Here’s a funny Return of the Jedi behind-the-scenes detail I never really thought about until Mark Hamill said it out loud. While filming Luke’s scenes with the Emperor, Hamill realized he basically didn’t know what Ian McDiarmid looked like as a normal person, because he only ever saw him buried under hours of Emperor makeup.
What makes that even funnier is that the first time most of us “met” the Emperor on screen was actually The Empire Strikes Back in 1980, during that hologram scene with Vader. But in the original release, that wasn’t Ian McDiarmid at all. The Emperor was a composite: an actress under heavy makeup (often credited to Marjorie Eaton, with some behind-the-scenes confusion involving Elaine Baker), voiced by Clive Revill, with added chimpanzee eyes to make him feel extra unsettling.
Ian McDiarmid only becomes “the Emperor” starting with Return of the Jedi, and then later, Lucas goes back and replaces the Empire hologram scene with McDiarmid for the 2004 DVD release, so it matches the rest of the saga.
Hamill recalled this during Star Wars Celebration VII (2015), and he said it hit him on the first night they started shooting those Emperor scenes. Luke would show up early, like a 7 a.m. call to be ready by 8, but Ian had already been there for hours getting transformed.
And then Hamill realized something: if he only ever saw Ian on set, he might never actually know what he looked like. Hamill could wash his makeup off and be gone fast. Ian couldn’t, getting him out of that Emperor makeup took way longer.
So Hamill and his wife Mary Lou invited Ian over for a Sunday brunch. And when Ian walked in, just as a normal guy, Hamill said it genuinely shocked him. After spending all day staring at the Emperor, seeing the actor underneath felt almost unreal.
Even better, Hamill shared a photo of himself with Ian McDiarmid and Dennis Lawson (Wedge) during the Celebration panel.
