Willrow Hood

Willrow Hood was present aboard the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer Harbinger when it was hijacked by the Rebel Alliance in 0 ABY. For fear that the overloaded reactor might explode, the admiral in command of the Harbinger ordered the passengers and crew to abandon the ship before the rebels boarded it. Alongside stormtroopers and technicians, Hood rushed to a hangar for evacuation with a camtono storage container under his arm.

By 3 ABY, Hood lived in Cloud City, a mining colony in the upper atmosphere of the gas giant planet Bespin. As a gas miner in the city's gas mining operations center, Hood sat at a console where he monitored pressure levels of the reactor stalk gas conduit. He often vented gases and primarily watched lights and pressed buttons. The Bespinite resented the job greatly as he was not paid very well despite the fact that the people who owned the machinery were. Hood also hated that he had to wear a bright orange jumpsuit for the job. He lived in small, dark, brutalist living quarters that he disliked, although they suited his needs.

Hood dreamed of a new life where he could enrich himself—rather than someone else—and where he could see the wider galaxy outside of Cloud City. He idealized smuggling and, for months while he was in Cloud City, begged his friend Faron, a Rodian smuggler, to give him a smuggling job. Hood believed that he could quickly afford his own ship by smuggling since he was a hard worker, but he knew he needed some way to enter the smuggling scene.

Eventually, in 3 ABY, Faron went to Hood's quarters with an assignment for him to take a package to the planet Batuu. It was to be delivered a week and three days later, and Faron offered an up-front payment of ten thousand credits. Faron told Hood to bring it to a woman named Tropos who would give him forty thousand credits if he delivered it safely and on time. The Rodian warned that if anything happened, Tropos would make everyone Hood loved disappear and then make Hood disappear too, with Hood knowing Faron well enough to know he was serious. Hood kept the package—which was a camtono—in a chest underneath his bed in his living quarters. At one point, Hood became so curious about its contents that he took the camtono out of the chest and shook it gently just to see what it sounded like. It made no noise, leading Hood to believe that whatever was inside was solid.

Five days later, Hood, knowing he needed a ship with a hyperdrive and a pilot to get to Batuu, asked Bexley, a pilot who flew a cloud car vehicle, for help while at a bar. She agreed to his offer of ten thousand credits for her to rent a ship with a hyperdrive and for her time. After he explained to her that he had a package to deliver, he told her more specific details that he otherwise would not have told her if he had not been inebriated from drinking, attracted to her, and excited by the idea of spending time in close quarters with her.

Two days later, Hood ran many errands in the morning before donning his orange jumpsuit for work and heading to his job. He passed through the cloud car shuttle bay because he considered it a good shortcut, but that day it was crowded with ambassadors of different factions that were considering performing business in Cloud City. As he bobbed and weaved through the bay to keep up his pace, he became filled with dread, deciding to search for Bexley's car in the shuttle bay as a result. Once he found her bent over the car while tending to its electric elements, Hood decided that it was worth it to be late to his job, figuring that his co-worker Hadrian could take care of his work at the console for a few minutes.

Hood noticed immediately that she was not as happy as usual as she explained that she had gotten called back in after driving around a man from the city Canto Bight, who offered her a lot of credits to not pay any attention to the call and stay out of Cloud City. While Hood replied flirtatiously with a smirk, he noticed she did not flirt back as she usually would.

When Hood finally asked Bexley what was happening, she explained quietly that she had talked to another pilot who had seen the Imperial Sith Lord Darth Vader in the large shuttle bay. The news terrified Hood and made it hard for him to speak and respond, reminding him of a childhood fear of monsters.

Hood eventually gathered the courage to ask if Darth Vader was there, and if he was even real, both of which Bexley confirmed and added that he was very tall. Vader's presence shocked Hood, as Lando Calrissian, the city's Baron Administrator, had been staying neutral and kept the city inconspicuous. Hood's hands shook as Bexley revealed that Vader was accompanied by many Imperial stormtroopers and a Mandalorian, who unbeknownst to them was the bounty hunter Boba Fett. As Bexley postulated that the arrival of the Imperials had caused the crowd to gather, Hood's mind became consumed by thoughts of Vader. He told Bexley to hold on and ran into the crowd of ambassadors, barely hearing her response as he broke into a run.

