SIXTY SECONDS
THE STAR WARS ACTOR, 73, TALKS ABOUT C-3PO’S SUIT, WORKING WITH THE GREAT SIR ALEC GUINNESS AND THE GRANDE FINALE
Thursday, November 7, 2019
Your new memoir is about your experiences being C-3PO in the Star Wars franchise – do you regard him as the love of your life?
Certainly he has become a tremendous part of my life but I don’t do that all of the time. You catch me sitting in a garden in France enjoying the sunshine, eating some figs and clipping the bushes. I have a total non-Star Wars life, which I can enjoy because of Star Wars. It almost became a huge art subsidy for me. I was adopted by Threepio in a way – I’m not sure who adopted who actually!
You had little interest in the role until you saw an artist’s rendition of the character. What drew you to that picture?
There was something sort of tragic about him – almost like a clown – and he had this very expressive face that was questioning but looked lonely as well. He had this R2-D2 droid thing next to him but he looked as though he wanted to have human companionship. That picture literally changed my life. I’ve seen the Mona Lisa in The Louvre and thought it was rubbish. It did nothing for me yet other people drool over it.
It sounds like the experience of being in the suit is quite traumatic…
It was actually really nasty but you don’t want actors to whinge about how difficult stuff is. I mean, you’re getting paid for God’s sake! But I hadn’t expected to be so rubbed and grazed and pinched and then, of course, it would happen again in the same places the next day. Adrenaline, though, is a great help with these things because it’s amazing what you can put up with when you are concentrating on the job. It’s afterwards you go, ‘Ouch!’
You write very fondly about Sir Alec Guinness in the book. What are your memories of him?
He was just gently wonderful and such a skilled actor. He knew exactly what he was doing and, of course, he was doing something completely batty for him. I don’t think he’d ever been in a space drama before then. He was hugely patient though he did explode one day, which was kind of reassuring because
The rest of the world was going, ‘Whoopee! Star Wars!’ and I didn’t feel good about it at all
I thought it was all a bit much and then one day he just went off on one. He was no sucker. There were elements within the film itself which were a bit haphazard but he, for the most part, kept a very solid calmness about it, even when he got knocked over in a laser sword fight. He was a fairly old man even then but he gritted his teeth and got on with it.
Did you expect the movie to be so successful?
Absolutely not. I don’t think anybody on the set did. The crew were quite dismissive of it. The cast were professional but we just kind of sniggered at the lines. Harrison Ford publicly said that Mark Hamill and I would laugh but then we all got on, concentrated and did it properly.
You write about the reaction to the original film and how you felt excluded that the studio almost tried to bill C-3PO as an actual robot rather than an actor playing a role. Did that hurt? You returned for the prequels, which had a less than stellar response. Do you think time has been kind to them?
Time has been kind – time does that anyway. I meet people to which Episode I was their first Star Wars experience and they adore it – it’s their favourite film. To them, Jar Jar Binks is their favourite character and that’s as it should be. I’m quite pleased it’s being revisited, especially Jar Jar, as Ahmed Best who voiced him is a witty and talented actor and a nice guy to boot.
Is this year’s The Rise Of Skywalker it for you then?
Three times before I’ve said this is the last one. The first trilogy, the second trilogy and now this trilogy. I do believe that the story of Luke Skywalker will reach a satisfying end here and I’m OK with that. It was a bit sad on my last day but it’s been a heck of a ride. How amazing that fate, or The Force if you will, sees me in December 2019 watching C-3PO having an interesting time.
A force: Sir Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan
I felt totally excluded. I talked briefly to director George Lucas about it. I don’t think I ever spoke to the rest of the team about it. It was clearly my problem and it was not easy because everyone was raving about everything we’d done. It was such an awkward and difficult situation so I just suffered it. It wasn’t a good time. The rest of the world was going, ‘Whoopee! Star Wars!’ and
I didn’t feel good about it at all.
So it would be a fitting finale?
I think so. Anyone in that position would have felt a bit choked up on that last day. But I feel really good about this film and if this is going to be the end then it’s a terrific way to leave the stage.
I Am C-3PO: The Inside Story by Anthony Daniels is out now and available on audiobook