Anthony Daniels
Anthony Daniels was born on the 21st of February 1946 in Salisbury, Wiltshire. His father worked as an executive for a plastics company. He regularly attended theatre with his parents and developed an interest in acting after seeing Dick Whittington at age five. At seven years old he watched the BBC science fiction series The Quatermass Experiment. A few years later he also watched Doctor Who. Daniels wanted to pursue acting but his parents persuaded him to study law instead. He studied law for two years at university while remaining a member of an amateur dramatic society. After receiving encouragement from a teacher named John Law to pursue acting, Daniels dropped out to participate in amateur dramatics. He then attended Rose Bruford College where he learned several techniques including improvisation and mime classes. After leaving the college in 1974 Daniels won the annual Carlton Hobbs Award. He subsequently worked on BBC Radio and for the National Theatre of Great Britain at The Young Vic. He worked with Paul Blake who would become a future co-star in Star Wars on his first television job. Daniels appeared in William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing and Macbeth. He 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.
On the 14th of November 1975 while working in the theatre and appearing in a Young Vic production of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead Daniels was invited to meet director George Lucas in Soho Square. Lucas was casting for Star Wars. Daniels initially turned down the interview but was persuaded by his agent to meet Lucas. Before his role in Star Wars the only science fiction film he had ever seen in a theatre was 2001: A Space Odyssey from 1968. He was so displeased with that film that he walked out after ten minutes and demanded his money back. 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 by Ralph McQuarrie. 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. 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. In 1976 sculptor Liz Moore finalised the character's design and the Art department modelled the costume on Daniels' body. 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. 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. 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.
On the 22nd of 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 alongside Mark Hamill Kenny Baker inside R2-D2 Phil Brown as Uncle Owen and several Jawa extras. He found the first days of shooting Star Wars challenging because the fiber-glass and aluminium costume was restrictive. It took two 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 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 Sand Person 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. Following that Daniels cast and crew moved to Elstree Studios in London for interior scenes including the Death Star. The hot summer of 1976 and little air-conditioning made wearing the costume difficult for Daniels. He got in touch with several 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.
Daniels' first C-3PO voice work in animation was the animated segment of the Star Wars Holiday Special. The animated segment received favourable reviews. He voiced C-3PO in the 1980 Christmas-themed Christmas in the Stars album. Daniels voiced C-3PO in the Star Wars radio serial based on the original trilogy starting off with 1981's Star Wars to 1996's Return of the Jedi. Daniels is the only cast member of the original Star Wars trilogy to voice his character in all three parts of NPR's dramatisations of the trilogy. Hamill voiced his character in the first two parts and Joshua Fardon voiced Luke Skywalker in the third part. The radio series expanded the original trilogy by incorporating new scenes. Brian Daley scripted a scene between C-3PO and Boba Fett in Jabba's palace however Daniels rejected the idea insisting the two characters should not be on friendly terms. Fett was replaced by Arica from Timothy Zahn's Tales from Jabba's Palace. He contributed the foreword to the collected scripts of the Return of the Jedi radio drama as their author Brian Daley died while they were being recorded. Daniels voiced C-3PO for six animated series including Droids Clone Wars The Clone Wars Rebels Forces of Destiny and Resistance. Thirteen episodes of Droids were broadcast in 1985 then the following year the one-hour television film The Great Heep was broadcast on ABC. Daniels said it was my favorite episode. Ben has a particular affection for me as C-3PO and natural empathy toward R2-D2. Daniels voiced C-3PO in 2008's The Clone Wars. While the film received negative reviews the television series of the same name that followed received praise for the character's development story arcs and animation.
In Episode I: The Phantom Menace Daniels only voiced the character which a puppeteer named Michael Lynch built and played on set. While some of the younger versions of established characters were portrayed by new cast members Daniels Baker Frank Oz and Ian McDiarmid were the only actors from the original trilogy who reprised their roles in the film. Development began on the sequel in March 2000 and filming began on the 26th of June 2000 at Fox Studios Sydney Australia. Daniels attempted to puppeteer the skeletal C-3PO himself on location in Tunisia in Episode II: Attack of the Clones but after the script was changed with the character wearing coverings he returned to playing the droid in costume. This marked the first time Daniels filmed scenes in Tunisia since 1976. One of his gold outfits was painted to depict C-3PO's coverings being rusted. In this film and 2005's Episode III: Revenge of the Sith the last instalment in the prequel trilogy he also performed the vocal tracks for scenes that featured a computer-generated C-3PO. On the 24th of July 2003 after Daniels finished filming in the hallway of the Alderaan starcruiser Lucas said This is it the end of the movie. Not the exact end but the end for you for another twenty years. It was the last film to be distributed by 20th Century Fox. The neck part of his costume was re-created by Droid supervisor Don Bies which made it more comfortable.
