Chicago’s David Pasquesi is in ‘Book of Boba Fett.’ We had some questions, including, what’s up with the head tentacles?

Sometime within the first 15 minutes or so of the first episode of “The Book of Boba Fett,” the new “Star Wars” series on Disney+, there’s this guy with thick, meaty tentacles streaming out of his head who’s threatening Mr. Fett. But subtly so. He’s all like, Boba, I’m here representing the mayor and we would like you to pay a tribute, and Boba’s like, whoa, whoa, wait, I’m the crime lord, I’m the one on the former throne of Jabba the Hutt, you need to pay me, so this guy goes, OK, have it your way — you’ll be hearing from us.

If passive aggression was a talent, he’d be Yoda.

Instead, when he’s not in Tatooine these days, his name is David Pasquesi, he’s from Lake Bluff and has lived in Old Town for about 40 years. If you don’t recognize the name, you definitely know the face. Long, Italian, dark sensitive eyes. Pasquesi has been a staple of Chicago stages for decades, at Second City, Annoyance, Goodman, Steppenwolf; with T.J. Jagodowski, he’s half the comedy team TJ & Dave, who have performed their acclaimed show (which landed off-Broadway in 2006) for 20 years now. Elsewhere, Pasquesi’s better known as the ex-husband of Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Selina Meyer on “Veep.” There’s also a long-recurring part on AMC’s “Lodge 49,” small roles in Harold Ramis films, his Vatican detective alongside Tom Hanks in “Angels & Demons.”

Point is, you know him.

Yet in “The Book of Boba Fett,” beneath extraterrestrial extensions and a new skin color, Pasquesi is nearly unrecognizable. Until he speaks, and yeah, there’s that familiar high-tuned smugness, transplanted into a galaxy far, far away. He plays the majordomo, the chief of staff for the ruler of Mos Espa on Tatooine. Like “The Mandalorian,” it’s set during the Empire-light doldrums after “Return of the Jedi.” There’s a power vacuum, and Pasquesi is letting Boba know, with icy smile and air of entitlement, do not assume you are in charge. The actor is so good in what appears to be a small role, you wonder who’s the actual muscle here. You have questions. I called Pasquesi and asked a few:

Q: This is so basic, but I really don’t know: Is your role large or small? We know you’re a bad guy, but at the risk of giving away too much, are you the bad guy?

A: (Long pause). I don’t think I ... I don’t know.

Q: How could you not know that?

A: I mean, I don’t know if there’s a next season. I don’t know where this story goes. All I know is what we made, not where it fits into a larger story. That’s all I mean.

Q: Working for Lucasfilm, you have to be coy and secretive.

A: I do. I’ve never worked on anything like this before. It’s so different. People want to know these things. Nobody (expletive) cares on most of the stuff that I do but people want to figure out everything (about a “Star Wars” production). There are so many people invested. I’m used to doing original stuff with no fan base because it’s new. This, even friends will ask. But there’s legal issues with these things I’m not used to having.

Q: Does the character have a name?

A: No, just a rank — majordomo.

Q: And no eyebrows.

A: No. It’s like an hour and a half (of makeup) every morning.

Q: Are you orange?

A: A little.

Q: Like a circus peanut.

A: A little more tan.

Q: Your tentacles ...

A: Yes, they attach to this thing I wear, a big piece that goes over the top of my face, then a piece that’s on my head, though a lot of it is covered by the headdress.

Q: What’s the point of having head tentacles?

A: Uh ... I used to know? I’m was never a “Star Wars” freak, but definitely a fan. Some of this is new to me. They’re called lekku. Head-tails. I don’t know what they’re for.

Q: When you enter this world as an actor, do you receive a taxonomy, a history, a background, like a folder of material on your character?

A: Kind of like a dramaturgy? No. But it’s available. So many have written so much about this, I bet people who have nothing to do with the creative side of “Star Wars,” not the writers or anyone like that, they have a better understanding of the intricate relationships and histories here. I would bet some fans are more expert than the people who invented this. But no, no, you’re not handed anything. It’s all super clandestine.

Q: How did you even end up on this?

A: Well, Jon Favreau, who created it, used to work at Second City. He was coming up when I was already there and we were friends back then, but we have not had any communication for a long time. I think I last ran into him on the street there 20 years ago. Then suddenly he called me and said we have this. And that’s it. He said it’ll be him, Dave Filoni (one of the creators of “The Mandalorian”) and Robert Rodriguez.

Q: Have you ever auditioned for any large, world-building movies or TV series?

A: No, I don’t get auditions for them. They don’t think of me for these kind of things. I’m not adverse, I just haven’t had the opportunities. I’ve been on big movies before but not like this. The way they shoot it — you’ve heard about this soundstage thing, the Volume?

Q: A huge screen that wraps around you while you’re shooting.

A: Exactly, and as you’re shooting, the background is being shown. You’re aware that it’s a screen, but then they turn it on, and I swear, it’s like you could walk through it. It (expletive) with your head. It really doesn’t look like there’s a movie behind you, it looks like that place is behind you. It’s weird. Your brain gets a little wonky. The background moves according to the camera and not according to you, so its perspective changes. The nice thing is you don’t have to imagine there’s that a door there or a building there.

Q: What’s interesting about your character is that it’s working a different kind of muscle for this universe. You portray a certain annoying level of bureaucracy.

A: It’s like I’m the fool behind the king. I probably played something like this before, in plays, but it seems much different because of the makeup and wardrobe. It’s not straight comedy. I don’t know if I’m shady. (Expletive) is more my wheelhouse. This happens to be an obsequious (expletive). But Andrew Meyer (on “Veep”), he was also self-serving.

Q: That last episode, you were in an action scene. I don’t know if you were aware that it was quite divisive online. (Some complained about its pacing, its teenage motorcycle gang. They didn’t have a gripe with Pasquesi, just everything else.)

A: I was unaware. But yeah, a car chase. One of the coolest things in the first “Star Wars” was the landspeeder and I got to drive one. A lot of what I’ve done could be called photographed dialogue and this was moviemaking. I’m not just reacting to Ping-Pong balls (that stand in for CGI effects added later). Most of the stuff in that scene, that is really going on. You know, it’s wild how many have contacted me because of this show. I did “Lodge 49″ for two years, I heard from a handful. Everyone watches this.

Q: So you’ll be back assuming the show returns.

A: We’re not told anything.

Q: But you don’t end up in carbon freeze.

A: I don’t even know what that means.