Enthusiast brings life to character
For David Britten, Star Wars was his everything from the age of 10. ‘‘My long-suffering mother must have spent $30,000 on stuff that I’ve collected over the years.’’
However, there was always one thing missing from his childhood, and that was an encounter with the villain himself, Darth Vader.
‘‘I would have given my eye teeth to get up and personal with this character.’’
For the last two years, Britten has dedicated his time voluntarily to entertaining children as the dark and mysterious character.
‘‘This is the highlight of my weeks and months,’’ says Britten, who previously worked in sales for Spark, or Telecom, for 28 years.
After buying a suit from America, the 47-year-old put his feelers out on social media and was soon entertaining crowds as Darth Vader at school fairs, shopping malls and special events.
‘‘It breathes a bit of life into the city.’’
When he sees the joy it brings children it simply ‘‘takes my breath away’’.
‘‘That’s why I do it. I wanted to have that when I was smaller and to interact with the character. If I can send them away with a big beaming smile then it’s totally worth it.’’
His appearances have eased off over winter. However, in peak times he has to limit his outings to two to three times a week because it is hot work being the Dark Lord of the Sith. Temperatures inside the wool-lined suit could reach nearly 50 degrees Celsius.
After two years, Britten has learnt what children expect from the film star.
‘‘I’ve got to look like him, sound like him, act like him and be confident enough to answer anything about him. If I can do those four things then in their mind I amthat character.’’
The three-year-old suit, with its many features, was bought for $2500, while his light sabre cost $500.
‘‘They [children] just want to be next to the bad guy,’’ Britten says.
Photo requests from children were routine, while one boy simply wanted Darth Vader to ‘‘say something bad to Dad’’.
‘‘As soon as he came on screen there was no mistaking who the bad guy was . . . He’s the most iconic character of the [twentieth] century.’’
To the untrained eye, Britten is as credible as the real thing – even if he is about nine inches shorter than actor David Prowse, who played Vader in the original films.
Putting on the suit takes at least 20 minutes and with the help of Dad George Britten, it’s down to a fine art. ‘‘If you can do your bit to make things a bit better for people, then why not?’’ elder Britten says.
The balaclava is the first item to go on, followed by the jump suit, boots, shin guards, inner cape, outer cape, chest armour, gloves and finally the helmet. ‘‘I’m not an extrovert, but when I put on the helmet, it changes everything.’’
Darth Vader will be at Cathedral Junction on June 7 between 3pm and 4.30pm.