Ian McDiarmid

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Ian McDiarmid

Born August 11, 1944 (1944-08-11) (age 63)
Carnoustie, Angus, Scotland

Ian McDiarmid (born August 11, 1944) is a Scottish Tony Award-winning actor and theatre director. He has had a successful career in theatre; he has been cast in many plays, while occasionally directing others. 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/The Emperor in both the original and prequel Star Wars trilogies.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

McDiarmid was born in Carnoustie. He became a theatre aficionado when he was five years old, when his father took him to see an act by the name of Tommy Morgan in a theatre located in Dundee. In 2001 he stated, "It sort of fascinated me, and it also scared me. All those lights, all that make-up. I said to myself, 'I don't know what this is, but I want it.'"[1] However, fearing his father's disapproval, McDiarmid attended the University of St Andrews, where he received an M.A. in psychology. 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]

[edit] Theatre

McDiarmid 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]

He also played the part of Ivanov in Tom Stoppard's play Every Good Boy Deserves Favour at the Mermaid Theatre in 1978.

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.

One theatrical performance of note is his portrayal of Harry Hackamore in Sam Shepard's play Seduced. By McDiarmid's own description, Hackamore was a Howard Hughes-type character. To play the part, he was made-up in prosthetics, including a false beard and long fingernails, to resemble Hackamore. McDiarmid was only 37 at the time, and this convinced George Lucas and Richard Marquand that he could convincingly play a much older character in extreme cinematic close-up, which helped him land the role of Palpatine.[6]

From 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]

[edit] Star Wars

Further information: Ian McDiarmid as Palpatine

Though McDiarmid believes himself to first and foremost a stage actor, he is happy to work in a film for the right part.[6] 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. He attributes the opportunity to reprise his role 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 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 prosthetics 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 visually depicted by superimposing the eyes of a chimpanzee on the face of an old woman).[8] With this addition to The Empire Strikes Back, McDiarmid has now appeared in every film version in which Palpatine appears.

[edit] TV and radio

McDiarmid took an early role as Mickey Hamilton, a psycho intent on avenging the death of his wife and child in The Professionals (Granada TV)

McDiarmid played the role of Police detective Porfiry Petrovich in the BBC's 2002 TV adaptation of Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment.

In 2003 McDiarmid took the role of the Stuart statesman Edward Hyde, in the BBC series Charles II: The Power and The Passion.

In 2005, McDiarmid portrayed the part of Satan in the 41 part BBC Four radio drama based on John Milton's Paradise Lost, which was subsequently re-broadcast on BBC7.[9]

In 2008, McDiarmid played the writer and pioneer of Policing, Henry Fielding, in the Channel 4 historical drama series City of Vice.

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Theatrical film

Year Film Role
1976 The Likely Lads Vicar
1981 Dragonslayer Brother Jacobus
1983 Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi Emperor Palpatine
1983 Gorky Park Prof. Andreev
1988 Dirty Rotten Scoundrels Arthur
1995 Restoration Ambrose
1999 Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace Senator/Supreme Chancellor Palpatine/Darth Sidious
1999 Sleepy Hollow Dr. Thomas Lancaster
2002 Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones Supreme Chancellor Palpatine/Darth Sidious
2004 Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (DVD) Emperor Palpatine (footage with Ian McDiarmid playing this role was shot and added to a rerelease of the 1980 film in 2004)
2005 Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith Supreme Chancellor/Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious
2008 Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa Hexxas, the Evil Poison voice only

[edit] Television

Year Film Role
1979 Macbeth Ross & the Porter
1995 Annie: A Royal Adventure! Dr. Eli Eon
1996 Hillsborough Dr. Popper
1997 Rebecca Coroner
1999 Great Expectations Jaggers
1999 All the King's Men Rev. Pierrepoint Edwards
2003 Charles II: The Power and The Passion Edward Hyde
2005 Elizabeth I Lord Burghley
2008 City of Vice Henry Fielding

[edit] Awards and nominations

Year Award Work
1982 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a New Play (won) Insignificance
1985 Time Out Award for Directing (won) Scenes From An Execution
1990 Time Out Award for Directing (won) Volpone
1991 Observer Award for Outstanding Achievement for Ten Years of Presenting Irish Drama (nominated) Volpone, The Rehearsal, and Betrayal Field
1995 Manchester Evening News Award for Best Actor (won) Hated Nightfall
1998 Special Evening Standard Award for Theatrical Achievement of the Year (shared with Jonathan Kent)
2001 Critics' Circle Theatre Awards for Best Theatre Actor (won) Faith Healer
2002 Clarence Derwent Award for Best Supporting Actor (won) Faith Healer
2004 Manchester Evening News Award for Best Actor (won)
Theatrical Management Association Theatre Award for Best Actor (won)		 Henry IV
2005 Theatrical Management Association Theatre Award for Best Actor (won) King Lear
2006 Drama League Award for Distinguished Performance (nominated)
Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play (nominated)
Theatre World Award for Outstanding Debut Performance (won)
Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play (won)		 Faith Healer

[edit] References

  1. ^ Simon Hattenstone (2001-12-17). Force for change. The Guardian. Retrieved on 2006-08-27.
  2. ^ Star Wars Actors Database at Nerf-Herders-Anonymous.net; last accessed August 23, 2006.
  3. ^ Ian McDiarmid's stage credits at Broadway.com; last accessed November 27, 2006.
  4. ^ Simi Horwitz (2001-9-5). The Emperor's New Role. BackStage. Retrieved on 2006-10-24.
  5. ^ a b c Ian McDiarmid at Hollywood.com; last accessed October 23, 2006.
  6. ^ a b Ian McDiarmid at the Internet Movie Database; last accessed August 26, 2006.
  7. ^ Fiachra Gibbons (2001-9-5). Celebrated double act quits Almeida theatre. The Guardian. Retrieved on 2006-10-23.
  8. ^ Palpatine, at the Star Wars Databank; last accessed October 22, 2006.
  9. ^ Ed Pettit (2006-11-23). Of Man's first disobedience. Retrieved on 2007-02-10.

[edit] External links


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Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play

Robert Sean Leonard (2001) · Frank Langella (2002) · Denis O'Hare (2003) · Brían F. O'Byrne (2004) · Liev Schreiber (2005) · Ian McDiarmid (2006) · Billy Crudup (2007)