Ian McDiarmid - wikipedia Ian McDiarmid Ian McDiarmid McDiarmid at the 2007 Celebration Europe. ( 1944 - 08 - 11 ) 11 August 1944 ( age 73 ) Carnoustie, Scotland Alma mater University of St. Andrews Occupation Actor, theatre director Years active 1968 -- present Ian McDiarmid ( / məkˈdɜːrmɪd / ; born 11 August 1944 ) is an Olivier and Tony award - winning British character actor and director. He has appeared in 47 films since 1976. Internationally, he is most famous for his role as Palpatine in the Star Wars film series. Contents 1 Early life 2 Theatre 3 Star Wars 4 Television and radio 5 Work in theatre 5.1 Stage appearances 5.2 Stage director 6 Filmography 6.1 Theatrical film 6.2 Television 7 Awards and nominations 8 References 9 External links Early life McDiarmid was born in Carnoustie, Scotland. He became a theatre aficionado when he was five years old, when his father took him to see an act named Tommy Morgan at a theatre in Dundee. In 2004, he stated, `` It sort of fascinated me, and it also scared me. All those lights, all that make - up. I said to myself, ' I do n't know what this is, but I want it. ' '' However, fearing his father 's disapproval, McDiarmid attended Queens College, Dundee, part of the University of St Andrews, where he received an M.A. in psychology. Soon after, he decided to pursue a career in the theatre instead, and took acting training courses at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow. In 1968, McDiarmid received a gold medal for his work, the first of many recognitions given to him for his work in the theatre. McDiarmid claimed he became its recipient `` by doing all the boring jobs you have to do when you are young, to eke out an existence. '' Theatre McDiarmid is renowned for his work in British theatre, having won plaudits as an actor and director from a wide variety of sources. He has starred in a variety of Shakespeare plays, including Hamlet ( 1972 ), The Tempest ( 1974, 2000 ), Much Ado About Nothing ( 1976 ), Ross and the Porter in Trevor Nunn 's 1976 Macbeth ( television 1978 ), The Merchant of Venice ( 1984 ) and King Lear ( 2005 ). From April to June 2012, he played the title role in Timon of Athens at Chicago Shakespeare Theater. He played Ivanov in Tom Stoppard 's play Every Good Boy Deserves Favour at the Mermaid Theatre in 1978. From 1990, McDiarmid and Jonathan Kent served as the artistic directors of the Almeida Theatre in Islington, London, gaining the commitment of prominent actresses such as Glenda Jackson and Claire Bloom for their productions. The two men resigned in 2001 with the venue in good shape. In 1998, they shared the Special Evening Standard Award for Theatrical Achievement of the Year. Their tenure was marked by a string of highly successful performances involving actors such as Kevin Spacey and Ralph Fiennes. While connected with the Almeida, McDiarmid directed plays such as Venice Preserv 'd ( 1986 ) and Hippolytus ( 1991 ). In 2002, McDiarmid won Almeida Theatre 's Critic 's Circle Award for Best Actor for his role as Teddy in a revival of Brian Friel 's Faith Healer. Five years later in 2006, he reprised this role in his debut on Broadway. Directed by Kent, he performed alongside Ralph Fiennes and Cherry Jones, and won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play. One theatrical performance of note is his portrayal of Harry Hackamore in Sam Shepard 's play Seduced. By McDiarmid 's own description, Hackamore was a Howard Hughes - type character. To play the part, he was made - up in prosthetics, including a false beard and long fingernails. McDiarmid