Forever known as the stiff but erudite robot C3PO in the “Star Wars” series, actor Anthony Daniels has built an entire career around being the man beneath the gold-plated suit. While most actors would reject identifying with the same role for 30 years, Daniels has embraced the prissy but loveable character and even spun it off into myriad forms, solidifying himself as a golden deity in the “Star Wars” pantheon. Without his ever playing C3PO, Daniels may have etched out an adequate career on stage or television. But given his track record of appearing in other roles outside the series, that possibility seems to have been unlikely.
Born in Salisbury, England, Daniels became interested in drama while attending middle school in Yorkshire. His parents, however, felt a career in acting would do nothing to put food on the table and convinced him to pursue a more practical career. So instead he decided to be a lawyer, and after two years of study he changed course, gearing his career towards the hotel industry. But that, too, failed to maintain his interest. In his off hours, Daniels sought satisfaction as a member of an amateur dramatic society in Manchester. When a relative passed away and left him a small bequest, he used the money to fund acting school for the next three years. After university, he won the prestigious Carlton Hobbs BBC Radio Award, which granted him entry into the BBC Drama Repertory Company. He later joined the Young Vic company, where he performed stage productions of “Much Ado About Nothing” and “Macbeth.”
While performing in Tom Stoppard’s “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead,” Daniels was invited to meet with George Lucas—then a relatively unknown filmmaker—who was interested in his mime skills for the director’s upcoming science fiction film. Daniels declined the meeting—sci-fi was far removed from his sphere of interest; he had even walked out of Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968). After some arm twisting from his agent, however, Daniels read “The Adventures of Luke Starkiller” and immediately fell in love with C-3PO (or, alternately, See-Threepio), even if the remainder of the script was incomprehensible. After landing the role, the next step was being covered in body plaster to form the shape of his costume—an “extremely unlovely experience,” recalled Daniels.
During the filming of “Star Wars” (1977), Daniels gave his performance without comment from the aloof director—Lucas had been concentrating on other problems with the film. Sir Alec Guinness stepped in and gave him the necessary support and encouragement to pull through. Despite the lack of communication with Lucas, Daniels got on well with the other cast members, all of whom thought that the film was doomed to fail—Daniels and Mark Hamill even joked about the hokey dialogue between takes. But trouble remained after shooting finished. In post-production, Lucas tried to dub over Daniels’ lines—he disliked the actor’s robotic tones. Eventually, Lucas failed to find the right voice and asked Daniels to redub his own. Meanwhile, the studio wanted fans to think that C-3PO was a real robot and denied that a human being—Daniels or anyone else—was inside a costume. Dissatisfied with his experience, Daniels thought he would no longer be part of the series. Lucas realized, however, that his contribution had been important and worked to resolve their differences.
Much to the surprise of everyone, “Star Wars” was more than a hit—it became a cultural phenomenon that spanned generations. After the enormous success of the first film, Lucas made two sequels, “The Empire Strikes Back” (1980) and “Return of the Jedi” (1983), in which Daniels revived his beloved character. The process of working with Lucas became easier and Daniels was granted more leeway to improvise lines, despite occasional objections from the director. Once the first three films had been permanently entered into the cultural lexicon, Daniels drifted into relative obscurity, popping up now and then to play bit parts or revive C3PO. After providing his voice on the short-lived animated series, “Droids: The Adventures of R2-D2 and C-3PO” (ABC, 1985-1986), he played a priest in “I Bought a Vampire Motorcycle” (1990), a tasteless horror comedy about a motorcycle that runs on blood and hunts down humans like a vampire.
While Lucas made preparations to film the first three episodes of “Star Wars” in the mid-90’s, Daniels diversified his talents. He continued appearing on television and in film whenever possible: he played a pathologist on Britain’s hit show “Prime Suspect” (ITV1, 1991-2003), appeared on an episode of “Martin” (Fox, 1992-1997) in the US, and showed up on “The Bill” (1983- ), the UK’s long-running cop drama about the goings-on of a London metro station. Meanwhile, Daniels started writing the New Improved Wonder Column for Star Wars Insider, worked as a producer and creative designer on exhibitions, including The Westminster Experience and Volcanoland, and wrote his first comic book for Dark Horse, The Protocol Offensive, which depicted the adventures of a darker C3PO.
Meanwhile, Daniels revived Threepio for “Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace” (1999), “Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones” (2002) and “Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith” (2005). Though the first two were eagerly awaited by fans, some were let down by the weak storylines, corny dialogue and overwrought acting. But the visual effects were cool. Episode III, however, defied low expectations, with some critics even claiming it was the best of the saga since “The Empire Strikes Back.” Though Lucas was finished making “Star Wars” movies, he planned on developing two television series—one animated, the other live action—in which Daniels will once again have gotten the chance to play the character that made his career possible.