Anthony Daniels Interview From the ‘Lucasfilm Fan Club’ Issue #1 – Remembering That Galaxy Far, Far Away
I have been reading through all the back issues of the Lucasfilm Fan Club Magazine, Bantha Tracks, and Star Wars Insider, so in new recurring features I am going to trawl through the back issues of old Star Wars magazines looking for interesting interviews from time gone by to share. To start with, I thought I would share this great interview with Anthony Daniels that I read in Lucasfilm Fan Club issue #1, which has some really interesting parts to it. I had never realized or thought about how C-3PO doesn’t breathe, and so he would have to do the script in one go without breathing, or how him and Mark Hamill would drive to set ripping into each other’s lines on the first movie, not having any idea the success it would bring.
I have copied the text out of the images so it’s easier to read for you all, but we are only sharing, and all credit is to the Lucasfilm Fan Club and its interviewers.
STAR WARS REPORT | EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW | ANTHONY DANIELS
Remembering That Galaxy Far, Far Away, by Dan Madsen and John S. Davis
It is a typical Tuesday morning in Northern California. Relaxing in his hotel room after a long flight in from England the previous day, Anthony Daniels is ironing his clothes and speaking Japanese. It is soon discovered that Daniels is not preparing for a vacation in Asia, but rather for a television commercial using some of the Star Wars characters for the Japanese market.
“Right now, C-3PO is going to be big in Japan from these commercials… When I was in Japan before, the reaction to R2 and 3PO was absolutely amazing! I thought they would be popular in America, but the Japanese went wild! They have really taken to the robots in a big way. I felt very at home there. If I could only have understood the language, I would have known what they were saying. But they were smiling so that told me something. They have a delightful habit in Japan of bringing presents at all moments. It’s a habit I’m trying to encourage the English and Americans to pick up! People know I have a very sweet tooth because when I’m signing autographs, someone will always come along with a huge bag of M and M’s and say, ‘These are for you!’ Normally I wouldn’t buy them because I would eat them. So, I figure if someone gives them to me, I have to eat them! I’m going to get sugar poisoning one of these days with all the sweets I eat!”
Daniels is no stranger to the field of television commercials. He has appeared as 3PO in numerous spots and one, in particular, which he is most proud of, that he wrote himself.
“The commercial I wrote was during the time I was sick and couldn’t go to the premiere of The Empire Strikes Back… I was sitting in my bed in the hospital and the health people came in to see me and I said, ‘You know, I always wanted to stop children from smoking. I would love to make a commercial.’ And they said, ‘well, write one!’ So I wrote the commercial in my bed wearing one of those hospital gowns where you have a choice to wear the slit in the front or back. Either way, it’s kind of embarrassing! Especially when it has little daisies all over it! But I did enjoy writing the commercial and shooting it and then seeing it run on television.”
Before his success as C-3PO in Star Wars, Daniels dreamed of being an actor on the stage. As a child, he was motivated by the talented performers he saw at the local theatre.
“I always wanted to act, but I just usually thought about the theatre. I never thought about movies. I used to go to the Saturday morning children’s matinee, but I never thought of myself being in the movies. I’ve always thought of the theatre as being slightly more vital. I was always acting as a kid, though. I would make little shows with my friends and bore everybody! I think my parents thought it was an aberration that I would eventually grow out of, but I never did… Acting is really like an addiction… It’s very hard to give up. I think it was just something in my genes. You know, you can get into all these things about insecurity and a safe way of showing off because with actors, you may think you know them, but you don’t.”
For the past decade, Daniels has been identified as C-3PO all around the world. However, now, looking back, he recalls vividly his first impressions upon receiving the role as Star Wars‘ gold-plated robot:
“I was surprised and insulted… I didn’t feel it was a job for a real actor. But later I realized it was a terrific character. George Lucas, who is a very charismatic person, seemed interested in C-3PO so I thought, ‘well, it must be good!’ But 3PO has a melancholy about him that I find attractive. I empathize with him. There is a kind of forlorn quality between him and R2-D2. They sort of get shipped around the universe and blown this way and that by events. I think probably they quintessentialize the human lot.”
Upon being notified he had won the role; Daniels had to sit down and decide how he was going to approach the part. After all, portraying a robot is not the kind of role most actors have years of experience in playing.
“I thought about it a huge amount and planned all sorts of things… I kept seeing designs of this costume that was being built around me and I made all sorts of decisions about what I would do once inside it. However, that all went down the drain right away because I got the suit on and I couldn’t do any of it! So 3PO kind of happened on the first day of shooting, quite frankly.”
