page_title: Darth Vader
section_title: Portrayals
hierarchical_section_title: Darth Vader / Creation and development / Portrayals
caption_attribution_description: English: David Prowse (the actor wearing Darth Vaders costume in the original STAR WARS-Trilogy) at RolePlay Convention Germany, June 2013 in Cologne Deutsch: David Prowse (trug Darth Vaders Kostüm in der originalen STAR WARS-Trilogie) auf der RolePlay Convention, Juni 2013 in Köln
context_page_description: Darth Vader is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. Born Anakin Skywalker, the character is a primary antagonist in the original trilogy and a primary protagonist in the prequel trilogy. Star Wars creator George Lucas has collectively referred to the first six episodic films of the franchise as "the tragedy of Darth Vader".
  Originally a slave on Tatooine, Anakin Skywalker is a Jedi prophesied to bring balance to the Force. He is lured to the dark side of the Force by Palpatine and becomes a Sith lord. After a lightsaber battle with his former mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi, in which he is severely injured, Vader is transformed into a cyborg. He then serves the Galactic Empire as its chief enforcer until he ultimately redeems himself by saving his son, Luke Skywalker, and killing Palpatine, sacrificing his own life in the process. He is also the secret husband of Padmé Amidala, father of Princess Leia, and grandfather of Kylo Ren.
context_section_description: Darth Vader was portrayed by bodybuilder David Prowse in the original film trilogy, and by stunt performer Bob Anderson during the character's lightsaber fight scenes. Lucas originally intended for Orson Welles to voice Vader (after dismissing using Prowse's own voice due to his English West Country accent, leading to the rest of the cast nicknaming him "Darth Farmer"). After deciding that Welles's voice would be too recognizable, he cast the lesser-known James Earl Jones instead. Jones initially felt his contributions to the films were too small to warrant recognition and his role was uncredited at his request until the release of Return of the Jedi (1983). When Jones was specifically asked if he had supplied Vader's voice for Revenge of the Sith—either newly or from a previous recording—Jones answered, "You'd have to ask Lucas about that. I don't know". Hayden Christensen and Gene Bryant alternately portray Vader in Revenge of the Sith. During the production of Revenge of the Sith, Christensen asked Lucas if a special Vader suit could be constructed to fit his own body, rather than have a different actor don one of the original sets of Vader armor worn by Prowse. Brock Peters provided the voice of Darth Vader in the NPR/USC radio series. Both Spencer Wilding and Daniel Naprous portrayed Vader in Rogue One (2016), with Jones reprising his role as the character's voice.
  Vader's character has also been portrayed in several video games; in games such as Rebel Assault II: The Hidden Empire and Dark Forces, visual effects artist C. Andrew Nelson appears in short sequences in the Vader costume, voiced by Scott Lawrence. Matt Sloan, who appeared in the YouTube parody Chad Vader, provided the voice of Darth Vader in The Force Unleashed. As a result of his video game appearances, Nelson was cast to appear as Vader in brief sequences inserted into the Special Edition of The Empire Strikes Back, in which Vader is seen boarding his shuttle.
  During production of Return of the Jedi, the casting crew sought an experienced actor for the role of Anakin Skywalker since his death was unquestionably the emotional climax of the film, and Sebastian Shaw was selected for the role. When Shaw arrived at the set for filming, he ran into his friend Ian McDiarmid, the actor playing the Emperor. When McDiarmid asked him what he was doing there, Shaw responded, "I don't know, dear boy, I think it's something to do with science-fiction." His presence during the filming was kept secret from all but the minimum cast and crew, and Shaw was contractually obliged not to discuss any film secrets with anyone, even his family. The unmasking scene, directed by Richard Marquand, was filmed in one day and required only a few takes, with no alteration from the original dialogue. Lucas personally directed Shaw for his appearance in the final scene of the film, in which he is a Force Ghost of Anakin. Shaw's image in this scene was replaced with that of Christensen in the 2004 DVD release. This last attempt to tie the prequel and original trilogies together proved to be possibly the most controversial change in the Star Wars re-releases. Shaw received more fan mail and autograph requests from Return of the Jedi than he had for any role in the rest of his career. He later reflected that he very much enjoyed his experience filming Return of the Jedi and expressed particular surprise that an action figure was made of him from the film.
  When The Phantom Menace was being produced, hundreds of actors were tested for the role of young Anakin before the producers settled on Jake Lloyd, who Lucas considered met his requirements of "a good actor, enthusiastic and very energetic". Producer Rick McCallum said that Lloyd was "smart, mischievous and loves anything mechanical—just like Anakin." During production of Attack of the Clones, casting director Robin Gurland reviewed about 1,500 other candidates for the role of the young Anakin before Lucas eventually selected Hayden Christensen for the role. When Revenge of the Sith was being produced, Christensen and Ewan McGregor bega
caption: David Prowse physically portrayed Vader in the original film trilogy.
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