In April 2014 it was announced that Daniels would join the cast of the first instalment of the Star Wars sequel trilogy. He voiced C-3PO in the 2014 animated film The Lego Movie alongside other crew members of the Millennium Falcon. Daniels watched the film in New York describing it as ingenious. He once visited the Lego factory in Denmark and said I was fascinated by the witty-looking robots that stamped out multicolored blocks of plastic. Daniels received a twenty inch Lego model of C-3PO from Michael Donovan and Michael Price. In November 2015 he hosted Star Wars and the Power of Costume. J.J. Abrams the director of The Force Awakens told Daniels that he was only going to be the voice of C-3PO in the film but changed his mind and decided Daniels would wear the suit in the film as well. Abrams made a new C-3PO suit with David Merryweather in charge of the redesign for Daniels to wear during filming using 3D printing instead of fiberglass. This allowed Daniels a great deal more mobility and comfort than the original suit and took less time to get into. Daniels has stated his displeasure with the droid's red arm. Abrams insisted that the red arm would show a back story since The Force Awakens is set 30 years after Return of the Jedi. Sandstorms in Jordan made filming scenes for The Rise of Skywalker difficult for Daniels. He suggested to Abrams that C-3PO should be given a meaningful end. Abrams said to Daniels not on my watch.
Outside the Skywalker saga Daniels appeared in a cameo as C-3PO in 2016's Rogue One the first standalone film in the Star Wars anthology series. Prior to filming film director Gareth Edwards met Daniels expressing enthusiasm for him to make an appearance in his film. Daniels filmed scenes for the hangar bay on Yavin 4 at Cardington. Merryweather added more refinements to the costume. Daniels attended the premiere of Rogue One at Tate Modern. After coming up with an idea to the producers of either appearing as an extra or making a cameo Daniels made an appearance as Tak a con artist working in the spice mines of Kessel in the second anthology film Solo: A Star Wars Story. He filmed his scenes at Pinewood Studios. This marked the first time Daniels did not portray C-3PO in a Star Wars film. Daniels also voiced C-3PO's cameo appearance in the 2018 film Ralph Breaks the Internet. He made cameos as C-3PO in Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ahsoka. Daniels is the only actor to act in all nine films of the Skywalker saga two anthology films the Star Wars Holiday Special the 2008 Clone Wars film the related television series and several TV series and specials animated and live-action. In March 2017 All Nippon Airways introduced a Boeing 777 modelled after C-3PO into service. Daniels attended the ANA booth at Star Wars Celebration Europe in 2016 where the design of the model was unveiled and signed it.
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Common questions
When and where was Anthony Daniels born?
Anthony Daniels was born on the 21st of February 1946 in Salisbury, Wiltshire. His father worked as an executive for a plastics company.
How did Anthony Daniels get cast as C-3PO in Star Wars?
Anthony Daniels met director George Lucas in Soho Square on the 14th of November 1975 while working in a Young Vic production. He initially turned down the interview but was persuaded by his agent to meet Lucas before eventually accepting the role after seeing concept designs by Ralph McQuarrie.
What were the filming conditions like for Anthony Daniels during the first day of shooting Star Wars?
Filming began on the 22nd of March 1976 in Tunisia where the restrictive fiberglass and aluminium costume took two hours to put on. The desert heat or cold made wearing the suit difficult and caused Daniels to suffer scars, scratches, and bruises from the uncomfortable gear.
Which animated series has Anthony Daniels voiced C-3PO in since 1980?
Anthony Daniels voiced C-3PO in six animated series including Droids, Clone Wars, The Clone Wars Rebels, Forces of Destiny, and Resistance. He also provided the voice for the character in the 2008 film The Clone Wars and various other animated segments starting with the Star Wars Holiday Special.
How did Anthony Daniels participate in the Star Wars sequel trilogy films released between 2014 and 2019?
Anthony Daniels joined the cast of the sequel trilogy in April 2014 and wore a redesigned suit created using 3D printing technology for The Force Awakens. He filmed scenes in Jordan for The Rise of Skywalker but was told by director J.J. Abrams that his character would not receive a meaningful end.