In a recent interview with original Star Wars alum Anthony Daniels, who played C-3PO in episodes I-VI of the franchise and is reprising for Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens, the outspoken actor didn’t hold much back. Speaking to The Guardian, Daniels touched on several interesting topics from his time with the franchise, making sure to add plenty of his characteristic snark for seasoning.
On the clandestine nature of filming:
“The secrecy has been beyond ludicrous … for heaven’s sake, it’s a movie. When I got the script, it was typed in black on paper of the deepest red so you couldn’t photocopy it. I got a hangover just reading it.”
On the J.J. Abrams vs. George Lucas:
“… He [George Lucas] made decisions that I believe might have been better discussed with other people. J.J. is more collaborative. He likes to listen.”
On the prequels:
“The effects are clever but pointless. The skill is there, but so what? Coldness, that’s the word. Bleakness, even.”
Considering the secrecy surrounding this film, Daniels’ candid, freewheeling approach has worried some Disney execs, and he was even forced to delete a tweet that referred to a fellow Force Awakens actor. At one point in the interview, the man famous for playing a neurotic robot compared the atmosphere around the set to the Kremlin but seemed very tongue-in-cheek about the whole thing.
All in all, he came off very optimistic about the new film, saying “It became clear early on that with J.J. [Abrams] we were getting back to the old-fashioned kind of film-making. We have walls. Actual sets!”
The seventh installment of Star Wars has had a run of remarkably positive press and Abrams’ old-school, back to the Star Wars basics approach seems to have actors/actresses and fans alike excited about the direction of the franchise.
Daniels is signed on for episodes VIII and IX as well (that’s 8 and 9 for the Roman numeral-challenged) and, after all this time, he’s beginning to feel like he and the character he so often plays have become one.
“Sometimes I hear myself and think: ‘Oh, shut up.’ I recorded a C-3PO satnav [GPS] and they gave me one to keep. I was driving in France with it. My voice was saying to me ‘At the next roundabout, take the fifth exit …’ and do you know what? I really started to get on my nerves. It was weird because I didn’t know where I was driving. And yet, this other ‘me’ did. It was beyond surreal.”
You can catch C-3PO and the rest on the big screen when Star Wars: The Force Awakens hits theaters on Dec. 18, 2015.
