[MUSIC PLAYING]
[APPLAUSE]
ANTHONY DANIELS: What
a lovely welcome.
Thank you so much.
That's really nice.
SPEAKER: Thank you
so much for join--
I did not get that round of
applause when I came out.
[LAUGHTER]
ANTHONY DANIELS: Aw, it will
be better second time around.
Hello.
Has anybody here-- be
honest, because we're kind.
Has anybody here not
seen a "Star Wars" movie?
[LAUGHTER]
You laugh.
There are people.
There are people on this
planet who have a life.
[LAUGHTER]
So you've all seen "Star Wars."
Well, so you can tell me
what it's about, yeah?
What would you say
"Star Wars" is about?
AUDIENCE: Um--
[LAUGHTER]
Should I go on stage?
ANTHONY DANIELS: Yes, please.
Stand up.
Stand up.
AUDIENCE: Yeah, why not?
ANTHONY DANIELS:
Just turn this way.
What is "Star Wars" about?
AUDIENCE: I mean, for me, it was
a huge part of my whole life.
ANTHONY DANIELS: Yes, yes.
[LAUGHTER]
It's not a biography, you know.
In less than 10 words.
AUDIENCE: It's about
an amazing adventure
through space looking
after the good versus--
making sure there's a
good environment-- sorry,
you put me on the spot here.
ANTHONY DANIELS: It's an
amazing adventure in space.
What do you think it's about?
Stand up.
AUDIENCE: For me, it's
about family relationship
and generations.
ANTHONY DANIELS: Family
relationship, generations.
Any advance on great adventures
in space, family, generations?
I bet you know.
What's it about?
AUDIENCE: Laser swords.
ANTHONY DANIELS: Laser swords.
We're getting there.
Yes, it is partially
about merchandise.
What do you think it's about?
[LAUGHTER]
AUDIENCE: Light side
versus the dark side.
ANTHONY DANIELS: So we've
got space adventures.
We've got lasers.
We've got family.
We've got merch, the
light side, the dark side.
Come on, come on, think.
Think laterally.
AUDIENCE: It's about the
scrappy Rebellion beating the--
ANTHONY DANIELS: It's about
the scrappy Rebellion.
Wrong, wrong, wrong.
[LAUGHTER]
It is about the adventures
of the most beautiful
golden droid.
[LAUGHTER]
[APPLAUSE]
There you go.
So I hope people might
feel OK asking questions.
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER: Of course.
Well, let me kick off with one.
How did you first come to
inhabit the world of C-3PO?
How did it come to you
all those years ago?
ANTHONY DANIELS: Good
question, because that
is the beginning of it all.
And forgive me, because
I've written a book.
[LAUGHTER]
Did you know I'd written a book?
So you will hear me
say, it's in the book,
or, as I say in the book.
Like all of those people who
are on those chat shows, who
endlessly say, in my
book, because they're
trying to sell it.
I wrote a book, because--
well, because they asked me to.
And because I wanted to talk
about maybe some of the things
that you may not have
known, some of my feelings,
for instance.
But one of the
things I talk about
is how I got into the role.
And there is a lesson there.
Because when I was approached--
and I say it in the book--
to meet George Lucas about
a part in a low budget
science fiction film to
play the part of a robot--
I had spent three
years at drama school--
Shakespeare, all that stuff.
I'd never thought to be a
robot and something hidden
behind a mask.
We'd done mask work,
obviously, at drama school.
But I thought it was
a bit beneath me.
And I'd never heard
of George Lucas.
SPEAKER: Was he big at the time?
I don't think he was.
ANTHONY DANIELS: No, he was
actually smaller than me.
[LAUGHTER]
SPEAKER: Yeah, fair, fair.
He could have fit
inside the suit.
ANTHONY DANIELS: He could
have been inside the suit.
I did actually ask him,
have you ever tried this on?
Mm-mm, no, mm-mm.