“I have to be honest, though, it’s not too amusing being in that suit. It’s kind of rough! I think that’s why 3PO doesn’t have a sense of humour! There are silly things that happen in the suit because I have no peripheral vision. I can’t line myself up on something. You can see to the sides, and you can actually touch something to the side of you without actually looking at it. I can’t see sideways, so I’ve got to turn around quite a lot till I see what I’m trying to look at… On Star Wars, I was under a tent in the desert waiting to shoot the scenes on Tatooine and it was really dreadful! It was so hot! At about 7:00 in the morning we did the scene of 3PO walking in the morning sunshine over the sand dunes and everybody was amazed at how good it looked. At that point, 3PO happened. It was bizarre, though. He just took over and it was very odd.”
Another enduring element of C-3PO is his very proper British accent. Although Anthony Daniels is from Britain, and therefore has a natural accent, the voice of 3PO was not Daniels’ natural speaking voice. He contends that, once inside the costume, 3PO’s personality and speech patterns took over:
“That was part of him happening on his own… It suddenly happened that he had this rather nervous, fearful quality. Also there is a kind of cleanliness to it. There is a very distinct articulation in his speech. I tend to talk slightly sloppily and use a lot of long sounds whereas 3PO is much more clear and sort of machine-like. I think I just put various things in my head about him: he is a machine, he is nervous, he is this and he is that and so on. And I pressed the button and out he came… You know, people love one particular line I did. Everybody’s favourite is the line ‘We’re doomed!’ Children always come up to me and say, ‘Do the voice and say, “We’re doomed!'” It’s what people remember C-3PO as: being doomed!”
On film, 3PO may have been on the brink of disaster on numerous occasions, but for Daniels, every second spent inside that golden, metallic costume felt very much like being doomed.
“I felt a sense of remoteness from being inside the suit and working with things that aren’t real actors… When you have to work with things made out of rubber and tin you lose a sense of your personality in a way. I used to spend the evenings rather more avidly with people sort of re-establishing my humanity, so to speak. A day with R2-D2 is like a day without sun. He’s cute but enough is enough. It’s not really that bad, though. I’ll tell you; I will continue to be involved with Star Wars out of sense of great pleasure. If I didn’t like it, I would just walk away from it. About four years ago, after Return of the Jedi, I thought, ‘Well, that’s probably enough.’ Then I thought, ‘Well, why? I’m very fond of 3PO and other people are, too. I’m certainly making a living at it. So why throw it away on principle?’ So, I stayed with it and it is remarkable how he keeps coming back. 3PO has this curious longevity. I really thought that after the 10th anniversary we would probably just leave it there. And then we started talking about these Japanese commercials and so on.”
Daniels is a modest man. While many people believe the successful portrayal of 3PO was due, in large part, to the talented actor inside the suit, the actor himself does not wholeheartedly embrace the opinion.
“That’s very nice for people to say that, but it’s like going to a restaurant and ordering chicken and having it be absolutely fantastic. What you didn’t have was the beef and it was also terrific. They were both a meal, but you just chose one and not the other. And had it been the other way around, people might be saying how they liked another actor’s portrayal of 3PO. In fact, my portrayal was all you were offered. You didn’t get a free choice but, nevertheless, I appreciate people’s compliments.
You know, I still tease George Lucas about hating my performance as 3PO in Star Wars. It wasn’t what he had in mind at all. He just didn’t like it I’m afraid. He wanted a different character, and I came along and did my portrayal. It wasn’t the one he wanted but I suppose it worked.
It’s not often that a film is so widely embraced by the public as Star Wars. There has been a plethora of worldwide merchandising and the series of films have created an entertainment phenomenon equalled by none. With all the popular characters and spaceships, however, one image still is most recognizable — that of C-3PO and R2-D2… They are certainly the most recognizable image from the films… You know, you always see the tall one and the short one side by side. They’re sort of always facing adventure and loneliness and danger. I think people recognize their relationship as touching on their own relationships with other people: the good and the bad times, the arguing and the affection and the fear. And 3PO has no problem expressing fear! Which I think in some ways people find endearing because we all try to hide it so much.
I think what I like about 3PO the most is his vulnerability and the fact that he really does need someone to look after him all the time. He’s very affectionate and very loyal to his friends almost to the point of self-destruction. I think we all hope for friends like that. That’s not to say that he doesn’t have irritating qualities as well. But you can sort of forgive him for those qualities. Those qualities, of course, have nothing to do with me… 3PO is nothing like my personality, ask anyone! Occasionally, when I’ve been doing 3PO for a while, I find myself worrying about things that don’t really matter at all. It’s rubbish but it is his character getting into me a bit. I get a bit too concerned about things. noticed that a lot on Return of the Jedi.”
