Dark Side, Light Side
Revenge of the Sith Brings New Challenges and Explorations for Its Leading Actors
Anakin Skywalker's journey to the dark side of the Force lends Revenge of the Sith a darker, more tragic tone than any of the other movies in the Star Wars saga. For the actors who inhabit the characters, that meant the opportunity to bring a new level of sophistication and nuance to their performances.
“The reasons behind Anakin's choice are very much rooted in reality, in things that we all experience and can understand,” says Hayden Christensen, who plays the man who transforms into Vader. “I get to explore some really difficult territory with Anakin, and that's exciting for me as an actor.”
Writer-director George Lucas says Christensen delivers an emotionally intense performance. “His own Darth Vader quality comes out in this one. Hayden definitely has a dark side, and that's one of the reasons I cast him. He's also handsome and charming, which is important, because if Anakin were always just Darth Vader, who in the world would care about him? It's a difficult transformation to pull off, and Hayden does it wonderfully.”
Christensen, a long time Star Wars fan, didn't just transform himself mentally - near the end of principal photography in Sydney, Australia, the physical transformation became complete. “Wearing the new Vader costume was something I had been looking forward to ever since I was cast as Anakin,” he says, adding that he had to gain more than 20 pounds of muscle to play the role. The suit, Christensen says, was also outfitted with a special apparatus that emulated the unforgettable sound of Vader's mechanized breathing. “The costume and my performance as Vader would have felt incomplete without it.”
When Christensen first appeared on the set in the Darth Vader suit, producer Rick McCallum recalls, the entire Fox Studios lot came to a standstill. Everyone had heard about the appearance, and it seemed they all wanted to witness the moment for themselves. “Hundreds of people congregated on the set that day to watch Hayden. It was the moment we had been waiting for, and it was the most meaningful and poetic day of the entire shoot.”
The experience was a bit different for Christensen. “As excited as I was to be wearing the suit, I was just trying to stay on my feet, not to fall over and break the costume,” he laughs. “Once the cameras started rolling and George shouted `Action,' it was incredible. Being inside the suit really does make you feel powerful and evil. Even today, nearly two years afterward, I can't forget it - and can't quite articulate how it made me feel.”
Anakin's full descent into the dark side comes despite the desperate efforts of his Jedi mentor and best friend, Obi-Wan Kenobi, who tries to forestall the inevitable. “In this movie,” explains writer-director George Lucas, “Obi-Wan is betrayed very deeply on many levels. How he faces and responds to that betrayal leads directly to the choices he makes in Episodes IV, V and VI.”
According to Ewan McGregor, who takes on the role of Obi-Wan for the third time, Revenge of the Sith was his most satisfying experience playing the part. “Obi-Wan has much more to do in this film,” he says, “and George has written a story that takes the character where I have always hoped he would go. Obi-Wan really loves Anakin, and he experiences a profound disappointment and sadness watching Anakin turn to the dark side. That was very interesting to play.”
To prepare for his final turn as Obi-Wan, McGregor steeped himself in the performances of Sir Alec Guinness, who originated the role in 1977's A New Hope. “This time, I'm a bit closer to Sir Alec in age, and it was my last shot at making it match up with his work. For three weeks, I had his scenes from the first three movies playing non-stop in my dressing room as inspiration.”
Also appearing for the third time in a Star Wars movie is Oscar-nominated actress Natalie Portman, who plays the idealistic Senator Padmé Amidala, now secretly married to Anakin and carrying their offspring. In Revenge of the Sith, Padmé watches helplessly as her husband slips away from her and as the Republic that she has served so loyally is transformed into the Galactic Empire.
“I really appreciated the opportunity to play Padmé as an adult,” Portman says. “In this movie, she is fully a woman, not just a young person falling in love. Padmé has tried throughout her life to make a difference and to change the world around her, but now she is caught up in the destinies of Anakin and the Republic.
“Revenge of the Sith is the last piece of the puzzle, and it leads wonderfully into A New Hope,” she says. “At the same time, it's the most dramatic of the six films, and the events in the story have an enormous impact on Padmé.”
Many of those events are triggered by the actions of Chancellor Palpatine, whose true nature will at last be revealed. Ian McDiarmid is the veteran actor who once again plays the shadowy politician, taking him from the sidelines to center stage, where he is not only a leading character, but also a crucial director of the proceedings. “In Revenge of the Sith he moves - bang! - right into the thick of things, beginning his political seduction of Anakin and encouraging the young Jedi to make a Faustian pact to sell his soul,” McDiarmid says.
Palpatine began cultivating a friendship with Anakin during the events of The Phantom Menace, when Anakin was only 9 and Palpatine gave him a friendly tap on the shoulder during a victory parade. While not as central to the action of Episode I and Episode II, Revenge of the Sith makes it clear that Palpatine has not only had a hand in the political strife that followed, but may have been even more involved than anyone suspected. His culpability and unapologetic nature made Palpatine a delicious role for McDiarmid.
“Like all political pragmatists, Palpatine makes the best of the situation, by finding and grooming a new, young apprentice,” he says. “I was knocked out by how much George Lucas has focused on the relationship between Anakin and Palpatine in Revenge of the Sith. The scenes between Hayden and me give us a chance to speak with each other quietly, and quite dramatically. Palpatine offers all sorts of hints, promises and possibilities to Anakin, then just sits back and waits patiently to see which ones Anakin will pick up, which ones will prove to be too tempting to resist.”
One of Palpatine's most crucial scenes involves a confrontation with Jedi Master Mace Windu, once again played by Samuel L. Jackson. Mace figures more prominently in Revenge of the Sith than in any of the previous Star Wars movies. “I feel pretty great about that scene,” Jackson says. “Actually, I've been waiting for a scene like that my entire life, ever since I was a young man pretending to be an Errol Flynn-like swashbuckler, fighting with sticks. It's amazing!”
Having now appeared in three Star Wars movies, Jackson is hardly a newcomer to the Star Wars universe. But only one actor has appeared with a speaking role in all six of the movies: Anthony Daniels, who plays the fussy protocol droid C-3PO.
“I never expected a 12-week job to become a 28-year odyssey,” Daniels says. “But I'm very pleased to tell you that in Revenge of the Sith, Threepio is in one piece, after undergoing the unexpected loss of limbs - including his head - in Attack of the Clones. He's really in his milieu … and it's about time!”
To the delight of longtime Star Wars fans, the gentle giant Chewbacca makes a highly anticipated return to the Star Wars saga. Again played by Peter Mayhew, his appearance in Revenge of the Sith provides another important link to the events that unfold in A New Hope. “I always wanted to go back to the Wookiee home planet of Kashyyyk and visit Chewbacca there,” Lucas says. Setting a major Clone Wars battle on the tropical planet gave him that chance.
For Mayhew, it was a remarkable opportunity he never expected. “I almost dropped the phone when I got the call from (producer) Rick McCallum, inviting me to play Chewie again. But once I reported to the set, it felt like I'd never been away from Star Wars.”
For audiences who will thrill to the remarkable performances in Revenge of the Sith, the sentiment will no doubt be the same.
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