This archive report was first published on 17 December 2019.
Anthony Daniels, the English actor behind C-3PO, has been a constant presence in the Star Wars franchise since the opening scene of the original movie, now known as Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.
However, what fans may not know is that Daniels has been suffering for his art, literally. The robot costume was painful to wear and took so long to put on that Daniels wasn't allowed to go to the toilet all day.
"The first day it was horrible," Daniels told AFP in Paris in the build-up to the release of The Rise of Skywalker on December 17, 2019. "No lunch, no bathroom, nothing."
Over the years, however, things have improved, with Daniels now able to put on the costume in just six minutes, down from two hours previously.
Despite the improvements, Daniels still faces issues with the costume, likening it to a suit of armor. "It's like a suit of armour. I'm sure at Agincourt the soldiers were going, 'Oh, this armour hurts.'"
Daniels, now 73, has also spoken out about feeling his character had been reduced to a "table decoration" in some of the new films, and has even admitted to being "pretentious" when he was first cast as C-3PO in 1975.
"I think I was rather pretentious," Daniels told AFP. "I thought acting on stage or on television in proper clothes was what I was for."
Despite the challenges, Daniels has become resigned to playing the character that everybody knows, yet comparatively few people know who he is. "At the beginning it was difficult. Now a lot of people do know me. But they know me in a very gentle way," he said.
Daniels has also spoken about the sheer scale of the Star Wars franchise, saying it's "just so enormous and so worldwide that my brain cannot contemplate it really."
He has also confirmed that this will be his last Star Wars film, saying "Because the story could go on forever. But here we go 'Stop!'"