As Hood ran to his quarters, he briefly considered checking in with Hadrian and making an excuse but ultimately decided not to, realizing he was not coming back. After nearly pushing over a service droid with a trash cart, he slammed into his door and then quickly opened it. Upon seeing the quarters, he realized he would not miss them. He considered taking off his orange work jumpsuit but decided that he did not have the time and immediately pulled the chest under his bed out to open it. However, he discovered it was empty, with the camtono nowhere to be found. He sat down, feeling like his head was spinning, and attempted to mentally retrace his steps to figure out what might have happened.

Hood had not previously worried about the job until then, having already planned to leave the next day and enjoy his time on Batuu. He began to worry that the Empire's arrival dashed his dreams of catching some sun, enjoying glowing drinks, and having a type of ice cream called a Nectrose Freeze, though he knew it would affect his waistline. While trying to remember who might have known about the contents of the chest, Hood remembered that he had told Bexley about the package at the bar and wondered if she had taken it when he had been out running errands that morning. He could not remember the last time he checked the chest and could not figure out how she had even gotten into his quarters and taken it. Hood stood and returned to the hallway, starting to head back to the shuttle bay.

After turning the corner of the hallway, Hood found Bexley talking to the droid that Hood had almost pushed over earlier. He saw the droid indicate toward the trash unit they had been pushing, which opened and revealed the camtono. Hood put together that Bexley had utilized a service droid—which had access to all the rooms to retrieve trash—to steal it and had been so nervous and worried about the arrival of Vader earlier because her plan to betray Hood was derailing. Still unsure what was inside the camtono, Hood walked into the hallway, mentally noting how grateful he was the cargo inside the container was solid because he knew Bexley would not give it back without a scuffle. She started running when she saw him and he pursued her, but he was not nearly as fast as her nor as able to withstand the exertion.

Hood followed Bexley through a mess hall toward the city's center but eventually lost sight of her. However, he quickly found her with stormtroopers pointing blaster rifles at her, with her arm that was not holding the camtono raised. Without much thinking, Hood yelled that she was a member of the Rebel Alliance. He ran and grabbed the camtono from out of her hands, telling the stormtroopers that it was his property that she had stolen and that he was taking it back.

Before Hood could leave with the camtono, the stormtroopers stopped him and insisted that Hood and Bexley both stay there until they figured out what was going on. Both shocked by the other's actions, Hood justified what he had done by saying she stole from him and she tried to explain that the people she ferried around did not tip until a stormtrooper shushed her. While Hood became overwhelmed by how difficult the mission had become, the stormtroopers grew perplexed by Hood not knowing the code to the camtono or what was inside. Before Hood could think of anything else to do, Darth Vader arrived at one end of the hallway flanked by several stormtroopers, with Bexley identifying him for Hood.

With the stormtroopers distracted, Hood's desperation and adrenaline motivated him to hit one of the stormtroopers' blasters with the camtono, sending the weapon flying before kicking the other stormtrooper in the chest. Bexley grabbed one of the stormtrooper's rifles and pointed it at them to threaten them. She asked Hood if the deal they had made before was still valid, with Hood initially thinking she was joking until she pointed out he could not leave without a pilot. Wanting to have fun and once again swayed by his feelings for her, Hood agreed to go with Bexley, even though he internally did not consider it an intelligent decision. After she said she needed to get her pack, the two agreed to meet at the shuttle bay to the south and ran off in opposite directions before the stormtroopers could get up and use the remaining rifle.

Unbeknownst to Hood, the Empire had successfully occupied Cloud City. As Hood ran for the shuttle bay, Baron Administrator Lando Calrissian informed the platform's citizens of the takeover via a city-wide announcement, causing many to attempt to flee. Hood ran through the city's corridors holding the camtono, and he passed by Calrissian and his rebel allies Princess Leia Organa, the Wookiee Chewbacca, and the droids C-3PO and R2-D2 as they made their own escape. He recognized Calrissian and thought that Organa looked familiar but could not discern who she was. The sight of the group perplexed Hood, leading him to realize he had no idea what was going on.

