Ian McDiarmid

Actor at .

Speaker

After a smaller role in the movie Dragonslayer, Ian was cast as the role of the Sith Emperor Palpatine by George Lucas for “The Return of the Jedi” film in 1983. With this casting…His destiny was sealed! After an amazing performance as the iconic villain, Ian would forever be linked to Star Wars mythos.  The prequels had him play two faces to his character; he re-created his diabolical interpretation of the Emperor from Return of the Jedi when playing Darth Sidious, the Chancellor’s Sith alter ego, but created a pleasant, charming character in Sidious’ public persona. Since this time, Ian McDiarmid has also reprised his cannon role of Palpatine/Sideous in Disney+’s hit shows Obi-Wan Kenobi, The Bad Batch, and Tales of the Jedi. He is truly an icon of both stage and screen.