I think he tried the face on
once, and then he put it away.
He'd made "American Graffiti."
But I refused to meet him.
And my agent-- which is an
incredibly stupid thing to do.
And I'm sure you will never make
that mistake of turning down
an opportunity.
Because she said to
me, don't be so stupid.
There was a missing
word, actually, there.
Because there is a young
man over there, so children.
You never know what
it could lead to.
So I went to the office.
And there's a picture
in the book ripped out
of a diary, 12:30, I think,
on the 14th of November,
just nearly a few weeks ago
now, 40-something years before.
And I walked in, and there
was not a Hollywood mogul
with a big cigar, gross.
There was George, this tiny,
frail little character,
who was traumatized
by seeing pretty
much every actor in England to
be a character in these movies.
I was on stage with
Christopher Timothy
at the time, who you used to
play the vet in "All Creatures
Great and Small."
And when I got the script,
I eventually gave it to him,
and said, you need to audition
for the part of Han Solo.
So he went.
He didn't go.
SPEAKER: Well, no,
I did know that.
ANTHONY DANIELS:
Harrison Ford, who'd
ever heard of him back then?
SPEAKER: Who's ever
heard of him now.
ANTHONY DANIELS: Oh, no.
I think he's dead in the movie.
I forget.
He probably comes back as a--
I don't know.
Everybody comes back.
So I talked to
George and explained.
And it is in the book.
There is an image of a
painting by Ralph McQuarrie.
That image, that
two-dimensional painting,
absolutely changed my life.
Because somehow I
became connected to it.
And I don't know why.
If you look at it, you'll
see a little picture.
But the designer,
Ralph McQuarrie,
who used to design
elements of aeroplanes
for the Boeing
Aircraft Corporation,
but somehow, he created
this face that spoke to me.
It absolutely spoke
to me, a piece of art.
Has anybody been to the Louvre
in Paris, seen the "Mona Lisa"?
It's crap.
It doesn't work for me.
Agreed?
Hands up who agrees.
Yeah, we don't get
the "Mona Lisa."
Time to get rid of it.
The frame was nice.
[LAUGHTER]
I liked the frame.
And eventually, I would, for the
Barbican Museum, in exhibition,
be framed, 3PO, peeking
through a lovely gold frame,
and I liked that.
But something about this
painting changed my life.
Then the next day they
sent a script around.
Reading a film script
is really difficult.
But I got that George had
written this character that
absolutely spoke to me.
Because he was
always in trouble.
He was a misfit, in a way,
but a very nice misfit.
SPEAKER: And as an
actor, how did you
kind of come to find him?
The pose, the voice,
that's very much a part--
ANTHONY DANIELS: Very good.
Are you seeing this?
It's coming alive.
Well, for six months, we at
Elstree Studios, the team,
plasterers, all
the technicians--
first of all, Liz Moore,
who I speak about,
they took a mold of my body.
Anybody ever had a body cast?
It's not a good experience.
You wouldn't like it.
Well, I hope you
wouldn't like it.
It's really weird.
And then they ended up
with a statue of me,
looking absolutely
awful in white plaster,
with every sort of, you know.
And then Liz Moore,
with modeling clay,
built up the shape that you
eventually come to know as 3PO.
And that took six months.
And in all that time, I was
reading redrafts of the script.
Because I had to stand
there whilst people
fiddled with various
bits of my anatomy.
And I would often be
there reading the script,
and people fiddling around
my feet or my knees whatever.
And gradually, gradually, this
character came into my mind.
Always in the wrong place,
always bullied, mistreated,
put down, dismissed, totally--
the elements were
always against him.
And it really did begin--
and over the years,
it really began
to insert itself in my mind--
that the original
idea was that he
would be the common
man, the thread,
the very classical way
of having a protagonist.
Although he isn't
really a protagonist.
Going through the
story as your thread,
he's holding the other end
of the string, if you will.
