‘Star Wars’ Actor Anthony Daniels On The Changes Made To C-3PO’s Suit

After portraying C-3PO in all eight Star Wars films since 1977, Anthony Daniels is no stranger in donning the costume of the gold-clad protocol droid. However, despite his memorable and integral role in the saga, Daniels had to endure long shoots while restricted to the confines of his C-3PO suit.

In a recent Q&A session at Fan Expo Canada, Daniels reflected on the time Star Wars: The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams asked him to step back into the role of C-3PO:

“He said, ‘Would you just like to do the voice?’ And I said, ‘No.’ And he said, ‘Quite right.’ But I said, ‘I would like a new suit.’”

Daniels then revealed how it was all thanks to the ingenuity of modern technology in filmmaking that made his portrayal as C-3PO in the new films a far more comfortable experience this time around:

“They 3D printed it, which still makes it as heavy as it was, but it means you can make little changes, print it out, try that, and it works better. The head used to take half an hour to put on. Now it goes on—because they changed the way it fits together—in eight seconds, which means I can take it off after each shot.”

Daniels went on to explain how enduring his time in the suit was and how it made him feel distant from the rest of the cast and crew:

“It’s not easy for me being in the suit because I’m slightly separated from everybody else. Back in the day, I was basically locked in that suit… to begin with, of course people would just come up to me all the time and say, ‘Gosh, you look fantastic. This is incredible. You are a perfect droid.’ Because nobody had seen a costume like this. But after a few days, I had become an object. People forgot I was in there.”

Star Wars: The Last Jedi will rise on December 15, 2017. The movie’s cast includes Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, Carrie Fisher as General Leia Organa, Daisy Ridley as Rey, John Boyega as Finn, Adam Driver as Kylo Ren, Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron, Lupita Nyong’o as Maz Kanata, Kelly Marie Tran as Rose Tico, Laura Dern as Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo, Gwendoline Christie as Captain Phasma, Andy Serkis as Supreme Leader Snoke, Domhnall Gleeson as General Armitage Hux, Benicio Del Toro as “DJ”, Joonas Suotamo as Chewbacca, Anthony Daniels as C-3PO, and Jimmy Vee as R2-D2.

Source: Space