Ian McDiarmid Expounds On His Emperor Role Through The Years
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Synonymous with the dark side of the Force itself, Emperor Palpatine was the driving force for the Sith to be as intimidating and dangerous to the rest of the galaxy as they were. From the beginning, Ian McDiarmid graced audiences with his looming presence as the Emperor. Starting as a name to his final and arguably controversial reappearance in The Rise of Skywalker, McDiarmid’s 42-year portrayal of Palpatine ranks among the longest tours of duty in Star Wars history, according to Variety. With such a long stint as a well-known and favorite Star Wars character, McDiarmid has developed his own psychological profile into how his act came to be and his process of becoming the emperor fans have come to know.
In an interview with Variety, McDiarmid noted his arrival in Return of the Jedi after replacing late voice actor Clive Revill. Starting as the Emperor, having grown old, McDiarmid had to have already mastered the art of “concealing his calculating manipulation” that would be further developed in the prequel trilogy. However, a new challenge arose with playing the Emperor as a younger man. As a younger man, Palpatine—and Ian McDiarmid by extension—had more time to interact with Anakin, allowing him the time and opportunities to find Anakin’s weaknesses and turn him to the dark side.
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When asked about whether it was “more fun” portraying Palpatine’s “duality and manipulation or finally leaning into that unambiguous evil”, McDiarmid stated,
“The manipulation was always fun. But also, I had more to do in Revenge of the Sith—I had more screen time, more time with Hayden [Christensen]—so that was more satisfying. I also had no idea that Palpatine would have power with a weapon, so to find that he was very good—to give my stunt double full credit—with a saber was interesting.”
Given Palpatine’s disinterest in using Lightsabers as a whole, it aligns with his character that McDiarmid would lean into the mastery of manipulation and political espionage to become “one of the most famous villains in film history.” The genius of Palpatine was his talent for using the perfect words to reduce the Republic into rubble. McDiarmid’s spot-on depiction of evil incarnate disguised as a senator and friend turned what could have been just another “ordinary, everyday, fairly hypocritical politician” into a “monster” hiding in plain sight.
To use the dark side gives its user power and strength. The downside is that it twists and deforms its user, resulting in a grotesque appearance mirroring their actions. Palpatine, using his own attack on himself as a means to feed into the Galactic Senate’s distrust of the Jedi, gave him the credibility that brought his rise to power. What started as an accident inadvertently became the perfect plan. McDiarmid proves that no matter how old Palpatine had become, both his and the emperor’s minds were “as active as ever” and “Palpatine certainly had a hyperactive mind.”
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