Ian McDiarmid

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ian McDiarmid at the Star Wars Celebration Europe, July 2013, Essen

Ian McDiarmid (pronunciation: [ məkˈdɜrmɨd ]) (born August 11, 1944 in Carnoustie , Scotland ) is a British actor .

He achieved international fame through the portrayal of the Emperor Palpatine and Darth Sidious, the great adversary in the Star Wars films of the so-called Skywalker saga. He has played this character in seven of the nine episodes since 1983 .

In addition to numerous other cinema and television productions, he mainly works as a theater actor and director .

Career

Although interested in acting since his youth, McDiarmid first graduated from the University of St Andrews with a degree in psychology and sociology . Only then did he attend acting courses at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow , where he was awarded a gold medal in 1968 for his work.

Over the course of his career, McDiarmid has played and directed a wide variety of plays. In addition, from 1990 to 2001, together with Jonathan Kent, he directed the “ Almeida Theater ” in London .

When McDiarmid played a small supporting role in the movie The Dragon Slayer in 1981 , he first met George Lucas , whose company Industrial Light & Magic was working on the special effects of the film. Lucas then saw him in Sam Shepard's play Seduced , in which he convincingly played a significantly older character. This prompted Lucas to hire him for the role of the Emperor in the final Star Wars episode Return of the Jedi , which was already in production at the time. Also in the new Star Wars trilogy two decades later, McDiarmid took on this role, which this time demanded a lot more from him, as he had to portray both the Lord of the Sith and later Emperor Darth Sidious , as well as his alter ego , Senator Palpatine. In the ninth and last part of the saga, he again took on the role of Emperor Palpatines. McDiarmid later recorded voice recordings for the game Angry Birds Star Wars 2 for promotional purposes.

Despite the success of the Star Wars films, McDiarmid always focused his work on the theater. In 1982 he received the Olivier Award for best actor in a new play. In 2006 he was for the role of Teddy in Brian Friel's play Faith Healer , his debut at New York's Broadway , with the best supporting actor Tony Award excellent.

Filmography

Ian McDiarmid, 2007

In addition to his theater engagements, Ian McDiarmid played in several television productions, including a film adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth in 1979 and 2005 alongside Helen Mirren in Elizabeth I , as well as in the following productions:

Awards

  • 1982: Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a New Play for Insignificance
  • 1985: Time Out Comedy Award as a director for Scenes from an Execution
  • 1990: Time Out Comedy Award as a director for Volpone
  • 1995: Manchester Evening News Award for Best Actor for Hated Nightfall
  • 2001: Critics' Circle Theater Awards for Best Theater Actor for Faith Healer
  • 2002: Clarence Derwent Awards for Best Supporting Actor for Faith Healer
  • 2004: Manchester Evening New Awards and Theatregoers' Choice Awards for Best Actor for Henry IV
  • 2005: Theatregoers' Choice Awards for Best Actor for King Lear
  • 2006: Tony Award for Best Supporting Actor for Faith Healer
  • 2006: Theater World Award for Outstanding Debut Performance for Faith Healer

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ian McDiarmid Returns As The Emperor In Star Wars April 9, 12, 2019, accessed April 13, 2019 (American English).
personal data
SURNAME McDiarmid, Ian
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British actor
DATE OF BIRTH August 11, 1944
PLACE OF BIRTH Carnoustie , Tayside, Scotland, United Kingdom