Anthony Daniels has a unique record in the Star Wars franchise, as he’s the only actor to appear in all nine Skywalker saga movies, beginning with 1977’s A New Hope and concluding with this December’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. But things could have been very different if he had gone with his initial reaction to being offered the role of C-3PO way back when.
While speaking to Digital Spy about his career as everyone’s favorite protocol droid, the star revealed that he originally refused to meet with creator George Lucas because he was “insulted” by the offer of playing a robot character.
“It’s very odd because I didn’t want the interview with George Lucas. I was insulted to be offered the part, or to discuss the part of a robot in a low budget science fiction film.”
Thankfully, his agent made him see some sense and Daniels ended up accepting the part. Fast forward 40 years and he’s now a veteran of the franchise, also voicing Threepio in a variety of spinoff media including animated TV shows and video games.
“My agent made me go, and here I am today. I am now a heritage player. I have to get this right because I keep calling us heirloom players, which I’m told is a type of vegetable or tomato. It’s Harrison [Ford], Mark Hamill, Billy [Dee Williams] and I – and more. So there you go. It is odd to be the observer, against my will originally, but now with amazement.”
After such a long time as part of the universe, it looks like TRoS may give Daniels his most dramatic role yet. The recent final trailer gave fans everywhere a lump in their throats when the droid commented that he was just “taking one last look at [his] friends.” Things arne’t looking good for Threepio, then, especially with the actor heavily suggesting he’s done with the part following Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker hitting cinemas on December 20th.
Published: Oct 27, 2019 05:23 pm