was only 37 at the time, and this convinced George Lucas and Richard Marquand that he could convincingly play a much older character in extreme cinematic close - up, which helped him land the role of Palpatine. Star Wars Further information : Portrayal of Palpatine After a minor part in the film Dragonslayer, McDiarmid was cast by George Lucas in Return of the Jedi as Emperor Palpatine, the main villain. Sixteen years after appearing in Return of the Jedi, he reprised the role as the character 's younger incarnation of Senator Palpatine and Sith Lord Darth Sidious in the prequel films : The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith. The prequels had him play two faces to his character ; he re-created his diabolical interpretation of Palpatine from Return of the Jedi when playing Darth Sidious, the Chancellor 's Sith alter ego, but created a pleasant, charming character in Palpatine 's public persona. In the 2004 re-release of The Empire Strikes Back, a brief scene between Darth Vader and a hologram of Emperor Palpatine was updated to include McDiarmid. The Emperor was originally voiced by Clive Revill for that scene, and visually portrayed by Marjorie Eaton. With this addition to The Empire Strikes Back, McDiarmid has now appeared in every live - action film version in which Palpatine appears. He has also worked with the Star Wars expanded universe as the voice of Palpatine in the video game adaptations of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, Super Star Wars : The Empire Strikes Back and Super Star Wars : Return of the Jedi. McDiarmid made a small appearance during Celebration Europe. On 23 -- 26 August 2012, he attended Celebration VI in Orlando, Florida and had his own show titled The Phantom Menace : Ian McDiarmid, hosted by James Arnold Taylor, in which he talked about his experience working on Star Wars and how he landed the role of Palpatine. Ian McDiarmid also voiced a pig version of Palpatine for a promo video on Angry Birds Star Wars II, entitled `` Join the Pork Side ''. Television and radio McDiarmid took an early role as Mickey Hamilton, a killer intent on avenging the death of his wife and child in The Professionals for London Weekend Television. In 1990, he starred in the Inspector Morse episode `` Masonic Mysteries '' as the psychopathic con man Hugo DeVries. In 1997, McDiarmid played the villain, Ronald Hinks, in the Touching Evil two - part episode `` Through the Clouds / The Lost Boys ''. He played the role of police detective Porfiry Petrovich in the BBC 's 2002 adaptation of Fyodor Dostoyevsky 's Crime and Punishment. In 2003, McDiarmid took the role of the Stuart statesman Edward Hyde, in the BBC series Charles II : The Power and The Passion. In 2005, he portrayed Satan in the 41 - part BBC Four radio drama based on John Milton 's Paradise Lost, which was subsequently re-broadcast on BBC7. Recently, he played the writer and pioneer of policing, Henry Fielding, in the Channel 4 historical drama series City of Vice and Denis Thatcher in 2009 's Margaret. McDiarmid played intelligence chief LeClerc in a 2009 BBC Radio dramatization of John le Carré 's The Looking Glass War. In 2014, he played a leading role as British Foreign Secretary Sir Edward Grey in the BBC television drama 37 Days, which is about the diplomatic crisis preceding the First World War. He also had a recurring role on series 2 of Utopia, playing the role of Anton. In September 2016, McDiarmid starred in the audio podcast drama series Akiha Den Den. He played Cuttings, a ham radio buff who picks up a mysterious voice ( Joy