Star Wars veteran Anthony Daniels admits he was initially “insulted” when creator George Lucas approached him with an offer to portray gold-plated protocol droid C-3PO in his small-budget 1977 space opera. The star is now the only actor to appear in all nine installments of the Skywalker Saga, set to conclude in Rise of Skywalker. The J.J. Abrams-directed film could also be a sendoff for Threepio, as the final Rise of Skywalker trailer hinted the aged droid might have to make a sacrifice play when Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega), and Poe (Oscar Isaac) unite in their battle against Supreme Leader Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and the reigning First Order.
“It’s very odd because I didn’t want the interview with George Lucas. I was insulted to be offered the part, or to discuss the part of a robot in a low budget science fiction film,” Daniels said when promoting Rise of Skywalker (via Digital Spy). “My agent made me go, and here I am today. I am now a heritage player. I have to get this right, because I keep calling us heirloom players, which I’m told is a type of vegetable, or tomato. It’s Harrison [Ford], Mark Hamill, Billy [Dee Williams] and I — and more.”
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He continued, “So there you go. It is odd to be the observer, against my will originally, but now with amazement.”
The actor previously noted C-3PO was given a more prominent in Rise of Skywalker, described by Daniels as a “bye-bye moment” for the star.
“I’m front and center in this one, for a lot of it, and that made me feel very happy and very excited. Because the stuff we do is magic, the inventiveness, superb,” Daniels told the Associated Press at Disney’s D23 Expo in August. “And so, for me, and for Threepio, this is a very good bye-bye moment. Enjoy.”
When wrapping the film, it was “difficult not to tear up a bit,” he previously admitted to Variety.
“Partly because [Abrams] said some really nice things and all the crew were listening and watching. I have to admit it was an emotional moment, but I knew it was coming,” Daniels said. “It wasn’t even a scene in which I said anything. For once, Threepio was in a scene without butting in. But I felt it’s such a terrific movie that I thought it was okay to say goodbye. I feel satisfied with this one. I have something to be proud of that, you know, as I say goodbye.”
Lucasfilm and director J.J. Abrams join forces once again to take viewers on an epic journey to a galaxy far, far away with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the riveting conclusion of the seminal Skywalker saga, where new legends will be born and the final battle for freedom is yet to come.
Starring Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran, Joonas Suotamo, Billie Lourd, Naomi Ackie, Richard E. Grant, Keri Russell, Anthony Daniels, Billy Dee Williams, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker releases December 20.
