Anthony Daniels

English actorTemplate:SHORTDESC:English actor[[Category:**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Pagetype/config' not found.**s with short description]]

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**Anthony Daniels** (born 21 February 1946) is an English actor, voice actor, and mime artist. He is best known for playing C-3PO in the *Star Wars* film series, beginning with the original 1977 film. He is the only actor to have appeared in all theatrical films in the series, as well as many of its spin-offs, including television shows, video games, radio serials, etc.

Daniels was the voice of Legolas in the Ralph Bakshi 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. Daniels is currently an adjunct professor at Carnegie Mellon University's Entertainment Technology Center.

## Early life

Daniels was born in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, the son of a plastics company executive. He was educated at Giggleswick School and studied law for two years at university, then dropped out to participate in amateur dramatics and attend Rose Bruford College. After leaving school in 1974, Daniels worked on BBC Radio and for the National Theatre of Great Britain at The Young Vic. Whilst working in the theatre, he was invited to meet director George Lucas, 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 10 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.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** 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*.

He was a member of the BBC's Radio Drama Company, and speaks fluent French.

## Career

### *Star Wars*

 File:Warwick Davis & Anthony Daniels 2.jpg
After auditioning for the role of C-3PO, Daniels only became fully interested in it after seeing a concept design by Ralph McQuarrie.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Daniels did not see the final costume until after donning it for the shoot and being shown a Polaroid photograph.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** He struggled with delivering the character's lines until Lucas informed him that they would redub the dialogue in post-production.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Daniels also portrayed a protocol droid with a "white pointy face" in one shot in the original film.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Daniels was depressed with his lack of recognition after the film's successful release; he attributes this to Lucasfilm wanting audiences to believe that the droids were real.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**

Daniels has played C-3PO in all of the *Star Wars* feature films from the original installment in the series as the golden droid's body and voice. Kenny Baker, who played R2-D2 in the series until his death in 2016, said that he and Daniels did not get along.
Daniels has reprised the role for various promotional work such as hosting *The Making of Star Wars*, *Star Wars Connections* and *Science of Star Wars*, appearances on *The Muppet Show*, *Sesame Street*, an anti-smoking public service announcement, *The Star Wars Holiday Special*, and advertising for *Star Wars*-licensed products such as Kenner toys and a breakfast cereal based on the character.

Daniels voiced C-3PO in the *Star Wars* radio serial based on the original trilogy. He is the only cast member of the original *Star Wars* trilogy to voice his character in all three parts of NPR's dramatisations of the trilogy. He voiced C-3PO for five animated series: *Droids*, *Clone Wars*, *The Clone Wars*, *Rebels*, and *Forces of Destiny*. Other C-3PO voicework by Daniels includes: the Christmas-themed *Christmas in the Stars* album, Disney theme park attractions including Star Tours and Star Tours: The Adventures Continue, and the Star Tours shutdown ceremony as a part of Disney's Hollywood Studios' "Last Tour to Endor" event at *Star Wars* Celebration V in Orlando, Florida. He also provided the narration and all character voices for the audio books *Dark Force Rising* and *The Last Command*.

Daniels contributed the foreword to the collected scripts of the *Return of the Jedi* radio drama, as their author Brian Daley died while they were being recorded. Daniels' other *Star Wars*-related writings include the Wonder Column for *Star Wars Insider* magazine**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** and a comic book adventure for C-3PO and R2-D2 entitled *The Protocol Offensive*, published by Dark Horse Comics.

 File:AnthonyDanielsStandMay2011.jpg
In *Episode I: The Phantom Menace*, Daniels only voiced the character, which a puppeteer played on set.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Daniels attempted to puppeteer the character himself in the sequel, *Episode II: Attack of the Clones*, but after the script was changed, he returned to playing the droid in costume. In this film and 2005's *Episode III: Revenge of the Sith*, he also performed the vocal tracks for scenes that featured a computer-generated C-3PO. Daniels is the only actor to act in all nine films, the 2008 Clone Wars film, and the related television series.

Daniels also makes cameo appearances as a humanoid in two scenes of the feature films. His character, Lieutenant Dannl Faytonni, is named as a tribute to his own name, albeit in modified form. The character appears in the nightclub scene early in *Attack of the Clones* as a man in blue uniform who can be seen in a cutaway reaction shot after Obi-Wan Kenobi disarms the bounty hunter Zam Wesell. Faytonni can also be seen at the Galaxies Opera House in *Revenge of the Sith*.

