prequelfilms.[6] Ahmed Best asthe voice of Jar Jar Binks: A clumsy Gungan, exiled from his home but taken inby Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan. He accompanies them throughout the film. Best was hiredafter Gurland saw him on a Stomp performance in San Francisco,[7] andoriginally was just going to provide motion capturing, but after offering toalso voice the character, was accepted. He wandered in the set in afoam-and-latex suit and headpiece to provide reference for the actors, with hisfilmed performance later replaced by the computer-generated character.[8] Bestfrequently improvised movements to make Jar Jar as clumsy and comedic aspossible.[7] Pernilla August as Shmi Skywalker:Anakin's mother. She is concerned for her son's future, and lets him leave withthe Jedi. August, a veteran of Swedish cinema, was chosen after auditioningwith Liam Neeson, although she was afraid of not being chosen due to her accent.[8] Ray Park as Darth Maul:A Zabrak Sith apprentice to DarthSidious who uses a double-bladed lightsaber. A martial arts championwith experience in gymnastics and swordfighting, Park was originally only amember of the stunt crew,[7] andstunt coordinator Nick Gillard filmed Park to demonstrate how he envisioned thelightsaber battles. Lucas and McCallum were so impressed with the test tapethat they gave Park the role of Maul. His voice was considered "toosqueaky", leading it to be dubbed over.[8] Hewas voiced by Peter Serafinowicz. Anthony Daniels voices C-3PO: A protocol droidbuilt by Anakin, he lacks a metal covering in this film, which R2-D2 refers toas being "naked". A puppeteer dressed in a color close to the oneseen in the background, similar to the Japanese puppettheater Bunraku,so he could be erased during post-production manipulated a skeletal C-3POfigure attached to his front, while Daniels read his lines off-camera.[7][9] Kenny Baker as R2-D2: An astromech droid,notable for saving Queen Amidala's ship when all other droids fail. Before theproduction of The Phantom Menace started, fans campaigned onthe Internet to retain Baker as R2, to which Lucas replied that the actor wouldremain. Baker is used for scenes where R2 bends forwards and backwards andwobble from side to side, while actual robots and a digital replica are usedotherwise (see Effects,below).[10] Silas Carson as Nute Gunray:The Viceroy of the Trade Federation who leads the invasion of Naboo and triesto force Queen Amidala to sign a treaty to legitimize the occupation. Carsonalso portrays three minor characters: Jedi Master Ki-Adi-Mundi,Trade Federation Senator Lott Dod, and an ill-fated pilot (which was the role Carsonoriginally auditioned for).[11] Carsongot the role because another actor was uncomfortable with the costumes used bythe Trade Federation characters which were hot, exerted a lot ofpressure on the bearer, and took about 15 minutes to apply. The Thai accentused by the character was chosen after Lucas and McCallum listened to variouslanguages to pick how the Neimodians would speak.[12] Hugh Quarshie as Captain Panaka:Queen Amidala's chief of security at Theed Palace. Quarshie accepted the partfor considering it "a good career move" and a production that wouldbe fun to make.[13] Andy Secombe voices Watto: A junk dealer onTatooine who owns Anakin and his mother as slaves. With a design that was anamalgalm of various rejected ideas, Watto's expressions