Background and career
Anthony Daniels ( AN-tə-nee; born 21 February 1946) is a British actor and mime artist, best known for playing C-3PO in 11 Star Wars films, from Star Wars (1977) to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019). He wore the costume and voiced his character in the films and several animated television series. Initially, Daniels did not want to play a robotic character; however Ralph McQuarrie's first concept painting of C-3PO and R2-D2 on Tatooine evoked empathy from him. For nearly 50 years, Daniels has held the distinction of being the only actor to have either appeared in or been involved with all theatrical films in the series. He has been involved in many of their spin-offs, including television series, video games, and radio serials. His other roles included CZ-3 in Star Wars, Tak in Solo: A Star Wars Story and more. Daniels also portrayed C-3PO in several commercials, non-canon films, including The Lego Movie, and non-canon television shows, including The Muppet Show. Outside the films, he has narrated and hosted some documentaries (starting off with the 1977 television special, The Making of Star Wars and later Science of Star Wars). Daniels (as C-3PO) has also narrated some documentaries retelling the films. He has hosted several events, including Star Wars: In Concert, since 2009. Daniels has recounted the challenges he faced while filming Star Wars in Tunisia in several documentaries, including Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy. His involvement in the franchise and association with his character from meeting film director George Lucas in November 1975 to wrapping up on The Rise of Skywalker has been detailed in his 2019 memoirs, I Am C-3PO: The Inside Story. Prior to his involvement in the franchise, Daniels appeared in several theatrical productions, including Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. He voiced Legolas in Ralph Bakshi's animated adaptation of The Lord of the Rings (1978). He has appeared intermittently on British television in various dramas, including playing a pathologist in Prime Suspect starring Helen Mirren and Colonel Donald Humphries in Holby City. Daniels was an adjunct professor at Carnegie Mellon University's Entertainment Technology Center.
Daniels was born in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, the son of a plastics company executive. He regularly attended the theatre with his parents and expressed an interest in acting after seeing Dick Whittington at the age of five. At the age of seven, he watched the 1953 BBC science fiction television series, The Quatermass Experiment and a few years later Doctor Who. Daniels wanted to pursue acting however, his parents persuaded him to study law. Daniels was educated at Giggleswick School, North Yorkshire and studied law for two years at university. During those two years, he was member of an amateur dramatic society. After receiving encouragement from a teacher, John Law to pursue acting, Daniels dropped out to participate in amateur dramatics and attend Rose Bruford College. He auditioned for a place at London's Central School of Speech and Drama where his future co-star, Carrie Fisher attended. During that time he learned several techniques from acting, improvisation and mime classes. After leaving the college in 1974, Daniels won the annual Carlton Hobbs Award and worked on BBC Radio and for the National Theatre of Great Britain at The Young Vic. He worked with Paul Blake, a future co-star in Star Wars, on his first television job. Daniels appeared in William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing and Macbeth. Daniels portrayed Guildenstern in Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. He acted opposite Christopher Timothy who portrayed Rosencrantz. Timothy described Daniels as a dedicated and serious actor. Daniels persuaded Timothy to audition for the part of Han Solo. In December 1975, Harrison Ford was ultimately cast as the character. Daniels took part in the play at the Criterion Theatre in Piccadilly Circus, a week before he flew from London to Djerba to begin filming Star Wars. He was a member of the BBC's Radio Drama Company performing in several of their productions and speaks fluent French. On 14 November 1975, whilst working in the theatre and appearing in a Young Vic production of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, he was invited to meet director George Lucas in Soho Square, who was casting for Star Wars. Daniels at first turned down the interview but was persuaded by his agent to meet Lucas. Daniels has said that before his role in Star Wars, the only science fiction film he had ever seen in a theatre was 2001: A Space Odyssey in 1968; he was so displeased with the film that he walked out after ten minutes and demanded his money back. After Daniels was cast as C-3PO, Lucas recommended that he watch the film in its entirety to study HAL 9000's voice. In a 2011 interview, Daniels said that he now regards 2001 as a masterpiece and that he also enjoys post-apocalyptic films such as Mad Max. In his 2019 memoirs, he praised the film and said HAL "made a lasting impression" on him.
