Ian McDiarmid

Ian McDiarmid was born on August 11, 1944 in Carnoustie, Tayside, Scotland. He studied for a Master's degree in Clinical Psychology at the University of St. Andrews, but eventually found that his calling was in theatre. He went to the Royal Academy in Glasgow, where he received the prestigious gold medal for his work.

His Star Wars character, Senator Palpatine, is believed to have been named after the character Senator Palantine, who appears in the film Taxi Driver (1976). In Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005), Palpatine conceals a lightsaber in his sleeve and brings the hilt into his hand when he is about to engage in a fight. As Travis Bickle, Robert De Niro conceals his handgun likewise in Taxi Driver (1976).

Based his character Emperor Palpatine's unusual voice on the Japanese method of using your stomach to project yourself. The result was a strange, guttural croak that Lucas decided was perfect for the character of Palpatine. In an earlier draft of Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980), the Emperor was described as having a voice that was even deeper and more terrifying than Darth Vader's.

In 1982, he played Harry Hackamore, a Howard Hughes-type character, in the play, "Seduced", by Sam Shepard. This showed his ability to convincingly play, in close-up, a character much older than himself. This is what attracted the attention of George Lucas and Richard Marquand, who decided that he could play the Emperor in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983), which was already in production at the time.

In an odd twist of fate, he played an elderly, disfigured Emperor Palpatine in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983), and then went on to play a younger version of that character, some 20 years later, in the Star Wars prequels.

Has appeared in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988), which is a remake of Bedtime Story (1964), which starred Marlon Brando. He also appeared in Heart of Darkness (1993), which is based on the Joseph Conrad story of the same name, which was previously filmed as Apocalypse Now (1979), also with Brando.

He now has a highly successful career as a theatre director, and from 1990 until his retirement in 2001, was Joint Artistic Director of London's Almeida Theatre in Islington. He and his co-director Jonathan Kent revived the Almeida and persuaded many Hollywood stars including Kevin Spacey, Ralph Fiennes and Anna Friel to tread the boards in their humble theatre.

He was awarded the 2001 London Critics Circle Theatre Award (Drama) for Best Actor for his performance in "Faith Healer" at the Almeida at King's Cross.

Appearing, as Stevens, in the BBC Radio 4's adaptation of "The Remains of the Day", starring with Julia Ford, Oliver Ford Davies, Peter Sallis, Anton Lesser, Adrian Scarborough, Garrick Hagon, 'Ed Bishop', 'Tom George', 'Maggie McCarthy', 'Ben Crowe', Deborah Findlay, 'David Shaw-Parker', Becky Hindley and Tracy Wiles. [August 2003]

Currently starring in the Donmar Warehouse production "Henry IV", now showing at The Bristol Old Vic in Bristol, England. [July 2004]

The make-up he had to wear in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005) took about two hours to apply and two to take off. By the end of principal photography, the make-up artists had been able to get it on in an hour and a half.