McAvoy ) coming from an abandoned amusement park. Work in theatre Stage appearances Hamlet, Open Space Theatre, London, 1972 And They Put Handcuffs on the Flowers, Open Space Theatre, London, 1973 In the Jungle of Cities, Place Theatre, London, 1973 Macbeth, Belgrade Theatre, Coventry, England, 1973, then Bankside Globe Theatre, London, 1973 Measure for Measure, Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford - on - Avon, England, 1974 Macbeth, Royal Shakespeare Company, Aldwych Theatre, London, 1975 Macbeth, Royal Shakespeare Company, Other Place Theatre, Stratford - on - Avon, England, 1976 Destiny, Royal Shakespeare Company, Other Place Theatre, 1976 Dingo, Royal Shakespeare Company, Other Place Theatre, 1976 Schweyk in the Second World War, Royal Shakespeare Company, Other Place Theatre, 1976, then Warehouse Theatre, London, 1977 Much Ado About Nothing, Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford - on - Avon, 1976, then Aldwych Theatre, 1977 That Good Between Us, Royal Shakespeare Company, Warehouse Theatre, 1977 Macbeth, Royal Shakespeare Company, Warehouse Theatre, 1977 The Days of the Commune, Royal Shakespeare Company, Aldwych Theatre, 1977 Dingo, Royal Shakespeare Company, Warehouse Theatre, 1978 Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, Mermaid Theatre, London, 1978 Mephisto, adapted by Gordon McDougall from the book by Klaus Mann, Oxford Playhouse Company, The Roundhouse Theatre, London, 1981 The Worlds, New Half Moon Theatre, London, 1981 Ezra, New Half Moon Theatre, 1981 Insignificance, Royal Court Theatre, London, 1982 Tales from Hollywood, National Theatre, 1983 The Wild Duck by Henrik Ibsen, the Royal Exchange, Manchester, 1983 The Merchant of Venice, Royal Shakespeare Company, The Pit ( Barbican Centre ), 1984 The Party, Royal Shakespeare Company, The Pit ( Barbican Centre ), London, 1985 Henry V, Royal Shakespeare Company, Barbican Theatre, London, 1985 The War Plays, Royal Shakespeare Company, The Pit ( Barbican Centre ), 1985 Crimes in Hot Countries, Royal Shakespeare Company, The Pit ( Barbican Centre ), 1985 The Castle, Royal Shakespeare Company, The Pit ( Barbican Centre ), 1985 Downchild, Royal Shakespeare Company, The Pit ( Barbican Centre ), 1985 Edward II, Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, England, 1986 The Saxon Shore, Almeida Theatre Company, Almeida Theatre, 1986 Creditors, Almeida Theatre Company, Almeida Theatre, 1986 The Danton Affair, Royal Shakespeare Company, Barbican Theatre, 1986 Don Carlos, Royal Exchange Theatre, 1987 The Black Prince, Aldwych Theatre, 1989 Volpone, Almeida Theatre Company, Almeida Theatre, 1990 The Rehearsal, Almeida Theatre Company, Almeida Theatre, 1990 Lulu, Almeida Theatre Company, Almeida Theatre, 1991 Hippolytus, Almeida Theatre Company, Almeida Theatre, 1991 The School for Wives, Almeida Theatre Company, Almeida Theatre, 1993 Hated Nightfall, Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, England, 1995 Tartuffe, Almeida Theatre Company, Almeida Theatre, 1996 The Government Inspector, Almeida Theatre Company, Almeida Theatre, 1997 The Doctor 's Dilemma, Almeida Theatre Company, Almeida Theatre, 1998 The Jew of Malta, Almeida Theatre, 1999 The Tempest, Almeida Theatre, 2000 -- 01 Faith Healer, Almeida Theatre Company, Almeida Theatre, 2001 Faith Healer, Gate Theatre in Dublin, 2001 -- 2002 The Embalmer, Almeida Theatre Company, Almeida Theatre, 2002 Henry IV, Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, England, 2004 Lear, Sheffield Crucible, 2005 Faith Healer, Booth Theatre, 2006 John Gabriel Borkman, Donmar