Ezra Bridger

Ezra Bridger is a young male thief, and one of the main protagonists of the Disney XD animated series Star Wars Rebels.

Once a common thief, Ezra is eventually adopted by Kanan Jarrus, who acknowledges his force potential, and joins the crew of the Ghost. He is voiced by Taylor Gray.

Biography
Ezra was born to Ephraim Bridger and Mira Bridger on Lothal, the day when the Empire came to power. Ezra's parents were known to do secret broadcasting and speaking out publicly against the Empire because they fought for those in need and for his freedom. Sadly by the time he was seven, his parent's were captured and taken away by the Empire, leaving Ezra to fend for himself. Over the last eight years, he moved into and old communications tower which he dubbed "Ezra Tower" and took up stealing in order to survive. He would steal from anyone, including the Empire, and sell his stolen goods on the black market.

At the time, he was unaware that he was force-sensitive, but was able to use his unknown abilities in his robberies. He could force jump and sense future happenings before they are committed such as nearly being shot from behind. After meeting the Rebels of Lothal and former Jedi Kanan, he joined their Rebellion against the Empire and learn from Kanan the ways of the Jedi becoming his padawan.

Personality and Traits
Ezra is known to be a very clever con artist, playing innocent in order to pickpocket Imperials. Despite his intentions to help others, it always turns out he was only helping himself in order to survive. He at first is doubted by most of the crew of the Ghost, but soon earns their loyalty. Through his time with the Rebels he learns the importance of risking his life for others.

Property of Ezra Bridger
While wandering the outskirts of his tower, he came across the Ghost being pursued by an Imperial TIE Fighter. When the fighter crashes, Ezra decides to investigate. Upon further inspection, finds the pilot Valen Rudor alive. Ezra decided to help the man out, despite Rudhor's disgusted tone. However, he was actually pretending to help him just so he could steal equipment from his wrecked fighter and sell it on the black market.

Rudhor attempted to kill him with his fighter's lasers, but Ezra managed to evade the shots through the use of the Force. After using his energy slingshot to electrocute Rudhor, Ezra then made his way back to his tower, wearing the pilot helmet he stole.

Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion
In the Capital City on Lothal, Ezra witnessed three Rebels attack a group of Imperials in a attempt to steal several speeders carrying crates. He stood back for a while and after the Rebels took out the Troops, Ezra hijacked one of the speeders, and fled with some of their stolen goods. The Rebels chased him through the streets to the road that led out of the city. In a attempt to get back to his tower, he was soon pursued by a TIE Fighter, which destroyed the speeder he was riding, and before it could finish him, the fighter was destroyed by the Rebel's ship, the Ghost. The Rebels helped him aboard, and made a run for it with four more TIE Fighters after them. At this point, Ezra found himself in outer space for the first time in his life.

After evading their perusers, Ezra and the Rebels returned to Lothal and landed near a place called Tarkintown, named after Grand Moff Tarkin, and homed by farmers who had their farmlands taken away by the Empire. He helps Zeb and Sabine deliver their stolen crates for the people of Tarkintown, and later returned to the Ghost, where, through the Force, he found his way to Kanan's cabin, where he found a Holocron and a Lightsaber. He remained on board the Ghost when the Rebels had a new mission to rescue Wookiee prisoners being sent to a slave labor camp. Unfortunately, the Rebels had no idea they had been set up, and after being pleaded by Hera to warn the others, Ezra reluctantly boarded the Imperial Transport ship just in time to warn Kanan and Zeb. They made a run for it back to the ship, but Ezra was captured by Agent Kallus, and left behind by Zeb. Agent Kallus planned to use him as bait in an attempt to catch the Rebels, but Ezra doubted they would come back for him.

While imprisoned aboard the Star Destroyer, he was able to open the Holocron he stole, which displayed a message from Jedi master Obi-Wan Kenobi, warning all surviving Jedi about the falling of the Republic and the rise of the Empire. Ezra managed to escape from his prison by instigating the Stormtroopers guarding his cell to open it, and using an Imperial helmet's transmitter, he was able to listen in on where the Wookiee prisoners were actually being taken, and heard the Rebels had come back for him. He soon regrouped with them, and escaped with his knowledge on the Wookiees. He assisted the Rebels in their rescue mission and released the Wookies, but they were soon ambushed by the Imperials. It is at this point that when they are pinned down, he learns that Kanan is a Jedi. When he noticed a Stormtrooper chasing a young Wookiee, Ezra went out to rescue him. Ezra and the Wookiee were cornered by Kallus, but were rescued by the Rebels and escaped.