In November 1975, after auditioning for the role of C-3PO, Daniels only became fully interested in it after seeing a concept design of the golden droid C-3PO (named C-3 in an early draft) by Ralph McQuarrie; he was moved by the character's forlorn expression. McQuarrie drew his first sketches of the character in 1974 before finishing the painting of C-3PO and R2-D2 walking away from the escape pod in January 1975. Lucas requested C-3PO to look more mechanical and less human. Daniels said, "I sensed his vulnerability." The following day, after reading the script he became interested before Lucas gave him the part the next day. Daniels and Peter Cushing were cast after it was decided that the production would be filmed near London. In 1976, sculptor Liz Moore finalised the character's design and the Art department modelled the costume on Daniels' body before it was built "from gold-painted fibreglass sheets." The process of making the costume and Daniels' fittings took six months. Brian Muir sculpted finishing work on the full suit including the hand plates. He said, "There was no time to get a plaster cast of Anthony Daniels' hands so I had the unusual job of sculpting directly onto the back of his hands during the lunch break." Prior to filming, Daniels wore the complete costume only once during a test in England. Daniels did not see the final costume until after donning it for the shoot and being shown a Polaroid photograph taken by continuity supervisor Ann Skinner on the first day of filming in Tunisia. While filming scenes for Star Wars in Tunisia, Daniels and the crew were told about Moore's death; she died in a car crash. Daniels mentioned her in several interviews and his memoirs saying, "I will always remember Liz as a most beautiful and kind and creative soul." On 22 March 1976, his first day of filming took place in Tunisia which provided the setting for Tatooine. Daniels filmed his first scenes at the Lars homestead and they also featured Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, Kenny Baker inside R2-D2, Phil Brown as Uncle Owen and several Jawa extras. Daniels' first scene was C-3PO's interaction with Owen Lars. During the first take of a close-up, there were technical difficulties with a misplaced wire and C-3PO's eyes not illuminating. Daniels found the first days of shooting Star Wars challenging because the fiber-glass and aluminium costume was restrictive, physically demanding, took a long time (2 hours) to put on and the "desert could be blistering hot or frigid." Once on set, the costume could not be redesigned. The costume made movements difficult - even the simple ones. Daniels said, "I felt like I was being stabbed with a pair of scissors every time I made a gesture." Due to the costume being uncomfortable, Daniels would wear relevant parts "if C-3PO wasn't fully in a shot." During the scene when a Tusken Raider attacks Luke, Daniels wore his shoes because his feet were not on camera. In between filming, he could not sit down with the costume on, so "the crew put him on a leaning board." At the end of his first day of filming, Daniels was covered in scars, scratches and bruises from the costume; this marked the first and only time he wore the costume for a whole day of filming. Daniels and the crew experienced technical difficulties with a motorised R2-D2 and several scenes "had to be re-shot numerous times because his motors kept playing up and he'd rocket away from everyone". Filming in Tunisia continued up to 4 April 1976. He later chronicled the challenges he faced in further detail in his memoirs. Following that, Daniels, the cast and crew moved to Elstree Studios in London for interior scenes including the Death Star, the interior of the Lars homestead and interiors of ships (including the Millennium Falcon). The hot summer of 1976 and little air-conditioning made wearing the costume difficult for Daniels. He got in touch with several of his friends including Paul Blake from Rose Bruford College when Lucasfilm sought out actors for the Mos Eisley cantina scene. Blake portrayed bounty hunter Greedo. The scene "where C-3PO had to pick up a comlink to talk to Luke on the Death Star" took 20 takes before sticky pad was placed and hidden in the character's hand. The last scene he filmed was in the sub hallway of Tantive IV when his character follows R2-D2 into the escape pod saying,"I'm going to regret this." As he got into character he described C-3PO as "a kind of English butler, a cross between Laurel and Hardy with his friend." Daniels also portrayed CZ-3, a protocol droid referred to as "White Pointy Face" in one shot in the original film; the character can be seen wandering in the streets of Mos Eisley spaceport past Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi. CZ-3 also appeared in the sandcrawler but Daniels wore his C-3PO costume.