And he is totally at the
will of the elements,
of the forces around
him, just as most of us
are, whether it's a
monarch, president,
a prime minister, life.
Most of us kind of bumble
along, being smacked around.
Hopefully we get
to the other end.
And he really is a
common thread character,
so we can relate to him.
And then curiously-- and
maybe I can insert here.
Because in 40-something years,
it has come to me that 3PO--
at one point, he
says, sometimes I just
don't understand human behavior.
And that appeals to quite a
large section of the audience--
not specifically today--
who find life not exactly
easy to be socially integrated.
Because 3PO is constantly
confused by the behavior
of humans to each other.
And I think a lot
of us, including me,
can relate to that.
SPEAKER: There's a wonderful
point in the book where--
you've worked with
11 films, so a lot
of directors,
different leadership
styles, different interactions
they have with cast, with crew.
There's a point where
in "The Force Awakens,"
you were asked to be
the assistant director
for the other droids.
And so I would love to know
what leadership aspects you took
from those directors
you've worked
with when you were in
charge of droid actors.
ANTHONY DANIELS: Oh,
to be in charge, yes.
Wonderful.
I talk, at one point,
of, dressed up as 3PO,
conducting the London Symphony
Orchestra at the Albert Hall
down the road there.
And when I came on stage,
eventually-- and you can read--
I came up onto the
podium, and the audience,
just like you today,
relived that moment for me.
Except there were, what,
8,000 people there up
around in this rotunda.
The welcome was stupendous.
And then I turned my back
to face the orchestra.
And the cutoff was--
ah, that feeling of power.
I silenced thousands
of people just by--
[LAUGHTER]
Yeah, sorry, sorry.
I promised I wouldn't
do that, didn't I?
So I didn't have much to do.
3PO didn't have much to
do in "The Force Awakens."
Oh, no, it was in
"The Last Jedi."
SPEAKER: Oh, I'm sorry.
ANTHONY DANIELS: Yeah.
And they came to me and said,
would you give a masterclass
in how to be in a robot suit?
Because we've got
all these waiters.
And I thought, oh, that's fun.
And we had enormous fun playing
around and playing with props
and so on.
And then they said,
would you come on the set
and be an assistant director
for the droid waiters?
Each one of them had two
handlers to look after them.
But suddenly, after
all these years
of being looked after
myself, I realized
that I knew what it was like
to be inside something weird
and to be totally dependent
on other people for anything.
Remembering that,
on the first day--
and I mentioned it--
when they screwed me
into this costume--
[CLICKING]---- I suddenly had
this awful, terrifying--
and I put it aside.
I cannot get out of this.
I am locked into
metal and fiberglass.
I have to beat myself on a
rock to make anything happen.
And suddenly, I was
looking after people
who were in the same condition.
And it felt good, because
I could suddenly give back.
And you know what it's
like on a film set.
I'm sure you've seen enough.
There may be 100 people--
and I'm thinking of
a particular scene--
there in front of the camera.
But turn your back behind the
camera, there's even more.
And I was one of those
people, and watching.
And one of the great
breakthroughs in cinematography
is, on the original "Star
Wars," there was only one
man with his eye to the camera.
And George would have to
say, cut, how was that?
And the guy would go, mm, good.
Or he would say,
hair in the gate.
Anybody know what hair
in the gate means?
Yes, sir, at the back, project.
AUDIENCE: A sliver of film
has been kind of sheared off.
ANTHONY DANIELS:
A sliver of film
that's been sheared off-- very,
very nearly right, but not
quite.
It's a bit of the--
what you call it, the paint on
the celluloid is scratched off.
And you see a little
black wavy line.
And that's called
hair in the gate.
And I only realized,
after a few weeks--
I kept thinking, who the heck
is leaning over the camera
with their hair going in?
[LAUGHTER]
I was so naive.
I didn't know.
And then of course, it's
not only a flutter of that.
It's like, cut, how was that?