Daniels reprised his role as C-3PO in the seventh *Star Wars* film, *The Force Awakens*, which was released in December 2015. J. J. Abrams, the director of *The Force Awakens*, told Daniels that he was only going to be the voice of C-3PO in the film, but changed his mind and decided Daniels would wear the suit in the film as well. Abrams made a new C-3PO suit for Daniels to wear during filming using 3D printing**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** that allowed Daniels a great deal more mobility and comfort than the original suit. Daniels has stated his displeasure with the droid's red arm.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Daniels also appeared as C-3PO in 2017's *The Last Jedi*, and 2019's *The Rise of Skywalker*.

Daniels appears in a cameo as C-3PO in 2016's *Rogue One*, the first standalone film in the *Star Wars* anthology series. He also makes an appearance as Tak in the second anthology film, *Solo: A Star Wars Story*,
and voiced C-3PO's cameo appearance in *Ralph Breaks the Internet*, and *The Lego Movie* alongside other crewmembers of the *Millennium Falcon*.
He has also hosted the *Star Wars: In Concert* tour in North America.

In March 2017, All Nippon Airways introduced a Boeing 777 modeled after C-3PO into service. Daniels attended the aircraft's unveiling.

### Other acting roles

Daniels was the voice of Legolas in the Ralph Bakshi animated adaptation of *The Lord of the Rings* (1978). He has appeared intermittently on British television in various dramas, notably in a recurring role in *Prime Suspect* starring Helen Mirren. He also played the priest in the British spoof horror film *I Bought a Vampire Motorcycle* (1990).

### Other work

Daniels is an adjunct professor at Carnegie Mellon University's Entertainment Technology Center.

His autobiography, *I Am C-3PO: The Inside Story*, was released on 5 November 2019 by DK. He had previously considered using the title *Telling the Odds*.