Daniels struggled with delivering the character's lines until Lucas informed him that they would redub the dialogue in post-production. Initially, Lucas wanted C-3PO "to speak with a Brooklyn accent". Several actors including Mel Blanc and Richard Dreyfuss auditioned for the voice before it was decided that Daniels would get the part when one of them suggested the idea to Lucas. He flew over to America to record his dialogue in a studio for the finished film across three days. Daniels later saw Dreyfuss at the 50th Academy Awards in 1978 noting that he "seemed to have got over any disappointment" he might have experienced not voicing C-3PO. The release of Star Wars, the first film in the series and fourth chapter of the Skywalker saga, took place in 1977 and received positive reviews. Daniels saw the film at a crew screening in the Dominion Theatre. On 3 August 1977, He wore the costume and added C-3PO's name, hand and footprint in the concrete forecourt at Mann's Chinese Theatre and later requested to add his name. A remote-controlled R2-D2 and Darth Vader (Kermit Eller) were also there. Daniels narrated and hosted a television special, The Making of Star Wars, the first documentary of the franchise in West Hollywood, California. The television special featured new footage of Daniels as C-3PO and R2-D2 in a starship control room set. Some of the cast members including Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher were interviewed about their involvement in the film but Daniels was not. Following that Daniels and Peter Mayhew reprised their roles in the Donny & Marie Star Wars Special. Both television specials were broadcast in September 1977. Daniels was later interviewed about his involvement in a 2004 documentary film and shared his memories of McQuarrie's painting as well as the difficulties of his costume in Tunisia. 25 years after the film's release and in an archival interview appearing in a 2007 article, Daniels praised Sir Alec Guinness for his kindness and for helping him get through the challenges he faced during the Tunisia shoot. In the 2002 article, he said, "I firmly believe that I wouldn't have completed that arduous task of shooting without him." In his 2019 memoirs, Daniels described Guinness as "the most generous, gentle host". Guinness spoke praise of Daniels' acting to other people on set. Long before working with Guinness, Daniels watched his performances in The Ladykillers and Lawrence of Arabia. Jesse Kornbluth of New Times made numerous references to C-3PO and Paul Scanlon of Rolling Stone said that the droids "practically steal the film" however they made no references to Daniels. Daniels was depressed with his lack of recognition after the film's successful release; he attributes this to Lucasfilm wanting audiences to believe that the droids were real and not actors in costumes. He said, "I was not allowed to be a part of it and it took me many, many years to begin to feel a part." In 2019, Daniels told RadioTimes.com that due to being inside a full-body costume "the anonymity of it was always a struggle." In the same year, he told BBC Radio 5 Live that he felt "rejected, redacted and ignored" when he was left out of the publicity of the first film. On the other hand, in a 2009 article appearing in Star Wars Insider, he said while his character "is known throughout the world" but he is not, being inside a full-body costume allowed him to have privacy. Daniels' involvement in the film was finally acknowledged when he discovered a Trivial Pursuit card asking what part he played in Star Wars. Daniels later acknowledged the audience's enthusiasm for the franchise in his memoirs saying that without them, "A New Hope would have been the beginning - and the end." The success and cultural impact of Star Wars launched a multimedia franchise, leading to further sequels rounding out the original trilogy, another two trilogies, three standalone films, one animated film, re-releases, television shows, documentaries, commercials, radio series, video games, concerts, conventions, exhibitions, events, a theme park ride and themed plane which continued Daniels' association for the next six decades. When discussing The Force Awakens, he said it was George Lucas' ideas that Star Wars was not the first page of the story and that used and broken down characters would indicate they have back stories. Future filmmaker, J. J. Abrams would reuse these ideas in The Force Awakens.
