Darth Vader Actor David Prowse Has Passed Away

David Prowse, the actor who donned the Darth Vader suit throughout all three films in the original Star Wars trilogy, has passed away. He was 85 years old.

There are many hands that went into bringing to life perhaps the most iconic villain in all of Star Wars. Obviously, George Lucas came up with the character. James Earl Jones ended up doing the voice, which was intimidating and memorable. And Sebastian Shaw played the role during the heartbreaking unmasking scene in Return of the Jedi. However, we must not forget that Prowse brought a powerful presence to the character via the imposing physique that he provided. Initially, he was given the options of Darth Vader and Chewbacca when he was invited to audition for a role in the very first film. He wanted the role of Vader, explaining later on, "you always remember the bad guys." While we also remember Peter Mayhew for his fantastic work as Chewbacca, David Prowse was right about the villainous character whom he brought to life on the sets.

Of course, Prowse's story did not begin with Darth Vader. From 1962 to 1964, he won the British heavyweight championship three years in a row. Reportedly, he became friends with fellow bodybuilding competitors Lou Ferrigno and Arnold Schwarzenegger, long before they became well known for their iconic roles as the Hulk and the Terminator.

Prowse made his film debut a 1967's Casino Royale, a spoof of the James Bond series. Oddly, he played Frankenstein's monster in that film and would later play the character again in Hammer's The Horror of Frankenstein and Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell, released in 1970 and 1974, respectively. Peter Cushing, the Grand Moff Tarkin actor whom he performed opposite of in A New Hope, actually starred as Frankenstein in the preceding five films. And Christopher Lee, who would go on to play Count Dooku/Darth Tyranus, actually played Frankenstein's monster in the first film of this series, The Curse of Frankenstein. This adds an extra layer to Vader being Tyranus' successor in the Star Wars films.

Prowse also appeared in British TV shows The Saint, Space 1999, and Doctor Who. In the latter, he played a minotaur in the Third Doctor serial The Time Monster. He would also become a personal trainer for Christopher Reeve in the Superman films and Cary Elwes in The Princess Bride. However, it was Prowse's role as a bodyguard in 1971's A Clockwork Orange that brought him to George Lucas' attention. Over the years, his relationship with Lucas and Lucasfilm would become complicated. Eventually, David Prowse told his story in the 2015 documentary I Am Your Father, which is very much worth a watch.

Despite having all of these roles, Prowse was most proud of his role as Green Cross Code Man, whom he first portrayed in 1975. He even described this as the "best job I ever had." He donned a green and white superhero suit as he spoke about British road safety. This performance got him an MBE (Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire). Even though he played an iconic villain, Prowse very much loved the role as this particular hero.

Prowse grew up in Bristol and spent the later days of his life in Croydon as a husband, father, and grandfather. His autobiography, Straight from the Force's Mouth, came out in 2011. There was certainly a lot more to the man beneath the menacing mask of the Dark Lord of the Sith, and he will be long remembered for the amazing things that he did in his life.

Source(s): BBC