Tall, dark, and handsome.
Darth Vader can easily be described as tall and dark, but the character’s face was hidden for quite some time, making fans imagine what he looked like under the dark mask. David Prowse, the man behind the mask, was the recipient of many letters who took an extreme liking to his portrayal of the galactic Dracula.
You won’t have any trouble finding a woman who loves a villain, but add a little more mystery, and it might trigger some women to do something about it. In Darth Vader’s case, that something was writing to him and telling him their fantasies.
Of course, I’m talking about actor David Prowse, who played Darth Vader, but I now imagine the character of Darth Vader must have had his share of inappropriate fan letters from women across the Star Wars galaxy.
When Prowse spoke to Robert Masullo for an interview that appeared in The Sacramento Bee in May 1980, the Darth Vader character was at his peak in popularity, with The Empire Strikes Back having just been released the same week. Prowse discussed many things with Masullo, including the fan letters he received.
Most of those letters — 98%, according to Prowse — were innocent, joyful letters from kids who were fans of Star Wars. However, he oddly took a moment to explain that some other letters were … much different.
Apparently, they were written by women with some fantasies about the dark lord of the Sith. To them, he was their Superman, which is ironic, since David Prowse actually trained Christopher Reeve for the role of Superman. Thankfully, Prowse didn’t share precisely what those fantasies were, but he did say that the women who wrote them “have some kind of sexual thing” for the man in black.
One can only imagine the words used in those letters, which Prowse didn’t share even with his wife. Although Prowse did often write back to fans, it’s safe to assume he didn’t respond to these letters… right? I mean, it would be funny to write a response to them as Darth Vader, and ask “Who’s your daddy?” but I doubt that Prowse responded at all.
He goes on to note, “Usually, their letters are quite pornographic.” Along with some detail in their writing, I wouldn’t be surprised if his thirsty correspondents sent some revealing polaroids. Did they write about exactly what they wish Darth could to do them? Perhaps a Jedi mind trick to stimulate their thoughts. Should I continue? No, I definitely shouldn’t.
Yet, I can’t help but wonder if they still sent those letters after the character’s horrendous face reveal at the end of Return of the Jedi. I suspect that’s when the fantasy ended, as it ruined their desires of mystery. That’s when they likely turned their attention to another tall, dark, and maybe-handsome hunk named Chewbacca.
