Former weightlifter and actor best known for playing Darth Vader in Star Wars
Cinema audiences were introduced to the terrifying Darth Vader when he appeared through the smoky residue of a laser battle at the beginning of Star Wars (1977). First came the silhouette of his swishing cape and flared helmet, then in closeup the chilling details of his mask – the blank, fly-like eyes, the grille redolent of a mouth with gritted teeth.
Ralph McQuarrie drew the original sketches of the character and the costume designer John Mollo made them a frightening reality, but it was the British actor and former weightlifter David Prowse who was inside the suit and behind the mask. Prowse, who has died aged 85, was the one responsible for Vader’s imposing physicality and distinctive sweeping movements, curiously graceful for one so large (the actor stood 6ft 7in and weighed 19st at the time).