Before he could reach the shuttle bay, Hood ran into Faron, who said he had been looking for him and offered him more money for the camtono. Knowing what was inside was more valuable, Hood resisted Faron's attempts to take it and refused to give it up, leading the two into a struggle that ended with the camtono falling to the ground with a loud noise. Hood picked it up and noticed that something inside was rattling, indicating that its contents had broken. Hearing the sound, Faron became afraid and decided to leave, telling Hood he was on his own. Hood then met up with Bexley in the south shuttle bay, with the pilot standing next to a security vessel in which she hoped to escape with him. After Hood confirmed that something inside the camtono was rattling by shaking it again, Hood remembered Faron's warning about Tropos and decided to tell Bexley to head to any destination other than Batuu before climbing in the ship. Hood was still uncertain about what the contents of the camtono were, but he hoped that they were salvageable and worth enough to start a new life far away from Tropos.

During the Imperial blockade of the Anoat sector that began in 4 ABY, however, Hood was present in Cloud City. Months into the blockade, he was occasionally seen at the Paradise Atrium, an upper-class lounge owned by Voras the Hutt, leader of the criminal Ivax Syndicate, still cradling a camtono in his arms.

A long time after the events of Hood's life, one of the Whills, an intelligent community of beings, interrupted another Whill who was charged with recording the events of the galaxy in the Journal of the Whills, a record of the galaxy's events. The Whill was specifically documenting a story that began with the Battle of Hoth and included the evacuation of Cloud City. The interrupting Whill criticized the documentarian Whill's portrayal of the story and presented Willrow Hood just running through the background without saying anything as something ridiculous akin to the way the other Whill was portraying the story. However, the Whill recording the events revealed that was what would happen in their version, leaving the other Whill aghast at the lack of inclusion of Hood's "inspiring bravery."

Willrow Hood was a human with dark skin, black hair, and a mustache. Hood was a cautious and practical individual who was motivated by money because he dreamed of escaping his menial job and enjoying a life of luxury. He was motivated by his dream considerably, as he considered letting go of the camtono when the struggle with Faron became too intense, but ultimately decided to keep fighting because of the large sum of money involved. He also lied to and fought armed Imperial stormtroopers just to make sure he could stay in possession of the camtono.

He hated his job in Cloud City, often utterly and completely exhausted by it, and resented making someone else wealthy with his work. He liked the idea of working as a smuggler because it allowed him to be his own boss and visit many planets, did not require a uniform, and could allow for romantic trysts without greater meaning. Despite wanting to leave his job, Hood liked Cloud City because it was relatively unimportant and never attracted too much excitement or attention, though he did wish to see the greater galaxy.

Hood liked and was attracted to Bexley, loving the idea of being in close quarters with her in a cockpit and once being willing to be late for work just to speak with her. Because of his feelings, he told her excessive details about the camtono he was supposed to deliver. Hood enjoyed flirting with her and did so often, and he was extremely perceptive of changes in her demeanor. He was also quick to forgive her after she betrayed him, largely because he wanted to spend more time with her.

Hood was terrified of Darth Vader. When Bexley revealed that Vader was in Cloud City, Hood was filled with enough fear to remind him of trying to fall asleep as a child while in a dark room, terrified that there were monsters in the room with him. He was so terrified that he was left shaking and made the decision to immediately leave Cloud City and never return. His decision to leave also forced Hood to be resourceful, adaptable, and quick on his feet, first to deliver the camtono and then to run away from another person he feared, Tropos, to start a new life somewhere else. Despite not seeming to be particularly brave or heroic, as he was mainly concerned with his own survival and financial gain, being constantly nervous, and attempting to run from his problems, one Whill believed that Hood was inspiringly courageous.

Hood was a hard worker and was competent at his job of monitoring pressure levels at a gas mining operations center, though it often exhausted him. He was able to hold off Faron in hand-to-hand combat, but he inadvertently damaged the contents of his camtono in the fight. Hood could not pilot a starship and relied on Bexley to pilot one for him. He also struggled to run after Bexley without exertion, with the pilot easily outpacing him.

For his job at the gas mining center in Cloud City, Hood was forced to wear a bright orange jumpsuit, which he disliked and did not want to wear. During the evacuation of Cloud City, Hood carried a camtono with contents that held great value, although he broke what was inside during a fight with Faron. He also carried a camtono on the Star Destroyer Harbinger and had one while at the Paradise Atrium in Cloud City.

Willrow Hood first appeared as an extra, portrayed by Egbert Sen, in the 1980 original trilogy film Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back. It was filmed in 1979, and the scenes in Cloud City's interior, such as Hood's, were filmed at Stage Two of Elstree Studios in England. The character was initially identified by name on a card titled "Tibanna gas miner" in the Star Wars Legends Star Wars Customizable Card Game Cloud City Limited expansion pack, released in November 1997, with his name being brought into the current canon by the 2015 digital app Star Wars: Card Trader.