Hair in the gate.
OK, go again.
It means the actor was
rubbish, got to do it again.
It's a very nice way of
being gentle to an actor.
So there I was, being, for
the first time honestly,
part of a team.
Because you had all the waiters
stretched out around the James
Bond stage, the 007 stage
at Pinewood, five actors.
Now, I'm looking desperately.
But the great thing is,
these days, there isn't just
the guy with the camera.
You now have big plasma
screens around the set,
where everybody can see exactly
what the camera is seeing.
So whether you're hair or makeup
or special effects or costume
or scenery, you can see how
your little bit of this film
is working.
And you can run in and fix it.
And I would run in and
say, when they say action,
count to 10 before
moving off because you're
being masked by this character.
It was exhausting, but so good.
And one of the key
elements for me--
I'd been in all of
these films, and I've
been with various sectors
of the story and so on--
R2 or Han Solo or Luke
Skywalker, but always,
to be honest, slightly isolated
in this suit, slightly unable
to relax, not to be able to have
proper eye contact with people.
And suddenly, the
change of being
part of a crew, part of a
costume and effects crew,
it felt really good, as we kind
of ran into battle in between
takes.
And I've had a
remarkable job being 3PO.
But that final element
was never quite there.
It's wonderful in
the next film, which
we can talk about in a minute.
But part of the job of
being 3PO is to be isolated.
Even when we're doing a radio
series or something like that,
I'm in a glass box so my voice
can be actually separated.
So I'm the character of
C-3PO, but then there
is a tiny amount of
adjustment to the EQ
and a certain amount
of digital delay, which
makes him sound slightly more
robotic than I would normally.
But to be part of a team really
was a magical experience.
SPEAKER: Great, great.
Well, look, I could ask
you questions all day.
But we have an
amazing audience here.
So please wait for a mic.
ANTHONY DANIELS: Hang on.
Let me just grab this one.
SPEAKER: We're going to run out.
ANTHONY DANIELS: OK.
So somebody is very
brave over here.
Would you stand up?
Just come here for me.
Yeah.
Yeah, a bit of exercise.
Yeah, fame at last.
Hey.
AUDIENCE: Can we
shake hands before?
ANTHONY DANIELS:
We can shake hands.
Yeah, OK.
[LAUGHTER]
I mean, you give them a
chance, you know what I mean,
and they just take
over the show.
Yes.
What's your name?
AUDIENCE: I'm Hoy.
ANTHONY DANIELS: You're what?
AUDIENCE: I'm Hoy.
ANTHONY DANIELS: Hoy, Anthony.
AUDIENCE: Nice to
meet you, again.
So C-3PO is one of the
characters I find the most
human in the Resistance.
Because all the other
Resistance is, hey,
we're going to
face sudden death.
And it's like, everyone's
just going, yes, go for it.
Whereas C-3PO is
like, wait a minute.
Did you just say certain death?
[LAUGHTER]
ANTHONY DANIELS:
You are spot on.
AUDIENCE: So for me,
it's like, that's
a very special character.
And you have thought about
being part of the Resistance,
fighting an evil empire
for the last four decades.
I'm from Hong Kong.
So any advice [LAUGHTER] for
the Hong Kong demonstrators?
ANTHONY DANIELS: I am
so sad, because I love
Hong Kong as a place to visit.
Really cute.
He got me there.
A lovely experience,
just because I've
been meeting people,
I've been signing books--
I've written a book.
Did you know that?
[LAUGHTER]
Yeah, OK, anyway.
And somebody came to
me, about the age of 30,
something like that.
And he said--
maybe he was older.
And he said how much
I appeal to him when
he was a child, when he was like
four or five, as a character,
and how much I helped him.
And we talked a bit.
And he said he used to
watch-- as I think many of us
have done in the past, he
used to watch the film on TV
when it came out on tape.
And he would be watching
from behind the furniture,
from behind the
settee, like that.