After sending the Wookiees on their way, Ezra was returned to his tower on Lothal with Kanan's lightsaber. Kanan showed up and told him about the Force, and that it was strong with him. He was given the option to join their Rebellion, or to learn the ways of the Force and become a Jedi. Ezra decides to choose the latter, for he sees family in the crew.

Star Wars Rebels
At the beginning of the series, Ezra becomes an official member of the Rebel crew and Kanan's Jedi apprentice. Throughout the course of the series he learns about the importance in helping those in need instead of just himself while at the same time learning to become a Jedi.

Ezra struggled with his Jedi training but not as much as Kanan. Since he never completed his training, he has limited knowledge about the Jedi way which made things difficult for both Master and Apprentice. In the episode "Rise of the Old Masters", he accompanied the Rebels in a mission to rescue Jedi Master Luminara Unduli. At the time, Ezra was upset because Kanan was no longer going to train him and instead pass him onto Luminara. However the attempted rescue was in vain, as they discovered that Luminara was dead, and her remains were set up as bait to lure any surviving Jedi to their ends. Through the engagement against the The Inquisitor, both Master and Apprentice were able to work together and have a better understanding for one another.

In "Empire Day" and "Gathering Forces" the Rebels became aware that the Empire was looking for a Rodian known as Tseebo, a friend of Ezra's parents, and carrying vital information that could be used against the Empire. Ezra learns from Tseebo that he tried to save his parents but was too afraid to try. Upset and angry, he blamed him for everything, and refused to listen to anymore. When the Rebels discovered the Phantom was planted with a tracking beacon by the Inquisitor, Kanan and Ezra took the Phantom to the abandoned clone base to lure the Inquisitor and the Empire away from the Ghost while the Rebels delivered Tseebo into safe hands. Kanan was hoping that while at this abandoned base he could teach Ezra to connect with another being and use the creatures that inhabited the base to attack the Imperials, but Ezra felt too scared, not because of the creatures, but due to fear of learning the truth of what actually happened to his parents. Then, through the Force, Ezra told Tseebo he was forgiven and was able to control his fear and connect with the Fyrnocks.

The Inqusitor and a squadron of Stormtroopers arrived at the base. Ezra and Kanan commanded the Fyrnocks to attack the Troopers. Kanan engaged the Inquisitor in a lightsaber duel and when Ezra sensed him in trouble, he stood in the way of the Inquisitor to protect his master. However the Inquisitor forced him away and began to torment him with the fear of losing everyone he cared about and everything he hoped for, at the same time encouraging him to give into his fear which grew into anger and then finally into hatred. Through the power of the Dark Side, he summoned a much larger Fyrnock and commanded it to attack the Inquisitor. The enormous power of the Force became so much for him that he collapsed and when he regained full consciousness, he had little memory of what happened.

Concerned by Ezra's dangerous connection with the Force, Kanan took him to a Jedi Temple on Lothal in "Path of the Jedi" where he would be tested to determine whether or not he was meant to become a Jedi. Journeying deep into the temple alone, Ezra came across many illusions that showed him his darkest fears but following his training he was able to face them and make a stand as an illusion of the Inquisitor prepared to kill him. With the illusion gone, he heard the voice of Master Yoda through the force, who guided him to his next test where he found himself in a hallway of inscriptions.

When Yoda asked him why Ezra should become a Jedi, he claimed it would allow him to become powerful enough to make the Empire suffer for everything it had done to him. Yoda became concerned by his reason because what he was seeking was vengeance, which Ezra denied. However, Yoda could see much anger and fear within him, which helped Ezra realize his true reason to become a Jedi, to protect not only his friends but everyone in the galaxy. When he was still living on the streets he only cared about himself until he met the Rebels and saw how their good deeds made people feel and wanted to be part of that. As the hall disappeared and replaced by a vision of countless stars, a Kyber Crystal appeared from nowhere and landed gently in Ezra's hands, representing a big step in his Jedi training. Ezra spent several weeks building his own Lightsaber using spare parts donated from the Ghost crew. Unlike a traditional Lightsaber, he fitted his with a blaster component, which fired stun blasts, since Ezra lacked any sword fighting skills at the time.

Trivia

 * He made his first live action theme park appearance at Star Wars Weekends 2014, alongside Sabine Wren and Chopper.
 * By the time of the series, he is fourteen years old.
 * In the television movie Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion while speaking to Hera, Kanan calls Ezra a "Street Rat," which is what Aladdin is called in the film of the same name.