Although one would think that just about everyone at one time or another has heard of Star Wars, there are still a few, as Daniels relates, that don’t know anything about the popular space saga:
“Occasionally I meet someone who’s never heard of Star Wars… You know, for example, I have a friend who says, ‘John, I would like you to meet Anthony. He plays the gold robot C-3PO in Star Wars. ‘ And he adds, you’ve seen Star Wars, haven’t you?! And the guy says, ‘No.’ ‘Have you heard of it?’ The guy says, ‘No.’ Finally, my friend says, ‘Anthony, tell him about Star Wars!’ And I just say, ‘It was a very successful space film, and I leave it at that. But R2 and 3PO most people recognize because they’ve seen them on a piece of advertising or something.
When someone asks me to describe 3PO and R2, I say they’re the original odd couple out of Detroit. They really are an archetypical duo: the tall one who is rather elegant and thinks he knows everything and the short, fat, stubby one who gets into trouble. 3PO gets away with the stuff he does because he’s prettier! You know, 3PO and R2 are really a robot version of Laurel and Hardy.
They’re both strange and somewhat stupid. You never know which one is really clever. One of the problems of playing 3PO is the kind of loneliness one feels of being with a portable trashcan. I’m not really working with another actor and there are no sounds coming from R2, so a conversation between us is somewhat one sided. all his sounds are put on later and I just have to remember the whole scene. I have a terrible tendency to rewrite things a bit which I suppose is the sign of a bad actor! Sometimes people don’t understand the nature of the relationship between R2 and 3PO. It can be funnier than they write it. Sometimes they’re a little too careful about it and I make it a little bit sillier.”
“One of my favourite things I ever did with R2-D2 was on the TV show Sesame Street. He comes up to me sadly and says, ‘Beep, beep, beep.’ And I say. ‘R2, what’s the matter?’ He says, ‘Beep, beep, beep.’ You’re in love? ‘Beep, beep.’ With whom? ‘Beep, beep.’ You don’t know her name? Well, what’s she like? ‘Beep, beep.’ She’s short? ‘Beep, beep, beep.’ He then takes me out to meet her and we stand out on the sidewalk, and I say, ‘But R2, that’s a fire hydrant!’ (Laughter) They keep repeating that little scene on the show. I think it’s been on for the last eight years. It was so sweet, though. R2, I think, has certain hormone problems! Both him and 3PO have affections that they have to direct to each other in the nicest possible way.”
Before Star Wars opened, many people thought it would be a modest little film, not something people would go crazy over. Then the merchandising bonanza hit full force and Star Wars was everywhere. This was a surprise, but it was also expected should the film be highly successful. What no one foresaw, however, was the film’s successful adaptation to radio, which is something Daniel remembers fondly:
“I think one of the most delightful memories was the brilliant scripts written by Brian Daley… He took a 20-minute script from a movie and turned it into 10 hours, which is ingenious! He did an extremely good job. Working with Mark Hamill closely for days was enjoyable as well. He’s a very good actor. It was very hard to do 3PO’s voice for a lengthy period of time. It’s very tiring because he doesn’t breathe. You know, robots don’t have lungs! It’s okay delivering one or two lines at top speed velocity and pace and energy but day after day, hours at a time, it got to be exhausting. It was very rewarding, though. I love radio. I actually do a lot of voice work, so it was really right up my street. I was very sorry that we never did Return of the Jedi on radio.”
In addition to his vocal work in the radio version of Star Wars, Daniels has also used the voice of 3PO in other ventures as well, such as Star Tours at Disneyland:
“I think Star Tours is just fantastic… I think it’s one of the best things we’ve done since the movies. It keeps Star Wars fresh and alive by having something people can still go and see. It’s also a wonderful ride. However, it rather shows up some of the other rides there because it is so good. I’m terribly proud to be a part of all that.
The way we did C-3PO’s part was that I laid down a voice track for the 10-minute scene of 3PO talking to R2 about the spaceship. Then they videotaped me performing the part just in a pair of jeans and a sweater to see how I moved. Then the animatronics expert copied my movements using hydraulics and working parts inside one of my old suits. They filled up one of my old suits with parts that would make it move like me.
I was very concerned that it should be exactly like the movies, and they did an absolutely brilliant job! One of the bits had 3PO looking at the spaceship and then he looked up at the data board and then suddenly he looked down at the audience who was passing by. I was standing there just watching the sequence and he suddenly looked at me and it was the most extraordinary experience! It was like me looking at myself. I was not looking in a mirror or looking at a film but me in real life. It was the first time he’s ever looked at me and it was very, very strange. I got the oddest feeling! And then he just carried on looking at the ship and so on. But it was such a terrific experience working with Disney, both the engineers and the people in the park. We had a lot of fun.”
