There are many sung heroes associated with the overall Star Wars franchise, such as Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, and George Lucas. However, all of these stars have been lauded for their work humungously and continue to receive praise habitually from fans of the never-dying series.
However, some names that also played a huge role in making the original trilogy of films a reality did not quite get the same due. Among them is none other than Frank Oz, originally a puppeteer, and the man responsible for bringing to life one of the most celebrated characters in the Star Wars universe: Yoda.
Oz’s troubles with respect to his work on the franchise included a ‘freaky encounter’ with snakes. Yes, actual, slithering, poisonous, moving, snakes that he was exposed to by the director, Irvin Kershner.
Frank Oz had to deal with this ‘man-made obstacle’ while playing Yoda in Star Wars
Frank Oz, although he has received a fair share of recognition over the years due to his work as Yoda, seemingly deserves much more. According to an interview on The Star Wars Show back in 2018, Oz went into detail about a particular experience that freaked him out.
As it turns out, director Irvin Kershner decided to keep things a bit too real in one particular scene set in Yoda’s hut. It involved only Frank Oz and Hamill, but unbeknownst to either, there was an ‘Anaconda’ in the background, in Oz’s own words:
There’s always obstacles. That just comes with the territory. So you’re always uncomfortable, you’re always in pain. You just accept that, and you work with it. I guess the only obstacle for Mark and me, which was a man-made obstacle, was Kersh [director Irvin Kershner]. And I guess some people know it but not everybody. In Yoda’s hut, Kersh decided to put snakes in the back. There’s this frickin’ anaconda, and we’re trying to work, you know, and this snake’s behind us, about two or three snakes, and so that was kind of freaky.
Oz was utterly professional with respect to his job, and did not mind when he was uncomfortable or faced obstacles. However, the one obstacle that did freak him out, very understandably, was down to the director of the movie, and well, who is not scared of snakes?
George Lucas always appreciated Frank Oz’s work on Star Wars
There were a number of ways in which the original Star Wars trilogy broke barriers, considering the time at which it came out. Yoda’s character was brought to life by Oz, who would hide beneath the sets in order to move the puppet’s limbs and would then provide the voice for the dialogues.
Physical toll aside, the voice-acting in itself meant that Oz was no longer a puppeteer but a bonafide actor now. However, that was not how the Academy saw it, as George Lucas himself campaigned for Oz to be nominated as an actor after The Empire Strikes Back, according to SlashFilm:
After Frank Oz did Empire, I tried to get him nominated for an Academy Award; but we heard back that puppetry wasn’t an art. I think it is an art — and Yoda represents the highest level of that art.
Hence, even if Frank Oz never got an Oscar, George Lucas had feelings that were similar to how fans feel for Frank Oz.
He appreciated his work on the franchise and thought that it was much more than puppetry, and more of an art. The original Star Wars trilogy is available on Disney+.
