Star Wars: The Force Awakens: Bill Hader and Ben Schwartz reveal they both voiced droid BB-8

From what we've seen so far, Star Wars: The Force Awakens favourite BB-8, much like R2-D2, doesn't really have too much to actually "say" and it turns out the rounded machine has more in common with the original droid than that. Much like sound designer Ben Burtt produced R2's bleeps and bloops, actors Ben Schwartz and Bill Hader created BB-8's.

Parks And Recreation star Schwartz shared the previously unspoken news over Twitter on 16 December, when he admitted that his involvement in the upcoming film was "quite possibly the hardest and coolest secret I've ever had to keep." He went on to detail how he was "BB8 voice-over consultant" and also drew reference to the film directly with the hashtag: "#ForceAwakens."

He then posted similar news on Instagram, screenshotting his credit in the film and posting it on the social media platform alongside the caption: "It's been a very fun day of finally being able to tell my friends the news. #StarWars #forceawakens #bb8."

Despite many people seeing advanced screenings either for press or at premieres earlier this week, no one seemed to notice that Bill Hader (Inside Out, Trainwreck) was also featured in The Force Awakens' credits as BB-8's "Vocal Consultant". Well, almost no one that is. Hitflix's Drew McWeeny began spreading the news on their website the day before Schwartz made the announcement.

Intrigued, McWeeny even reached out to Hader, asking him to comment about his involvement in the film and how they came about deciding on BB-8's sound. "[It was] JJ f**king around with this sound-effects app on his iPad that was attached to a talk box operated by me," he told McWeeny. "It looked ridiculous but it made BB-8's voice. At first I tried doing a voice, but we all agreed it sounded too human."

Star Wars: The Force Awakens opens in UK cinemas today (17 December), with the film reaching US screens the following day. It will feature returning actors – Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford, plus Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, Kenny Baker and Warwick Davis – as well as a host of new faces to the Star Wars universe, including Game Of Thrones star Gwendoline Christie, Andy Serkis, Lupita Nyong'o, Simon Pegg, Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver and leads John Boyega and Daisy Ridley.

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