There are few film franchises quite as popular as the Star Wars movies, as generations grew up on George Lucas' colorful galaxy. That IP continues to grow thanks to upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows, with the latter being available for those with a Disney+ subscription. But some actors have been with the property since the very beginning, including C-3PO actor Anthony Daniels. And the 79 year-old actor revealed what it as like filming A New Hope in full droid regalia in the middle of a dessert.
Daniels is a Star Wars OG who remains active as his role in C-3PO, including a recent cameo in Ahsoka. While he's no doubt used to playing everyone's favorite protocol droid, it was a tough transition for his very first appearance in George Lucas' A New Hope. While speaking at the FanX Salt Lake Pop Culture & Comic Convention (via ThePopVerse), he revealed what it was like a 3PO back in the day. As he put it:
At one point I began to lose the nerves in this arm because they were getting squished by that. On the first day I wore that costume all day. It took two hours to put on. They weren’t about to take it off at lunchtime, and I stood in the desert, by myself, whilst the crew went over there to have lunch, and drink things, and go to the bathroom, and I stood there looking at the desert, thinking, ‘This is the first day. Can I resign? Is there a local cab firm?’ We were in the middle of the desert. There was no escape for the droid this time.
That sounds pretty brutal. I can't imagine how hot and uncomfortable Daniels was while in C-3PO's costume. And even worse, he couldn't get take it off, and therefore also likely didn't eat or drink much at the same time. But fans are no doubt glad that the actor decided not to quit his role in the Star Wars franchise.
So exactly how did Daniels survive shooting all those Tatooine sequences in the dessert? It turns out that he had to advocate for himself, and get his C-3PO costume off for a while during each day. As he revealed:
I put up with it. The second day I said, ‘You have to take it off at lunchtime, I’m exhausted. I can’t stretch my legs. I’ve got to sit down. I’ve got to eat, and I’ve got to do the other thing.’ And you did not want to see my body when I took that costume off. At the end of the day, I was covered in bruises and scars and whatever.
Ouch. Obviously the suit looked amazing in film, and Peter Daniels has spent decades playing C-3PO on and off. I have to assume that it got a it more comfortable eventually, and no longer gave him scars and other wounds. Either way, it really sounds like he was a trooper for George Lucas' original film.
Fans are eager to see how the galaxy far, far way returns to theaters, with a new Star Wars trilogy slowly developing at Lucasfilm. But we've still got a ways to wait, as no titles are even on the 2025 movie release list or have a concrete release date.
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