Anthony Daniels ( AN-tə-nee; born 21 February 1946) is a British actor and mime artist, best known for playing C-3PO in 11 Star Wars films, from Star Wars (1977) to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019). He wore the costume and voiced his character in the films and several animated television series. Initially, Daniels did not want to play a robotic character; however Ralph McQuarrie's first concept painting of C-3PO and R2-D2 on Tatooine evoked empathy from him.
For nearly 50 years, Daniels has held the distinction of being the only actor to have either appeared in or been involved with all theatrical films in the series. He has been involved in many of their spin-offs, including television series, video games, and radio serials. His other roles included CZ-3 in Star Wars, Tak in Solo: A Star Wars Story and more. Daniels also portrayed C-3PO in several commercials, non-canon films, including The Lego Movie, and non-canon television shows, including The Muppet Show. Outside the films, he has narrated and hosted some documentaries (starting off with the 1977 television special, The Making of Star Wars and later Science of Star Wars). Daniels (as C-3PO) has also narrated some documentaries retelling the films. He has hosted several events, including Star Wars: In Concert, since 2009. Daniels has recounted the challenges he faced while filming Star Wars in Tunisia in several documentaries, including Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy. His involvement in the franchise and association with his character from meeting film director George Lucas in November 1975 to wrapping up on The Rise of Skywalker has been detailed in his 2019 memoirs, I Am C-3PO: The Inside Story.
Prior to his involvement in the franchise, Daniels appeared in several theatrical productions, including Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. He voiced Legolas in Ralph Bakshi's animated adaptation of The Lord of the Rings (1978). He has appeared intermittently on British television in various dramas, including playing a pathologist in Prime Suspect starring Helen Mirren and Colonel Donald Humphries in Holby City. Daniels was an adjunct professor at Carnegie Mellon University's Entertainment Technology Center.
1946–1975: Education and theatre
Daniels was born in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, the son of a plastics company executive. He regularly attended the theatre with his parents and expressed an interest in acting after seeing Dick Whittington at the age of five. At the age of seven, he watched the 1953 BBC science fiction television series, The Quatermass Experiment and a few years later Doctor Who. Daniels wanted to pursue acting however, his parents persuaded him to study law.
Daniels was educated at Giggleswick School, North Yorkshire and studied law for two years at university. During those two years, he was member of an amateur dramatic society. After receiving encouragement from a teacher, John Law to pursue acting, Daniels dropped out to participate in amateur dramatics and attend Rose Bruford College. He auditioned for a place at London's Central School of Speech and Drama where his future co-star, Carrie Fisher attended. During that time he learned several techniques from acting, improvisation and mime classes. After leaving the college in 1974, Daniels won the annual Carlton Hobbs Award and worked on BBC Radio and for the National Theatre of Great Britain at The Young Vic. He worked with Paul Blake, a future co-star in Star Wars, on his first television job. Daniels appeared in William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing and Macbeth. Daniels 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. Daniels persuaded Timothy to audition for the part of Han Solo. In December 1975, Harrison Ford was ultimately cast as the character. Daniels took part in the play at the Criterion Theatre in Piccadilly Circus, a week before he flew from London to Djerba to begin filming Star Wars. He was a member of the BBC's Radio Drama Company performing in several of their productions and speaks fluent French.
On 14 November 1975, whilst working in the theatre and appearing in a Young Vic production of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, he was invited to meet director George Lucas in Soho Square, who was casting for Star Wars. Daniels at first turned down the interview but was persuaded by his agent to meet Lucas. Daniels has said that before his role in Star Wars, the only science fiction film he had ever seen in a theatre was 2001: A Space Odyssey in 1968; he was so displeased with the film that he walked out after ten minutes and demanded his money back. After Daniels was cast as C-3PO, Lucas recommended that he watch the film in its entirety to study HAL 9000's voice. In a 2011 interview, Daniels said that he now regards 2001 as a masterpiece and that he also enjoys post-apocalyptic films such as Mad Max. In his 2019 memoirs, he praised the film and said HAL "made a lasting impression" on him.
1975–1976: Beginnings - Bringing C-3PO to life and filming
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 C-3PO (named C-3 in an early draft) by Ralph McQuarrie; he was moved by the character's forlorn expression. 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. Lucas requested C-3PO to look more mechanical and less human. 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. Daniels and Peter Cushing were cast after it was decided that the production would be filmed near London.
In 1976, sculptor Liz Moore finalised the character's design and the Art department modelled the costume on Daniels' body before it was built "from gold-painted fibreglass sheets." 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. He said, "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." Prior to filming, Daniels wore the complete costume only once during a test in England. 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. While filming scenes for Star Wars in Tunisia, Daniels and the crew were told about Moore's death; she died in a car crash. Daniels mentioned her in several interviews and his memoirs saying, "I will always remember Liz as a most beautiful and kind and creative soul."
On 22 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 and they also featured Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, Kenny Baker inside R2-D2, Phil Brown as Uncle Owen and several Jawa extras. Daniels' first scene was C-3PO's interaction with Owen Lars. During the first take of a close-up, there were technical difficulties with a misplaced wire and C-3PO's eyes not illuminating. Daniels found the first days of shooting Star Wars challenging because the fiber-glass and aluminium costume was restrictive, physically demanding, took a long time (2 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 the 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 Tusken Raider 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 of filming. Daniels and the crew experienced technical difficulties with a motorised R2-D2 and several scenes "had to be re-shot numerous times because his motors kept playing up and he'd rocket away from everyone". Filming in Tunisia continued up to 4 April 1976. He later chronicled the challenges he faced in further detail in his memoirs.