In 1978, Mark Hamill, Daniels (as C-3PO) and R2-D2 presented Special Sound Oscars for Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Star Wars at the 50th Academy Awards. Daniels appeared in the live-action segments of the 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special, set between the events of Star Wars and the yet to be released sequel. The TV special was broadcast only once, on CBS TV on 17 November 1978. It received negative reviews however, it eventually became a cult classic among Star Wars fans - when bootleg recordings were uploaded to the internet. In 1980, Daniels made a guest appearance as C-3PO in The Muppet Show, The Stars of Star Wars; the crossover episode also starred Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca and R2-D2. They filmed scenes at ATV Studios in January 1980. Following that Daniels joined the cast of Sesame Street. Filming lasted a week and he said, "I had the most memorable time.". His favourite scene was when C-3PO tries to explain to R2-D2 that his "new short girlfriend" is actually "a fire hydrant." On 29 April 1980, Daniels (as C-3PO) attended John Williams' first concert as official conductor of the Boston Pops orchestra. He later added a photograph of his character "below his own photograph in his passport" when he made more appearances as C-3PO abroad. Daniels starred in 1980's The Empire Strikes Back, the second theatrically released film in the series. It was the highest grossing film of the year and is regarded as the best film in the series even following numerous re-releases and a reassessment. It is also considered by the audience to be the most significant chapter in the Skywalker saga. His costume was less uncomfortable and this time it consisted of 11 parts instead of 20. The assistant art director Fred Hole and his team made the costume more flexible allowing more freedom of movement. Initially, Daniels was hesitant about reprising his role however, he eventually agreed to return for a higher salary and "had grown fond of" his character. The confinements of the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon made filming difficult for Daniels, Ford, Fisher and Mayhew. He said that C-3PO is "not a hero, but he does have functions that are spoken of and which the movie should use." Daniels also said that he 'felt [his character] had humanity.' New members of the cast included Billy Dee Williams and Daniels described him as a "seasoned and charismatic actor". Daniels' involvement in the film was acknowledged when his name was included on the poster. He was included in the publicity events in Los Angeles however, his illness forced him to miss the premiere screening at the Kennedy Center, Washington on 17 May 1980. A week later, Daniels returned to London. In the same year, he wrote a Star Wars themed anti-smoking public service announcement; the PSA featured C-3PO and R2-D2 warning children about the negative effects of smoking. Daniels also appeared in a Star Wars Underoos commercial and television movie documentary, The Making of 'The Empire Strikes Back'. Some footage from the documentary and an audio commentary from Daniels was included in the 2020 featurette, Celebrating 40 Years of Empire: Behind the Scenes.
1983's Return of the Jedi was the last installment in the original trilogy and highest-grossing film of the year. Prior to the release of the film, Daniels appeared in the unreleased 1982 mockumentary film, Return of the Ewok. This mockumentary was filmed during the production of Return of the Jedi. Daniels (as C-3PO) can be seen interacting with his new co-star Warwick Davis at Elstree Studios. He previously appeared with Michael Carter (Bib Fortuna) in a theatre production. Daniels, the cast and crew experienced difficulties on the set of Jabba's palace. In a 2013 interview for Star Wars Insider, Daniels described the set of Jabba's palace as "claustrophobic and dark". A crew member held a padded board for Daniels to fall onto when C-3PO was knocked over by Jabba but received an injury from C-3PO's elbow. During filming for Jedi, Daniels was asked to prepare miming stories of the first two films "and up to that point, Return of the Jedi." He established several parallels between Guildenstern and C-3PO. Daniels said, "I really did like Jedi, but only because I got to play God for a day, with little adoring furry creatures." Following the end of production on Jedi, he witnessed two crew members making a bonfire of the Millennium Falcon due to it being expensive to store and rescued some pieces including a bundle of wires from the Falcon's corridors. Daniels filmed several scenes for the original trilogy at Elstree Studios where his costume fitting also took place. From 1989 to 2021, every film of the original trilogy was selected by the United States Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry.
