Why actor Anthony Daniels will always be the neurotic Star Wars golden droid C-3PO
Anthony Daniels describes life in the Star Wars galaxy and living with the innocent and neurotic metallic gold droid, C-3PO, before appearing at this weekend’s Supanova pop-culture expo.
When Anthony Daniels met George Lucas in London in November 1975 to discuss the role of the metallic gold humanoid protocol droid, C-3PO, he was not sure he wanted to take on what would become an iconic character in the blockbuster Star Wars franchise.
Nobody had any idea of the impact the films and spin-off TV series, books, comics, toys and games would have on popular culture, or the billions of dollars they would make. But when Daniels saw Ralph McQuarrie’s concept art for the AI robot, he knew he wanted the role.
“I assumed George would be some kind of fairly gross-out Hollywood mogul and of course, he’s the opposite: somewhat introverted, quiet and shy, highly intelligent and just a really nice person,” Daniels, 78, tells The Australian via Zoom from Adelaide where he will appear at Supanova this weekend.
“But I still wasn’t interested. There were pictures all around the room of planets and spaceships and all that kind of thing. And it is not an exaggeration to say the face of the robot and the way he stood there, kind of totally forlorn and against this wasteland, absolutely touched my soul.
“I read the script and connected with this character. He was different to all the others, whether it was Leia (Carrie Fisher), Luke (Mark Hamill), Han Solo (Harrison Ford) or Darth Vader (David Prowse/James Earl Jones). He was concerned for everything, for himself, for the humans but nobody appeared to care for him.”
Daniels donned the gold-coloured suit in Star Wars (1977) and the sequels, The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and The Return of the Jedi (1983), plus the three prequel and three sequel trilogies, and other films, television, radio and games. He also played Tak in Solo (2018). Daniels has appeared – his voice only in The Phantom Menace (1999) – in every Star Wars movie and more than anyone else in the Star Wars universe.
C-3PO, who can communicate in millions of languages and offers advice on customs and protocol to the Rebels in their struggle against the Empire, has the first line in Star Wars.
“Did you hear that?” he says with a posh English accent to companion droid R2-D2. “They shut down the main reactor. We’ll be destroyed for sure. This is madness.”
The character’s wide-eyed innocence and constant neuroses help explain why it has resonance with fans. Audiences can identify with a character who often feels neglected, ignored and fearful. “We’re doomed,” C-3PO says. “We seem to be made to suffer. It is our lot in life.”
Daniels feels the emotional attachment many have to the character.
“Now we have got three generations who have seen the films,” Daniels says. “What I’ve had to get used to is that outpouring of emotion when somebody comes to meet me at a convention or wherever and they say to a person that they’ve not met before, but feel they know very well, ‘thank you’.
“It never occurred to me that C-3PO would be a kind of protective figure for people who are a bit socially awkward. Because 3PO certainly isn’t. ‘Sometimes I just don’t understand human behaviour’ is one of his lines. And there’s plenty of people on this planet who find human behaviour a little confrontational, a little awkward.”
A background in theatre, television and radio, with skills in improvisation and mime, provided Daniels with a useful grounding for the character. But filming in the barren landscape of Tunisia, and at Elstree Studios in England, was beset by production delays and little direction by Lucas. The 19-part C-3PO suit was “horrific” but “beautiful”, and the first day of filming was “memorably horrible”, he recalls.
“I had complete autonomy,” Daniels says. “Nobody gave me any advice at all. We’re starting with some guy dressed up in a metal and rubber and plastic costume. After two hours of being shoved into this thing and already in pain, I wobbled over to the set and George said, ‘action’. And that was it. No rehearsal.”
Nobody could hear what Daniels was saying because the helmet was so restrictive that he later dubbed lines in post-production. But Lucas contemplated hiring Richard Dreyfuss or Mel Blanc to provide the voice, among 30 who auditioned, but settled on Daniels.
When the film came out, Lucas suggested C-3PO was real, and therefore downplayed Daniels’ acting. “That really hurt,” he acknowledges. “It wasn’t an easy job. To be completely dismissed was cruel beyond belief. And it was hurtful to see the others being dashed around the planet getting upset when an interviewer would say, you know, ‘What’s it like to be upstaged by a robot?’. Now, people will approach me in the street and say, ‘You look awfully like this guy …’.”
Alec Guinness (Obi-Wan Kenobi) thought Lucas’s dialogue made little sense and struggled to comprehend the storyline. He described it as “mumbo jumbo” and “fairy-tale rubbish”. Guinness, one of the finest stage and screen actors of the 1940s and ’50s, despaired that he would be remembered as the Jedi Master who teaches Luke the ways of the Force. “I had to suspend belief that this made sense to somebody,” Daniels sympathises.
C-3PO has many scenes with R2-D2, originally portrayed by Kenny Baker. But they had no meaningful interaction. R2-D2’s beeps were added later. Daniels and Baker did not get on well. This writer has been in a cinema when a cheer went up as the quarrelsome droid duo appeared on screen. Yet R2-D2 was often empty, remotely operated or digitally added. “I was surprised that Kenny took quite so much credit for wobbling,” Daniels says.
Daniels enjoyed a camaraderie with Hamill, Ford, Fisher and Guinness. There were long days, location shoots and lines to learn. He describes Hamill as “energetic and enthusiastic”, and remembers Ford, Fisher and Guinness as “professional” and “disciplined” in their acting. But they all thought Star Wars was a dud. “We were united in our thought: we’ve got involved in a real turkey here,” he says. “It’s not going to work.”
An effort to capitalise on the phenomenon was the all-singing, all-dancing Star Wars Holiday Special (1978) with celebrity guests. Designed to boost toy sales, it was only broadcast once and never seen again, but can be found on YouTube. “A big mistake,” Daniels says, laughing. “It was atrocious. I was on it for three days and it was unbelievably awful.”
Daniels has grown “very protective” of C-3PO and knows not only how he walks and talks but how he thinks. Earlier this year, Daniels’ severed C-3PO head sold for £687,500 ($1.35m) at auction. After 45 years of taking it to events, photo shoots and interviews, it was time to let it go. But he will always be C-3PO.
“That head accompanied me for 45 years,” he recalls. “I did a little Hamlet moment to say goodbye. It was the picture of C-3PO on the wall which first drew me into the movie. C-3PO’s face is not symmetrical. Most humans do not have symmetrical faces; they’re asymmetric. And this helped, I think, give the character that humanity.”
Anthony Daniels is appearing at Supanova in Adelaide on November 2-3 and in Brisbane on November 8-10.
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