After having hundreds of millions of people seeing the Star Wars projects Daniels has been involved with, he still admits that, even today, most people still don’t recognize him or his voice when they meet him in person:
“Sometimes it can be frustrating, but I’ve learned to accept it… You know, video still keeps the whole thing alive. I’m finding children who weren’t even born when we made Star Wars becoming aficionados of the whole thing because of video. It still is a very worthwhile story for children… I think I would have felt more a part of the Star Wars phenomenon if I had played a character where you saw my face like Luke or Han. I didn’t really feel associated that much because I was behind a mask. If you have to spend the whole time explaining to people who you are, it takes some of the thrill out of it.”
Recently, however, Daniels attended an event where just about everyone knew who he was. Over 5,000 fans converged on Los Angeles last May to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Star Wars. And Daniels was one of the prime attractions of the three-day extravaganza.
“When I turned up at the LA airport for the 10th anniversary con. I was very late… They had a limousine waiting for me and we drove to the hotel. When I got there, I saw a line of people standing all the way around the building. We drove past them, and I was madly trying to find the window opener so I could wave to them. Nobody could see that I was in this beautiful limousine because it had smoked windows! And I couldn’t find the button that pushed the windows down! So nobody knew that I arrived in style. But it was very exciting to see all those people standing in line.
The great thing about being a star guest is that they always try to get you in secretly. So usually that’s the back entrance where the kitchens and the garbage are. You always enter a hotel through this stinking garbage area! It’s not really the best way to arrive! You get both ends of those extremes I’m afraid… But the 10th anniversary convention was really a delight to do… George Lucas was very nervous about talking to the fans because he is so shy. I was telling him, ‘There’s nothing to be nervous about because everybody here loves you!’ The fans were saying, ‘We love you, George! Thank you for giving us Star Wars,’ and so on. And I said, ‘Just remember that when you talk to them.’ And he sorts of took a deep breath and walked on stage. Then at the end of his talk, they all applauded and applauded and applauded! I, in my 3PO costume, went over to George and said, ‘I think we should go now, George.’ And he didn’t take any notice as the audience still applauded. So I said, ‘George, we can leave now.’ And he still didn’t notice. Finally, I said, ‘George, get off the stage!’ He said, ‘But they’re still applauding. ‘ I said, ‘George, go off the stage while they’re still applauding!’ And he wouldn’t go! (Laughter) He loved the applause so much he wouldn’t leave! He loves the fans! I think he was surprised just how much people like his work. I don’t think he realized face to face what people think of his movies, and I think he was terribly touched by it. The fans really showed him how much they love Star Wars. I also think that if the fans want George to do more Star Wars, they should tell him. Because no matter who we are, we all need encouragement in anything we do. So maybe the fans should think about that.”
Seeing new Star Wars films was certainly one of the major topics of discussion during that memorable weekend. Fans enjoyed talking about what they thought might happen in future films and waited in anticipation for an announcement that there would be a new film about that galaxy far, far away. When and if the Star Wars films should continue, George Lucas has said that he will go back to the first trilogy, chapters 1 thru 3, before Luke, Han, and Leia were even born. However, continuing throughout all the films will be the familiar figures of 3PO and R2. If the saga continues, does Daniels feel the old magic can be recaptured?
“I’m quite sure it can… I think that in the second and third films, we slightly began to lose the innocence. I think that once you’ve shown the direction that perhaps isn’t so good you can always go back to the first part and follow it again. I think what is delightful for the audience is a kind of common language that they know this environment in which we make these films. And although you wouldn’t have Harrison Ford or the others there, they would still know the kind of problems and dangers that might exist and the kind of adventures that might happen. I think the audience would be delighted by the sort of twists that George would give it. So I don’t think there would be any problems but it’s a heck of a responsibility for George because I’m sure if he ever continues the films that he wants to make sure they’re done right.”
If the films continue, and should 3PO be in them, are there any changes or additions to the character that Daniels would like to see added?
