C-3PO

Background:

“When the first movie was coming out people didn't even know I was in it.” Anthony Daniels (on his role in "Star Wars")

Beginning his professional acting career with the BBC Drama Repertory Company and the National Theatre of Great Britain at The Young Vic, British actor Anthony Daniels is popular among “Star Wars” fans as the robot C3PO, who is also a companion to Luke Skywalker, in the phenomenally popular “Star Wars” saga: "Star Wars IV: A New Hope" (1977), "Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back" (1980), "Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi" (1983), "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).

He will revisit his C-3PO character in the upcoming CGI animated science fiction film "Star Wars: The Clone Wars," which serves as an introduction to the animated TV series of the same name to air on the Cartoon Network in August 2008.

The 5' 9" actor also provided his voice for the elf Legolas in the animated fantasy film adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's epic high fantasy novel, "The Lord of the Rings" (1978). He has appeared in a number of TV shows and TV movies, including the fourth installment of the British television acclaimed "Prime Suspect" (1995) series. He also portrayed British Admiral Nelson in the computer-animated web movie series on the BBC's website, "Ghosts of Albion: Embers" (2004).

English Man

Childhood and Family:

The son of an executive, Anthony Daniels was born on February 21, 1946, in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. While attending middle school in Yorkshire, he became interested in drama, but his parents urged him to pursue a more practical career.

After studying law for two years, Daniels realized that he didn't want to become a lawyer and subsequently switched to another interest, the hospitality industry. He later found this was uninteresting too, so he went back to his original interest, acting.

He became a member of an amateur dramatic society in Manchester and studied at an acting school for three years, thanks to a relative who had passed away and left him a small amount of money.

Daniels is now a visiting scholar at Carnegie Mellon University and lives in London, England.

Star Wars

Career:

Leaving college in 1974, Anthony Daniels got a place in the BBC Drama Repertory Company after winning the prestigious Carlton Hobbs BBC Radio Award. After hundreds of productions for BBC, he finally performed at the theater where he landed his first role as a 65-year-old in a production of Oliver Goldsmith's comedy "She Stoops to Conquer."

After playing a teenager in “Forget-me-not Lane,” the aspiring actor was asked to join the National Theatre of Great Britain at The Young Vic. He toured abroad and acted in their London home in many popular productions.

While acting in Tom Stoppard's tragic comedy “Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead,” Daniels was asked to meet filmmaker George Lucas who was about to make a science fiction movie filmed in England titled "Star Wars." Never being a science fiction fan, Daniels didn't want to waste Lucas' time and refused to have an interview with him. After his agent's encouragement, he eventually went to meet the director. In Lucas's office, he was impressed by a Ralph McQuarrie painting for “Star Wars” and finally agreed to play the role of C3P0.

He recalled, "I was cast against will actually. I was quite insulted to be offered a role as a robot. I mean, I was a serious actor. I wasn't going to be in some weird American movie as a robot, yet my agent insisted on it... [But] When I saw the painting by the design artist, the eyes of the character looked deep into my soul. He was a very forlorn figure with an abandoned air. He really did look into my soul. We made this tremendous contact."

The first of six films released in the "Star Wars" saga, "Star Wars," (1977) was ground-breaking in its use of special effects and is one of the most successful films of all time. The $11,000,000-budgeted film went on to earn $460 million in the United States and $337 million overseas. It also received several awards, including 10 Academy Award nominations and was re-released several times.

About the film, Daniels commented, "George's devotion to digital effects over-balanced the films. Too many digital funky characters become a little bit wearing. The storytelling always gets subsumed."

He also said, "The first film spoke to everyone on the planet. It still works as a funny, bright movie. It still has legs."

In the film, Daniels portrayed C-3PO, a protocol droid designed to serve humans. He would later reprise the role in NPR's radio production of "Star Wars," as well as in the “Star Wars'” sequels: "The Empire Strikes Back" (1980), "Return of the Jedi" (1983), "Attack of the Clones" (2002), and "Revenge of the Sith" (2005). In 1999, he appeared as an off-camera voice only in the fourth installment, "Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace." He also voiced C-3PO in the ABC animated series "Droids" (1985) in Disney's Star Tours ride in 1989, and in the Cartoon Network animated series "Star Wars: Clone Wars" (2003).

Meanwhile, Daniels also voiced the elf Legolas, one of the nine members of the Fellowship of the Ring, in the Ralph Bakshi-directed fantasy film adapted from the first half of J. R. R. Tolkien's epic fantasy novel, "The Lord of the Rings" (1978). He was also spotted as a guest in an episode of the gentle drama series "The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady" (1984), the BBC sitcom "Three Up, Two Down" (1985-1989) and the ITV children's anthology series "Dramarama" (1983-1989).

After appearing in the made-for-television movie "The World of Eddie Weary" (1990), Daniels starred in Dirk Campbell's low-budget horror spoof about a motorcycle possessed by an evil spirit, "I Bought a Vampire Motorcycle" (1990), in which he played the eccentric priest who attempts to exorcise the bike’s evil spirit.

He then spent the '90s starring in the TV movies "Young Indiana Jones and the Attack of the Hawkmen" (1995), "Prime Suspect 4: The Lost Child" (1995) and "Prime Suspect 4: Inner Circles" (1995), as well as guest starred in an episode of the long-running British television show "The Bill" (1983-Present), FOX’s sitcom starring comedian Martin Lawrence, "Martin" (1988-1997), and the TV series version of Enid Blyton's series of children's books, "The Famous Five" (1996).

Entering the new millennium, Daniels was spotted as a guest in an episode of BBC One’s remake of the 1960s television series, "Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased)" (2000-2001), the horror based series "Urban Gothic" (2000-2001) and BBC One's BAFTA award-winning medical drama "Holby City" (1999-Present). He also portrayed British Admiral Nelson in the computer animated web movie series on the BBC website, "Ghosts of Albion: Embers" (2004).

Daniels recently guest-starred in an episode of the BBC One daytime television soap opera "Doctors" and appeared in actor/writer/director Matt Busch's thriller film, "Conjure" (2006). He will revisit his C-3PO character in the upcoming CGI animated science fiction film "Star Wars: The Clone Wars," which serves as an introduction to the animated TV series of the same name to air on Cartoon Network in August 2008.

When asked if he is still fond of playing C3PO in the “Star Wars” saga, Daniels admitted, “It's very exciting, but it's kind of fun. The thing I would hate is if somebody began to say, 'Now wait a minute, that Lord Nelson person, he's sounding awfully like C3PO from Star Wars.' That would be a shame, but Threepio would be equally shocked if he suddenly sounded like Lord Nelson. So you do have to keep these things separate.”

Besides acting, Daniels has also composed music for children's shows and has a second career as a producer of special events.

Awards:
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