Based on the ice cream maker–like prop Hood carries in The Empire Strikes Back, he is often known to fans as "Ice Cream Guy," "Ice Cream Maker Guy," or "Ice Cream Man." Many fans started to love the character because of how odd and absurd it was that he was carrying what appeared to be an electric ice cream maker. A tradition was established at the Star Wars Celebration fan convention called "The Running of the Hoods" in which fans dress up in orange jumpsuits similar to Hood's, put on fake mustaches, and run around the convention with ice cream makers chanting "Ice Cream" continuously. The parade has given the character somewhat of a hero status among fans.

Hood was set to appear in the second issue of Star Wars: Shadow of Vader, a five-part comic book miniseries that was to be published by Marvel Comics starting November 2018, but the series was ultimately canceled.

During the production of The Mandalorian television series, executive producer Jon Favreau shared a photograph on his Instagram account showing a container similar to the one carried by Hood in The Empire Strikes Back. The container was later named as a "camtono" in the first episode of the season, "Chapter 1: The Mandalorian," and has made numerous appearances in the series since. In the eighth episode of the behind-the-scenes series Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian, released on June 19, 2020, Favreau confirmed that the camtono had been designed after the ice cream maker carried by Hood in The Empire Strikes Back and explained that he had been inspired by "The Running of the Hoods" at Star Wars Celebration.

Until 2023, the identity of the extra who played Willrow Hood was entirely unknown. That year, on August 14, YouTuber Nicolas Delage uploaded a video in which he revealed that he had used facial recognition technology to discover that Hood was portrayed by the late Egbert Sen, an actor who passed away in 2019. Delage contacted Egbert Sen's daughters Paula and Dolly Sen, who confirmed that their father had played Willrow Hood. They had been completely unaware of Hood's cult following and revealed that their father had been unaware as well, but they disclosed that their father had always wanted to be famous and would have loved knowing it. They also revealed that Sen had performed Hood's famous run while unable to see, as he had been instructed to take off his glasses because he was told they did not fit in the setting of Star Wars.

Willrow Hood appears in the non-canon 2022 video game LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. Hood can be found in the open-world game location Cloud City on the planet Bespin, in an area labeled as an apartment building. Upon talking to Hood, he asks the player if they were sent by the Rebellion and informs them that he has highly sensitive data on his device—a white piece visually representative of Hood's ice cream maker-like camtono prop. Warning that the Empire will soon be aware of his location, he asks the player to help his urgent data safely reach its destination. The player is then prompted to either decline or accept his mission, titled "I Spy Cream." When the player accepts the mission, Hood thanks them and tells them to start their journey.

Hood leads the player away from the apartment building downstairs to the Shopping District area, where Hood and the player are attacked by stormtroopers. After the player defeats all of the stormtroopers, Hood says that they must continue with haste before he starts to run again. Hood leads the player to a plaza, where they are again attacked by stormtroopers. After the player defeats those stormtroopers, Hood tells them that the Rebellion was right to trust them before leading the player away again.

When Hood and the player arrive in front of the Admin Building, their destination, the player can speak with Hood's contact, a woman called the Data Server. Hood then tells the Data Server he is reporting for duty and gives them the white container, explaining that it was the data they requested. The Server thanks him and says that the important device will allow them to make sure customers, then correcting themself and saying they meant rebels, get fed, before tacking on "with data." Hood exclaims that it is "refreshing, ice-cold, flavored data." The woman retreats to a pink-and-white stand and begins giving out ice cream to the citizens of Cloud City. The player has the ability to interact with Hood again, who says that the data they helped distribute will spread hundreds of thousands of "delicious sprinkles of hope" throughout the galaxy and thanks the player again, calling them his friend. The "I Spy Cream" mission is then complete and unlocks Willrow Hood to be purchased in-game as a playable character.

In 2024, Hood received a trading card for the Topps Star Wars Living Set that claims that Hood worked to destroy a computer memory core containing secret Rebel Alliance transaction details so as to ensure they did not fall into Imperial hands during the takeover of Cloud City. As this claim references lore from the Legends continuity and contradicts current canon sources, this article assumes that the card's information is incorrect.

• LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

• Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian — "Connections"
• "Star Wars: The Mandalorian Season One Companion" — Star Wars Insider 201