Film

Anthony Daniels reckons he’s quite similar to Star Wars droid C-3PO

As the saga comes to an end and the only actor to appear in every Star Wars film bows out, Daniels tells The Big Issue about being part of the phenomenon, fooling fans into thinking he’s a robot and teases why his character has red eyes

Anthony Daniels Star Wars 1389

Back when Star Wars’ most divisive entry The Last Jedi was being filmed, our very own Adrian Lobb spent the week with Mark Hamill and Luke Skywalker told him: “Anthony Daniels is a lot more like his character than you would imagine, he is a little bit prickly”.

Fast-forward to the closing film in the 40-plus year-old saga – The Rise of Skywalker – and we’re chatting to the only actor to feature in every one of the 10 films in this week’s Big Issue.

So it’s only right that we asked Daniels, who plays the melodramatic golden protocol droid C-3PO, whether he felt there were any similarities between him and the character that has made him such a Hollywood star.

“Threepio is a bit impatient, partly because people never listen to him,” he tells The Big Issue. “I myself am a little impatient. He is kind and caring and these are two qualities I would like to be known as… as well as being impatient.”

And it would appear those similarities are not just (metal) skin deep. Back when Star Wars was yet to become the cinema powerhouse and cultural event it is today, Daniels was fooling the masses into thinking he was a real robot with his C-3PO costume.

“I do take it as something of a compliment,” he says. “I was pretending to be a robot and they believed me. I used to say to Mark Hamill, jokingly in the desert, you don’t have to act here because if I’m in the scene all I have to do is wobble a bit and everyone will just look at me.”

For more from Anthony Daniels, get your copy of this week’s Big Issue magazine, available now from vendors and The Big Issue Shop.

I Am C-3PO: The Inside Story by Anthony Daniels is out now (DK, £18.99, also available in audio). Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is in cinemas from December 19

Support the Big Issue

For over 30 years, the Big Issue has been committed to ending poverty in the UK. In 2024, our work is needed more than ever. Find out how you can support the Big Issue today.
Vendor martin Hawes

Recommended for you

View all
Cynthia Erivo on identity, migrant crisis and what she's learned playing Elphaba in Wicked
Film

Cynthia Erivo on identity, migrant crisis and what she's learned playing Elphaba in Wicked

The Beautiful Game: Meet the real-life footballers who inspired Netflix's Homeless World Cup film
Homeless World Cup

The Beautiful Game: Meet the real-life footballers who inspired Netflix's Homeless World Cup film

Bill Nighy: 'Footballers are physical geniuses creating passages of great beauty. It's fascinating'
Homeless World Cup

Bill Nighy: 'Footballers are physical geniuses creating passages of great beauty. It's fascinating'

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire review – a heartfelt and 'nostalgia-tickling' sequel
Ernie Hudson and Bill Murray in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
Film

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire review – a heartfelt and 'nostalgia-tickling' sequel

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Here's when UK households to start receiving last cost of living payments
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Here's when UK households to start receiving last cost of living payments

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know
4.

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know