## Filmography

### Documentary

 1978
 1983
 2005

## References

**Footnotes**
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**Citations**

1. ↑ Jimmy Kimmel Live interview with J.J. Abrams and cast of *The Rise of Skywalker* (Jimmy Kimmel Live official YouTube channel)
2. ↑ "Biography". Anthony Daniels official website. Archived from the original on 11 May 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190511154809/http://anthonydaniels.com/wp/biography/. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
3. ↑ Kachka, Boris (24 March 2017). "Anthony Daniels on 4 Decades of Life As C-3PO", Vulture. Retrieved on June 11, 2019.
4. ↑ "Faculty / Staff | Entertainment Technology Center" (in en-US). https://www.etc.cmu.edu/learn/faculty-staff/.
5. ↑ Lubow, Arthur. "The Forces Behind Jedi: Making Movie History Took Lucas & Co. to the Outer Limits", *People*, vol. 20, no. 6, 8 August 1983.
6. ↑ "The Official Anthony Daniels Web Site". anthonydaniels.com. http://www.anthonydaniels.com/biography/index.html.
7. ↑ *Dermot O'Leary Show*, BBC Radio 2, 21 March 2009.
8. ↑ "C-3PO: Q&A with Anthony Daniels". *The Independent*. Archived from the original on 15 December 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141215190648/http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2011/11/09/qa-with-anthony-daniels/.
9. ↑ "Radio and audio book companies", in Lloyd Trott, ed., *Actors and Performers Yearbook 2016*, pp. 353–354
10. ↑ by General\_Kenobi (2007-11-04). "Anthony Daniels et Roger Carel 2\_PC - vidéo Dailymotion". Dailymotion.com. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3e0zh\_anthony-daniels-et-roger-carel-2-pc\_shortfilms. Retrieved 2016-12-20.
11. ↑ "Q & A". Anthony Daniels. http://anthonydaniels.com/wp/questions-and-answers/. Retrieved 2016-12-20.
12. ↑ Williams, Andrew. (2009-10-27). "Kenny Baker", *Metro*.
13. ↑ Famous co-stars who absolutely hated each other www.news.com.au, 4 November 2014.Retrieved 2 January 2017.
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "The Star Wars Holiday Special: may the farce be with you". Empire. 3 December 2015. http://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/star-wars-holiday-special/. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
15. ↑ "Star Wars Episode VII's Anthony Daniels Confirms Practical C-3P0 Suit". Movie News Guide. 19 September 2015. http://www.movienewsguide.com/star-wars-episode-viis-anthony-daniels-confirms-practical-c-3po-suit/30477. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
16. ↑ Parfitt, Dave (22 April 2017). "Star Wars Galactic Nights at Walt Disney World is Force-tastic" (in en-US). https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/star-wars-galactic-nights-at-walt-disney-world-is-force\_us\_58fb7f0ce4b0f420ad99c834.
17. ↑ Template:Cite journal
18. ↑ "Star Wars: Droids – The Protocol Offensive". darkhorse.com. https://www.darkhorse.com/Comics/96-677/Star-Wars-Droids---The-Protocol-Offensive. Retrieved 2 December 2015. "written by See Threepio actor Anthony Daniels"
19. ↑ "Attack of the Clones: Behind the Scenes". https://www.starwars.com/attack-of-the-clones-behind-the-scenes. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
20. ↑ "C3P0 will get a new suit for Star Wars VII" (18 September 2014). Retrieved on 1 December 2015. "The only actor to appear in all six Star Wars films"
21. ↑ "4 Actors Who Played Multiple Star Wars Roles". starwars.com. 13 May 2015. http://www.starwars.com/news/4-actors-who-played-multiple-star-wars-roles. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
22. ↑ "Star Wars: Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill reunite for latest film", BBC News (29 April 2014).
23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 "Star Wars: Episode VIII Now Filming". Star Wars. 15 February 2016. http://www.starwars.com/news/star-wars-episode-viii-now-filming. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 "Star Wars 8 gets official title: The Last Jedi". Independent. 23 January 2017. https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/star-wars-8-official-title-the-last-jedi-tagline-who-is-release-date-disney-rian-johnson-a7542091.html. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
25. ↑ "'Star Wars': Anthony Daniels Slams Disney's 'Kremlin Attitude' Over 'Force Awakens'", *Variety* (4 September 2015). Retrieved on 4 September 2015.
26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 "Star Wars: Carrie Fisher and Richard E Grant among Episode IX cast", BBC News (27 July 2018). Retrieved on 2 August 2018.
27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 "Star Wars C-3P0 on how R2-D2 was no Force to reckon with and Princess Leia in a bikini was boring". *Mirror*. 20 September 2015. https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/stars-wars-c-3po-how-6483901. Retrieved 24 September 2015. "even had a cameo in 2013's The Lego Movie"
28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 MaryCatherine (15 September 2009). "Adjunct Professor Anthony Daniels to Narrate North American tour of *Star Wars: In Concert*". *ETC Global News*. Carnegie Mellon University. http://www.etc.cmu.edu/global\_news/?q=node/286.
29. ↑ https://www.japantoday.com/category/business/view/anas-4th-star-wars-jet-goes-into-domestic-service
30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 30.3 30.4 30.5 30.6 30.7 30.8 30.9 "'The secrecy has been ludicrous': Star Wars actor Anthony Daniels on the new film and his life as C-3PO" (3 September 2015). Retrieved on 1 December 2015.
31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 "I Bought a Vampire Motorcycle Review". *Empire*. 1 January 2000. http://www.empireonline.com/movies/bought-vampire-motorcycle/review/. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
32. ↑ Newbold, Mark (13 April 2019). "I AM C-3PO: The Inside Story by Anthony Daniels". https://www.fanthatracks.com/news/literature/i-am-c-3po-the-inside-story-by-anthony-daniels/. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
33. ↑ LaSalata, Justin (13 April 2019). "New Book Titled I Am C-3PO Written By Anthony Daniels". http://www.jedinews.co.uk/literature/articles/new-book-titled-i-am-c-3po-written-by-anthony-daniels/. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
34. ↑ Coggan, Devan (22 September 2017). "Star Wars: The Last Jedi has officially wrapped, says director Rian Johnson". *Entertainment Weekly*. http://ew.com/movies/2017/09/22/star-wars-last-jedi-wrapped-rian-johnson/. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
35. ↑ Ryan, Mike (12 May 2018). "Is Anthony Daniels In 'Solo: A Star Wars Story'? Jonathan Kasdan Gives Us An Unexpected Answer". *Uproxx*. https://uproxx.com/movies/solo-a-star-wars-story-anthony-daniels/. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
36. ↑ Greene, Jamie (18 January 2018). "Everything You'd Ever Want To Know About Star Wars: Droids". Archived from the original on 20 January 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190120050018/https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/everything-youd-ever-want-to-know-about-star-wars-droids. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
37. ↑ "The Bricks Are Calling to You: Inside LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens". StarWars.com. 28 June 2016. http://www.starwars.com/news/lego-star-wars-the-force-awakens-interview. Retrieved 31 July 2016. "Same thing with Anthony Daniels. We got him to reprise C-3PO."
38. ↑ "Become a Puzzle Solving Spy in I Expect You To Die on PlayStation VR". vrfocus.com. 13 December 2016. https://www.vrfocus.com/2016/12/become-a-puzzle-solving-spy-in-i-expect-you-to-die-on-playstation-vr/. Retrieved 19 July 2019. "Esteemed actor Anthony Daniels – C-3PO in Star Wars films – lends his voice talents throughout the game."

## External links

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* Multimedia Q&A with Daniels from the BBC website for the *Ghosts of Albion*

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