improvement, the most notable being the construction of the public concourse he dubbed City Bigspace. Nass even showed remarkable patience with the ever-bungling Jar Jar Binks, letting the hapless Gungan off with minor punishments for his misdeeds where most Bosses would have demanded Binks' head on a pike. (Although Nass did vehemently draw the line at Binks romancing his niece.) It was only after Jar Jar crashed Nass' personal heyblibber (trying to save it from the gas explosion he had also caused that day) that Nass reached the end of his patience, although Binks' sentence was banishment under threat of death if violated, rather than instant death. For a while, Binks was gone and Boss Nass ruled Otoh Gunga in relative peace.
The Phantom Menace
In The Phantom Menace, Boss Nass was furious when Binks not only returned, but brought with him two outlanders: the Jedi Knights Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Nass blamed the Jedi for bringing the "mecha-neeks" (his term for the Trade Federation's battle droids) that were currently ravaging the surface of Naboo en route to Theed. The Jedi argued that the Trade Federation's attack on the Naboo would adversely affect the Gungans as well, but Nass stubbornly refused to involve himself in the Naboo's problems. He then offered the Jedi a bongo submarine for their passage to Theed (not realizing that the Jedi had used the Force to sway his mind in the decision) and reluctantly waived Jar Jar's death sentence to allow him to fulfill his life-debt to Qui-Gon by being their navigator through the treacherous core of Naboo. Since even the most experienced of navigators had fallen prey to the perils of the core, Boss Nass felt secure in the knowledge that he would never see Binks or the Jedi again.
A few days later, the Trade Federation droids discovered Otoh Gunga, and Nass quickly evacuated the Gungans to their hidden Sacred Place deep in the swamps. Much to his chagrin, Binks and the Jedi showed up again, this time with the Queen of Naboo and her royal guard. The Queen, Padme Amidala, humbled herself before Nass and pleaded for his help in fighting off the Trade Federation. Realizing that the Naboo were not as unreasonable and elitist as he had been led to believe, Nass heartily pledged his allegiance to the Naboo, combining their forces against a common threat. During the Battle of Naboo, the Gungan Grand Army held off the bulk of the Trade Federation's droid contingent long enough for the Naboo to ambush Viceroy Nute Gunray in his palace and destroy the control ship Profiteer, rendering the droid army immobile and helpless. In the aftermath of the battle, Nass solemnly attended the funeral of Qui-Gon Jinn, and then jubilantly participated in the grand parade in which the Naboo and the Gungans made their peace after centuries of rivalry.
Revenge of The Sith
In Revenge of the Sith, Boss Nass makes a brief appearace at the end of the movie. He was a chief mourner at the funeral of his friend Padme Amidala. He is seen with fellow Gungan, Representative Jar Jar Binks, the Naberrie family, and with the new Queen of the Naboo.
Behind the Scenes
The Gungan boss was first named "Governor Nass," in the first rough version of The Phantom Menace and he spoke in normal English as the distinctive Gungan-Basic dialect had yet to be conceived.
The original model of Boss Nass originated from the elementary figure of Jar Jar Binks. In the initial drawings of the Gungan boss the similarity was clear cut, but the figure changed conspicuously as time went on, and his build increased. The finalized character was a hefty, thickset, striking being with no eye stalks which is an evident variation in origin from other Gungans.