Warehouse, 2007 Jonah and Otto, Manchester Royal Exchange, 2008 Be Near Me, National Theatre of Scotland and Donmar Warehouse, 2009 Six Characters in Search of an Author, Headlong Theatre, 2008 -- 2010 The Prince of Homburg, Donmar Warehouse, 2010 Emperor and Galilean, National Theatre, 2011 The Faith Machine, Royal Court Theatre, 2011 Timon of Athens, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, 2012 Life of Galileo, Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford, 2013 Merchant of Venice, Almeida, London, 2014 What Shadows, Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Birmingham, 2016 Stage director Venice Preserv 'd, Almeida Theatre Company, Almeida Theatre, 1986 Dom Juan, Royal Exchange Theatre, 1988 The Possibilities, Almeida Theatre Company, Almeida Theatre, 1988 Scenes from an Execution, Almeida Theatre, 1990 The Rehearsal, Almeida Theatre Company, Almeida Theatre, 1990 Volpone, Almeida Theatre Company, Almeida Theatre, 1990 Lulu, Almeida Theatre Company, Almeida Theatre, 1991 Hippolytus, Almeida Theatre Company, Almeida Theatre, 1991 A Hard Heart, Almeida Theatre Company, Almeida Theatre, 1992 Venice Preserv 'd, Almeida Theatre Company, Almeida Theatre, 1995 Filmography Theatrical film Year Film Role Other notes 1976 The Likely Lads Vicar 1980 Sir Henry at Rawlinson End Reg Smeeton Richard 's Things Burglar The Awakening Dr. Richter The Empire Strikes Back The Emperor Uncredited appearance replacing Marjorie Eaton and Clive Revill in message scene for 2004 DVD and subsequent re-releases 1981 Dragonslayer Brother Jacobus Return of the Jedi The Emperor Gorky Park Prof. Andreev 1988 Dirty Rotten Scoundrels Arthur 1995 Restoration Ambrose 1999 Star Wars : Episode I -- The Phantom Menace Senator Palpatine / Darth Sidious Sleepy Hollow Dr. Thomas Lancaster 2002 Star Wars : Episode II -- Attack of the Clones Chancellor Palpatine / Darth Sidious 2005 Star Wars : Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith Chancellor Palpatine / Darth Sidious Nominated -- Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated -- Teen Choice Awards for Choice Movie Villain 2009 The Odds Unknown Short 2016 The Lost City of Z Sir George Goldie Television Year TV Series Role Number of episodes Other notes 1976 Red Letter Day Blade 1 episode 1978 Crown Court Greg Gorgon 1 episode 1979 Macbeth Ross & the Porter TV movie The Professionals Mickey Hamilton 1 episode `` The Madness of Mickey Hamilton '' 1981 ITV Playhouse Fedka 1 episode The Nation 's Health Doctor Vernon Davis 4 episodes 1985 Pity in History Murgatroyd 1988 The Modern World : Ten Great Writers Fyodor Dostoyevsky 1 episode 1990 Inspector Morse Hugo De Vries 1 episode `` Masonic Mysteries '' 1991 Chernobyl : The Final Warning Dr. Vatisenko The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles Professor Levi 1 episode `` Paris, October 1916 '' ( later edited into `` Chapter 9 : Demons of Deception '' ) Heart of Darkness Doctor Selected Exits Unknown 1995 Annie : A Royal Adventure ! Dr. Eli Eon Karaoke Oliver Morse 4 episodes Cold Lazarus Oliver Morse 1 episode Hillsborough Dr. Popper An Unsuitable Job for a Woman Ronald Callender 1 episode Rebecca Coroner Touching Evil Ronald Hinks 2 episodes 1999 Great Expectations Jaggers All the King 's Men Rev. Pierrepoint Edwards 2002 Crime and Punishment Porfiry Petrovich 2003 Charles II : The Power and The Passion Sir Edward Hyde TV movie The Making of ' Charles II ' Himself / Sir Edward Hyde TV documentary Spooks Prof. Fred Roberts 1 episode 2005 Our Hidden Lives B. Charles Elizabeth I Lord Burghley 2 episodes Alongside