“I think it would be interesting to see why he’s like he is… Did he get plugged into the wrong socket or what? It’s hard for him to be an instigating character. He tends to be somebody that has to follow the action rather than propel it because that is the nature of his character. It would be interesting to find a way in which he had more purpose. In The Empire Strikes Back, he really lost any kind of function. In Jedi, he got it back with translating for the Ewoks and so forth. I think to have a purpose in a movie is extremely important rather than just a decoration. I would like to see 3PO and R2 stay together in any future films… That was one thing I was very concerned about in The Empire Strikes Back. I discussed it with George after the film was completed, and he explained why it had to happen. But he knows they work best together. It’s funny to watch a partnership like that. I think that in any future films we would be together because that’s the way we work best.”
After spending ten years of his life involved with Star Wars, Daniels has many fond memories. But when asked to recall his best memory from the making of each film, the actor has no problem recalling his favorite experiences:
“In Star Wars, what I remember most is the scene where myself, Mark Hamill, Alec Guinness and R2 were standing on top of a mountain looking down at Mos Eisley Spaceport. We were actually very high up. I was standing there, dressed as 3PO, and I looked out across the desert and you couldn’t see the end, it just went on forever. I felt scared at first because it was so vast, and I was so small. I then felt really good about being so small because it meant nothing really mattered. Given the size of the cosmos, I am rather less than a grain of sand and I should not really try to mind things so much. It was one of the few moments of meditation that I’ve ever experienced. But I did feel an extraordinary sensation standing there looking into nothing. It was a very calming moment. Then, of course, they said ‘Action’ and we had to do the dialogue and it was back to reality. But it was a rather special moment for me.
I think the thing I got most out of The Empire Strikes Back was the tremendous affection from Irvin Kershner, the director. He is extremely nice and extremely clever. He and I seemed to get along very well. I like him a lot, he is very good with actors. I think probably he is the best memory I have because he liked 3PO a lot. He told me that he didn’t know about 3PO until the first day. Then he got terribly carried away and kept asking 3PO to be in about every scene! He was very warm and supportive. I probably carried his friendship away from that more than anything else.
The most terrific memory for me on Return of the Jedi was seeing Harrison Ford about to be cooked for my lunch… I laughed so much about that! But I think probably the best memory was just getting the script and turning the pages and thinking, ‘Oh, this is so good!’ I was so pleased that George had written such a lovely part for 3PO. You know, 3PO’s my best friend, so I kind look after him a bit. I want him to have a good time, so I was pleased that he had something more to do in Jedi.”
Very few films have had the international appeal and impact of Star Wars. The three films have been a critical and popular success all over the world. Many have tried to pin down the elements that made Star Wars so successful. But as Anthony Daniels explains, trying to find the reason for its success is like finding a needle in a haystack:
“I don’t think even George knows… I think he just had this schoolboy image in his head, and he decided to do it and everybody loved it. I would have to be him to answer that question and I’m not sure even he can. I think there are intangibles that make it work. I think it would be very hard for George to write down why it worked. You can talk about comic strip appeal and humour and speed but there were a lot of intangibles that went together created by all sorts of people whether they were in tin or fur or rubber or nothing at all. There were a lot of things that could be attributed for its success. The script was also important. It was weird but good. I remember when I first read the script, I thought it was rubbish and so did Mark Hamill. As we would go to work, we would drive along together and laugh at each other’s lines, perhaps in not the kindest way. But I used to tell Mark that at least I was wearing a mask, none of my friends would know I was saying those things! (Laughter)
I’ll tell you, though, I would do it all over again. In some ways, Star Wars has done immensely good things for me. I’ve made so many, many new friends, especially in America, that I would never have met if not for Star Wars. I’ve been to places that I never would have gone to — all sorts of things. One doesn’t know what would’ve been if Star Wars hadn’t come along. If I had stayed as a regular actor, I probably would have been waiting tables just to get by. So I think it was a good idea that I took the part of 3PO.”
Ever since taking on his role in Star Wars, Daniels life has changed dramatically. Not only has he been able to appear on the silver screen to entertain millions and millions of theatregoers, he has also been able to take his character from the Star Wars films and perform in other related productions as well. Still, Daniels is a modest man. Even his most prized possession, reminder of his involvement in the Star Wars saga, is a simple one, and to some, it may even seem trivial.
“One of my proudest possessions is a beautifully framed and mounted card from the game Trivial Pursuit… And it says. ‘Which part did Anthony Daniels play in Star Wars?’ I have it framed and hanging in my bathroom. I hung it there to amuse my guests. But not only that… it was the only question I could answer in the entire game!”
Alexander has been a lifelong Star Wars fan having started watching with his elder brother in the early 80's through to watching The Phantom Menace with same brother in cinema as a 21 year old with beer.
His love for the franchise has never waned.
A published comic book writer and letterer but when not watching or reading Star Wars is usually hacking computers for work.
Follow on twitter @Muldwych
