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Ian McDiarmid (born August 11, 1944) is a Tony Award-winning Scottish actor born in Carnoustie. He has had a successful career in theatre; he has been cast in many plays, while occasionally directing others. From 1990 until 2001, he served with Jonathan Kent as artistic director of the now prestigious Almeida Theatre, thanks largely to both their efforts. Although McDiarmid has appeared mostly in theatrical productions, he has also accepted roles in theatrical films and TV movies. Worldwide, he is most famous for his role as Palpatine in both the original and prequel Star Wars trilogies.
Early life and education
However, fearing that his father wouldn't approve of his aspiration to be an actor, McDiarmid attended the University of St Andrews, where he received a degree in psychology, as well as an M.A. in social science.[1] Soon after, he decided to pursue a career in the theatre instead, and took acting training courses at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow. In 1968, McDiarmid received a gold medal for his work. This would later prove to be the first of many recognitions given to him for his work in the theatre. McDiarmid claimed he became its recipient "by doing all the boring jobs you have to do when you are young, to eke out an existence."[2] Theatrical workMcDiarmid is renowned for his work in British theatre, having won plaudits as an actor and director from a wide variety of sources. He has starred in a variety of Shakespearean plays, including Hamlet (1972), The Tempest (1974, 2000), Much Ado About Nothing (1976), The Merchant of Venice (1984), and King Lear (2005). While at the Almedia, he directed plays such as Venice Preserv'd (1986) and Hippolytus (1991).[3] In 2001, McDiarmid won Almedia Theatre's Critics Circle Award for Best Actor for his role as Teddy in a revival of Brian Friel's Faith Healer. Five years later in 2006, he reprised this role in his debut on Broadway.[4] Directed by Kent, he performed alongside Ralph Fiennes and Cherry Jones, and won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play.[5] He has appeared most recently in the title role of John Gabriel Borkman running at the Donmar Theatre in London.
Almeida TheatreFrom 1990 until 2001, McDiarmid and Jonathan Kent served as the artistic directors of the Almeida Theatre, located in the Islington district of London. In 1998 they shared the Special Evening Standard Award for Theatrical Achievement of the Year.[5] Their tenure was marked by a string of highly successful performances involving 'big name' actors usually seen in films such as Kevin Spacey and Ralph Fiennes.[7] BBCIn 2005 McDiarmid portrayed the part of Satan in the 41 part BBC4 radio drama based on John Milton's Paradise Lost, which was recently re-broadcast on BBC7. [8] Work in Star WarsSpoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
Image:Palpatine Ep6 DVD 6.jpg Ian McDiarmid as Emperor Palpatine in Return of the Jedi. Image:Palpatine1.jpg Ian McDiarmid as Senator Palpatine in The Phantom Menace.
After a minor part in the film Dragonslayer, McDiarmid was cast by George Lucas in Return of the Jedi as Emperor Palpatine, the principal villain. Sixteen years after appearing in Return of the Jedi, he reprised the role as a younger Senator and Chancellor in the Star Wars prequel films. McDiarmid has the distinction of being the only Star Wars actor to reprise his role of a human character, an opportunity that he attributes to having been much younger than his character the first time he played the part. The prequels had him play two faces to his character; he re-created his diabolical interpretation of Palpatine from Return of the Jedi when playing Darth Sidious, the Chancellor's Sith Lord alter ego, but created an attractive, pleasant, and seductive character in Palpatine's public persona. While he had previously achieved little recognition for this role, due to the extensive prostetics used for the character which made him unrecognizable, he received widespread attention and critical acclaim for his expanded role in the prequels.[5] In the 2004 re-release of The Empire Strikes Back, a brief scene between Darth Vader and a hologram of Emperor Palpatine was updated to have him depicted by McDiarmid (the Emperor was originally voiced by Clive Revill for that scene and the face on the projector was that of a woman wearing prosthetic makeup and chimpanzee eyes replacing normal human ones).[9] With this addition to The Empire Strikes Back, McDiarmid has now appeared in every film version in which Palpatine appears. Spoilers end here.
Selected filmographyTheatrical filmsMcDiarmid has said that he is first and foremost a stage actor, but he's happy to work in a movie production if the part is good.[6] Here's a selected list of films McDiarmid has accepted roles in thus far:
TV films
Awards and nominations
ReferencesFootnotes
Interviews
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