When George Lucas’ Star Wars was released in 1977, the world had seen nothing like it. A rag-tag team of rebels traveling across galaxies to defeat an evil leader was a story told to death, but no one had told it like Star Wars. The franchise now holds an irreplaceable spot in pop culture and has a global fanbase.
However, while making the film, Lucas’ vision was not exactly comprehensible to everyone. In fact, actor Anthony Daniels, who is known for playing the beloved droid C-3PO felt insulted when he was first approached by George Lucas for the role.
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Anthony Daniels Was Insulted When He Was Approached For C-3PO
Few actors can say that they made their feature film debut in Star Wars and actor Anthony Daniels is one of them. The prominent mime artist was a stage actor before he was approached by George Lucas through his agent. The British actor initially studied law and dropped out of university to pursue acting. He worked in BBC Radio and National Theater before his breakthrough in films.
Daniels mentioned that he was initially insulted when he was approached to play a ‘robot’. The actor’s agent told him that Lucas wanted to meet him and Daniels had watched the director’s American Graffiti. Hence, he agreed. However, he was confused by the role of playing a ‘robot’. He said in the book Star Wars: The Making of the Return of the Jedi,
“I remember being a little insulted at the time. I was doing quite well as a human being. And science fiction was just above cowboy movies in my ratings. Fortunately, that was pure ignorance. I had nothing to lose, so I went.”
Anthony Daniels has played the droid (not robot) C-3PO in all of the Star Wars films except Solo: A Star Wars Story. The actor shared the screen with the other droid R2-D2 and they became an irreplaceable part of the team along with Luke, Leia, Han Solo, and Chewbacca.
George Lucas Convinced Anthony Daniels By Showing Him Concept Designs
The character of C-3PO is beloved by all fans of the Star Wars franchise and his constant bickering with fellow droid R2-D2 is one of the most adored parts of the space opera. Actor Anthony Daniels portrayed C-3PO since Star Wars: A New Hope and has appeared in 10 more films.
Daniels also portrayed him in a number of other media such as animated films, shows, radio adaptations, and video games. He also reprised the character in The Lego Movie, Ralph Breaks the Internet, and the Disneyland ride ‘Star Tours’.
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Despite the career-defining role, Anthony Daniels was not too keen on playing the role as his agent had told him that it was a sci-fi film and that there was no money. However, it changed when he reportedly saw character designs in Lucas’ office and was impressed. He saw the concept art designed by Ralph McQuarrie and heard Lucas’ vision for the project. He recounted the story in Star Wars: The Making of the Return of the Jedi,
“The eventual costume turned out to be similar to the one in the painting. Here was a tin figure, a sort of gaunt, metal man; the overwhelming quality of the picture was one of sadness. He was the sort of creature you could feel for. C-3PO was standing with this little box nearby and nothing but rocks and moons in the distance.”
Lucas and Daniels reportedly based the performance on HAL9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey as that was the only sci-fi film Daniels had tried to watch before walking out of the film ten minutes later. However, the actor then rewatched the film to prepare for the role and has since called it a masterpiece.
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