Ian McDiarmid on His Character’s Arc: “When George asked me to be in the prequels – and it was the same kind of meeting, really, very short and to the point… It was nice to see him after a long time. We met in a hotel room. He said, ‘What would you like to drink?’ I said, ‘I think I’ll take a sparkling mineral water.’ And he said, ‘Oh by the way, do you know anyone who wants to play an emperor?’ I said, ‘Oh, funny you should say that.’ He said, ‘Great, you can give the water back.’ And that was that once again.
But he did let me into a few secrets – not many, as is his way. And I’m all for that, actually. The mark of a great storyteller is never to give away secrets in advance. But he did say that the character would be on the sidelines in movies one and two and move into the middle with number three. But I didn’t realize he would move in with quite such a bang.
It only slowly dawned on me that if Vader was really the worst creature, the most evil, the darkest, the blackest villain in movie history, I was worse than him. And I’m still slowly coming to terms with that, actually. I think my relationship with Satan is closer than I ever imagined it to be - as a character I hasten to add.”
On How Kids React to Him in Person: “They’re a little tentative, which is a relief frankly. They tend to approach me with negative questions like, ‘You’re not him, are you?’ And then I can truthfully say no because I don’t know what ‘him’ they have in mind. And that’s being a little dishonest, but not wholly. By the time they’ve phrased their next question, I’ve disappeared around the corner.
But there was one guy when I came over here just as the film was opening to see it for the first time in this very room – happy memory. I was at the airport getting my bag and a little boy came up to me and said, ‘Are you in Star Wars?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ He went back to his mother who apologized for him interrupting me. Then he came back again when I was on the carousel and said, ‘Are you a liar?’ Now that, if you analyze it, is a very interesting question, you know? And the answer is yes and no. The character absolutely lies from the moment he was conceived. Me, I hope not. But on the other hand, nobody could be in ‘Star Wars’ and standing next to you at the carousel, could they? And also it’s sort of my job to make you believe things about him that aren’t true about me. So that’s almost the best question I’ve had so far and it was from a guy who couldn’t have been more than 8.”
Ian McDiarmid Was Eager to Get to the Character’s Real Evilness: “ Yes, I was. Yes. Again, of course, I didn’t know how evil he was going to be. I knew he was going to be pretty evil until I got the script. And I also didn’t know that he would have fighting skills, which I had to acquire fairly quickly. I imagined that his power was in his fingers and in his head. Little did I know that he was the fastest lightsaberist in the universe. But now I know and now he is, and there were a number of people who helped me get there. The one I always mention is Michael Byrne, the great master swordsmen and brilliant stunt double.”
On Revisiting Emperor Palpatine in the Planned TV Series: “Well I think… Nobody really knows the details of the television series. I don’t think that’s because people are being particularly coy. I just think a lot of things haven’t been decided yet. But I know George’s intention is to follow one of the character’s who has been less highlighted up to now, but has been very popular with audiences. And sure, if it’s the period between the movies, the emperor has to be referred to. But you’ll remember he was referred to often without actually appearing in the first ‘Star Wars’ movie. And Peter Cushing was his very effective representative so I suspect there might be a number of very effective representatives. But you know, I always answer my telephone.”
PAGE 2: Ian McDiarmid on the Origin of The Emperor's Voice and Turning Evil
