Gleaming chums who never saw eye to eye
one wanted to catch her.” Fisher died on December 27, 2015, just days after the film’s release. Director JJ Abrams will retool old footage to include Leia on screen in the final movie and Daniels has seen a sneak peek. “I think fans will be very moved. She will live up there again – and for ever.”
Daniels had his own troubles from the start. After A New Hope finished filming, he found Lucas auditioning actors, including Richard Dreyfus, to dub over his voice.
“I was shocked and so hurt. He always had in mind a sleazy Bronx car dealer, not a ‘fussy British butler’, but never told me,” he says.
None of them worked out. “Perhaps I gave George what he didn’t know he needed,” Daniels smiles. “But I would never have returned to the role just to do the physical mechanics.”
The first film was a box office sensation in 1977 and fans went crazy for “the gold man”. So much so, Daniels’ name was taken off the poster and he did not attend the premiere to promote the illusion of a “real” robot.
“That was very difficult for me,” he says. “Devastating. People loved the film and the character but I was shoved out of sight. Remembering it has opened old wounds. It really hurt me.”
Over the years, Daniels only discovered “real joy” away from filmmaking in the fans. “I didn’t understand my place or value until I saw it through their eyes and their love for Threepio.”
SO, who is C-3PO? “We’ve never truly been allowed to find out but I like knowing him,” he says. “He is a good person. I think the world is a better place for him being here.”
The saga ends next month with The Rise Of Skywalker. After two recent films where Threepio had little to do (“I’m always grateful to be there but I felt like a table decoration”) the trailers have teased a major moment for the droid.
Daniels can reveal little but is hopeful. “Everything I have seen so far is rather good. I had tons to do, I adored working on this film. I really felt part of it all and C-3PO has a major arc. I am very satisfied with everything I know.”
At 73, has Daniels finally found peace? Was it worth it? A stare, a long pause. The emotion is visible but no answer comes.
I feel like I am back there on those dunes with him, staring out alone, still trying to make sense of it all...
● I Am C-3PO: The Inside Story by Anthony Daniels (DK, £18.99). Also available on audio
BEST buddies on screen, the men behind the droid duo C-3PO and R2D2 famously feuded behind the scenes.
R2D2’S Kenny Baker claimed Daniels “didn’t get on with anyone” in general, but insulted and disrespected him in particular, calling the 3ft 8in actor “little man” and dismissing his work.
Daniels publicly compared acting alongside “Artoo” to “working with a bucket” but never addressed Baker’s personal slurs.
Clearly still hurt after all these years, Daniels says:
“Kenny decided that he wanted to say unkind, unpleasant, rude, hurtful things. It got worse and worse. And rather like Mrtrump if you say it often enough, people believe you.”
As for their work, Daniels is blunt with his opinion of the differences in their roles and performances.
“The fact is we didn’t really appear or interact together.
“He was in a box he couldn’t do anything with. He couldn’t hear me.
“He never made a sound. I had to work, frankly, very hard to believe that this object was my best friend.
“R2D2 never spoke to me, but I had to believe it was real. I created all Artoo’s dialogue in my head so Threepio had something to react to, to bring our conversations alive.”
Daniels reenacts a scene, delightfully giving Artoo a rough, East End accent, before sighing, “I think everyone just took it for granted and didn’t realise what I had created, not just the voice, but the movement and personality.”
Another source of tension was Baker’s determination to capitalise on the fans’ love for their characters.
“He really wanted to go on tour and do conventions together. He kept asking and I said, ‘No, I don’t want to.’ He didn’t take it very well.”
Baker claimed Daniels looked down on fan events, but the actor has been closely involved with the biggest of all, Star Wars Celebration, since its inception. Clearly, it wasn’t the conventions that were the problem.