Helen Mirren and Jeremy Irons 2008 City of Vice Henry Fielding 5 episodes 2009 Margaret Denis Thatcher 2013 Words with Warwick Himself / Palpatine 1 episode `` Ian McDiarmid '' 2014 37 Days Sir Edward Grey Utopia Anton / Phillip Carvel 5 episodes # 2.2 - # 2.6 2017 Britannia King Pellenor Awards and nominations Year Award Work 1968 Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama Gold Medal ( won ) 1982 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a New Play ( won ) Insignificance 1985 Time Out Comedy Awards for Directing ( won ) Scenes from an Execution 1990 Time Out Comedy Awards for Directing ( won ) Volpone 1991 Observer Awards for Outstanding Achievement for Ten Years of Presenting Irish Drama ( nominated ) Volpone, The Rehearsal, and Betrayal Field 1995 Manchester Evening News Award for Best Actor ( won ) Hated Nightfall 1998 Special Evening Standard Award for Theatrical Achievement of the Year ( shared with Jonathan Kent ) Critics ' Circle Theatre Award for Best Theatre Actor ( won ) Faith Healer 2002 Clarence Derwent Award for Best Supporting Actor ( won ) Faith Healer Manchester Evening News Award for Best Actor ( won ) Theatregoers ' Choice Award for Best Actor ( won ) Henry IV 2005 Theatregoers ' Choice Award for Best Actor ( won ) King Lear 2006 Drama League Award for Distinguished Performance ( nominated ) Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play ( nominated ) Theatre World Award for Outstanding Debut Performance ( won ) Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play ( won ) Faith Healer References Jump up ^ Irvine, Lindesay. `` In the Shadow of Evil ''. The Guardian. Jump up ^ Simon Hattenstone ( 17 December 2001 ). `` Force for change ''. The Guardian. Retrieved 27 August 2006. Jump up ^ Star Wars Actors Database at Nerf-Herders-Anonymous.net. Retrieved 23 August 2006. Jump up ^ `` Timon of Athens '', Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Retrieved 2013 - 06 - 12. Jump up ^ Matt Wolf `` Theater ; A New London Theater Team Is Attracting Stars '', New York Times, 11 March 1990 Jump up ^ Michael Billington `` ' Our time had come ' '', The Guardian, 5 September 2001 Jump up ^ Fiachra Gibbons ( 5 September 2001 ). `` Celebrated double act quits Almeida theatre ''. The Guardian. Retrieved 23 October 2006. Jump up ^ Simi Horwitz ( 5 September 2001 ). `` The Emperor 's New Role ''. BackStage. Archived from the original on 2008 - 12 - 01. Retrieved 24 October 2006. Jump up ^ Ian McDiarmid at the Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 26 August 2006. Jump up ^ Rinzler, J.W. ( 22 Oct 2013 ). The Making of Star Wars : The Empire Strikes Back ( Enhanced ed. ). Ballantine Group. ISBN 9780345543363. Jump up ^ Courley, Matt. `` I Was There Too ''. earwolf.com. Earwolf. Retrieved 10 November 2016. Jump up ^ `` Yoda was originally played by a monkey in a mask, and other secrets of The Empire Strikes Back ''. io9. Retrieved 30 November 2010. Jump up ^ Join the Pork Side Facebook Jump up ^ Ed Pettit ( 23 November 2006 ). `` Of Man 's first disobedience ''. Archived from the original on 15 October 2007. Retrieved 10 February 2007. Jump up ^ `` Round House and Open Space, theatre companies : Catalogue of records in the Victoria and Albert Museum : Theatre Collections '', Victoria and Albert Museum. Retrieved 2013 - 06 - 12. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ian McDiarmid. Ian McDiarmid at the Internet Broadway Database Ian McDiarmid on IMDb Ian McDiarmid at the TCM Movie Database Ian McDiarmid at AllMovie Star Wars Actors Database at Nerf-Herders-Anonymous.net Bio from the official Star Wars site Laurence Olivier Award for Actor of the Year in a New Play Paul Copley ( 1976 ) Michael Bryant ( 1977 ) Tom Conti ( 1978 ) Ian McKellen ( 1979 ) Roger Rees ( 1980 ) Trevor Eve ( 1981 ) Ian McDiarmid ( 1982 ) Jack Shepherd ( 1983 ) Brian Cox ( 1984 ) David Haig ( 1988 ) Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play 1949 -- 1975 Arthur Kennedy ( 1949 ) Eli Wallach ( 1951 ) John Cromwell ( 1952 ) John Williams ( 1953 ) John Kerr ( 1954 ) Francis L. Sullivan ( 1955 ) Ed Begley ( 1956 ) Frank Conroy ( 1957 ) Henry Jones ( 1958 ) Charlie Ruggles ( 1959 ) Roddy McDowall ( 1960 ) Martin Gabel ( 1961 ) Walter Matthau ( 1962 ) Alan Arkin ( 1963 ) Hume Cronyn ( 1964 ) Jack Albertson ( 1965 ) Patrick Magee ( 1966 ) Ian Holm ( 1967 ) James Patterson ( 1968 ) Al Pacino ( 1969 ) Ken Howard ( 1970 ) Paul Sand ( 1971 ) Vincent Gardenia ( 1972 ) John Lithgow ( 1973 ) Ed Flanders ( 1974 ) Frank Langella ( 1975 ) 1976 -- 2000 Edward Herrmann ( 1976 ) Jonathan Pryce ( 1977 ) Lester Rawlins ( 1978 ) Michael Gough ( 1979 ) David Rounds ( 1980 ) Brian Backer ( 1981 ) Zakes Mokae ( 1982 ) Matthew Broderick ( 1983 ) Joe Mantegna ( 1984 ) Barry Miller ( 1985 ) John Mahoney ( 1986 ) John Randolph ( 1987 ) B.D. Wong ( 1988 ) Boyd Gaines ( 1989 ) Charles Durning ( 1990 ) Kevin Spacey ( 1991 ) Laurence Fishburne ( 1992 ) Stephen Spinella ( 1993 ) Jeffrey Wright ( 1994 ) John Glover ( 1995 ) Ruben Santiago - Hudson ( 1996 ) Owen Teale ( 1997 ) Tom Murphy ( 1998 ) Frank Wood ( 1999 ) Roy Dotrice ( 2000 ) 2001 -- present Robert Sean Leonard ( 2001 ) Frank Langella ( 2002 ) Denis O'Hare ( 2003 ) Brían F. O'Byrne ( 2004 ) Liev Schreiber ( 2005 ) Ian McDiarmid ( 2006 ) Billy Crudup ( 2007 ) Jim Norton ( 2008 ) Roger Robinson ( 2009 ) Eddie Redmayne ( 2010 ) John Benjamin Hickey ( 2011 ) Christian Borle ( 2012 ) Courtney B. Vance ( 2013 ) Mark Rylance ( 2014 ) Richard McCabe ( 2015 ) Reed Birney ( 2016 ) Michael Aronov ( 2017 ) VIAF : 223611444 LCCN : no2001074508 ISNI : 0000 0003 6225 0729 GND : 142616826 SUDOC : 157051323 MusicBrainz : 17e1186e - dc20 - 4ed9 - a2b7 - d792972165da IATH : w6nd0fp6 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ian_McDiarmid&oldid=793644403 '' Categories : 1944 births Alumni of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama Alumni of the University of St Andrews Laurence Olivier Award winners Living people Royal Shakespeare Company members Actors at the Royal Exchange, Manchester Scottish male film actors Scottish male stage actors Scottish male television actors People from Carnoustie Tony Award winners 21st - century Scottish male actors 20th - century Scottish male actors Scottish theatre directors Scottish male Shakespearean actors Hidden categories : Wikipedia semi-protected pages Use British English from January 2011 Use dmy dates from August 2012 Articles with hCards All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from April 2016 Articles with IBDb links Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz identifiers Wikipedia articles with SNAC - ID identifiers Talk View source Contents About Wikipedia Acèh Català Čeština Dansk Deutsch Español Euskara فارسی Français Galego 한국어 Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית Latina Magyar Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Română Русский Simple English Suomi Svenska Türkçe Українська Tiếng Việt Edit links This page was last edited on 3 August 2017, at 02 : 19. 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Question: who played the sith lord in return of the jedi
Answer: Ian McDiarmid