And when there was
something dangerous, he hid.
And then he would
peek out again.
And what helped
him in his fear, in
his natural life-preserving
sense of danger,
was that the gold
man was afraid, too.
And if it was OK for the
gold man to be afraid,
it was OK for him to be afraid.
And he mustn't be
ashamed of being afraid.
And I thought that was
such a touching story.
3PO does appeal to people.
Because as sentient
human beings,
curiously, we look for
humanity in objects.
We look for a
recognition of something
that makes us feel kind of
comfortable with a machine,
for instance.
A lot of design elements
go into modern products
now to make them user-friendly.
3PO is really user-friendly.
And here's a thing.
He has a chink.
We want to take care of him.
You're not quite
sure why he's around.
Because now, everybody
translates for everything.
Time's moved on.
But he is part of the family.
He wants to look after
other people all the time.
And somehow that makes us
want to look after him.
And I really enjoy that
kind of element of fan
interplay, if I may.
Another question?
Yes.
Oh, that's easy.
Just stand up here.
No, you come to me.
There you go.
AUDIENCE: My son
wears a body brace.
He had cancer when he was young.
You talked about how you
got your head around it.
Because I have to force
him to wear it 23 hours
a day for the next 10 years.
You obviously had to
wear that an awful lot.
What advice would you give?
I'd like to film your
response, though,
because I want to show him.
ANTHONY DANIELS: How old is he?
AUDIENCE: He's now seven.
And he's cancer-free,
so we're good.
ANTHONY DANIELS: Oh,
that is terrific.
AUDIENCE: How did you cope?
ANTHONY DANIELS: How did I cope?
AUDIENCE: He loves "Star Wars."
How you cope might
help him cope.
ANTHONY DANIELS: I remember on
the first day of filming out
in the desert, when they first
dressed me up in this thing,
and it took two hours.
And I talk about it.
And it was extraordinary.
As I began to lose,
starting off here--
well, starting off in the
middle, and then the pants,
and then a leg, a leg, and
whatever, and then the chest,
and then the arms, and the
hands, and the neck, and then,
[CLICKING] [SUCKS AIR].
AUDIENCE: Oh, that's worse.
ANTHONY DANIELS: And I'm
standing there thinking
I had totally lost my body.
It was like other
forces were taking over.
And I'd worn it for 10,
15 minutes at Elstree.
So I kind of struggled
out into the desert
and got an amazing
reaction, actually.
But then I had to get to work,
and it was like, ung, ung.
It was horrible.
It was horrible.
What's his name?
AUDIENCE: George.
ANTHONY DANIELS: George.
So I totally kind of
know what George--
how can I put it?
I wanted to resign at
the end of the first day.
I wore that costume all day,
sip of water through a straw.
Magically, I didn't need to pee.
[LAUGHTER]
It's amazing.
People always want to know this.
It's what they always ask
astronauts, did you know?
How do you pee in space?
Or even worse-- never mind.
I realized, at the
end of the day,
I was cut and bruised and
lonely and probably hungry
and everything.
And I wanted to resign.
But I couldn't.
Because I don't know, a sense
of self came in, if you will,
that, as a professional,
I had agreed to do this.
We were in the
middle of the desert.
There were no taxi
firms to take me away.
I couldn't escape anyway.
And I was 27, at least.
So George has got to
find that strength,
and to know that
eventually it will work.
Not tomorrow, not the
next day, next week,
next month, not even
next year, but he
will love it when it happens,
to take it off finally.
He's got to find--
and I'm going to say it--
The Force.
I don't always use it,
but since he's into it.
Do I believe in it?
Actually, there are
elements in my life
that have made me realize
something is happening.
It may be coincidence.
I don't know.
He has to find a
strength of purpose.
And how you do that at
seven, I don't know.
But I will be thinking
of him, really.
AUDIENCE: Oh, thank you.
That's really lovely.
Thank you.
ANTHONY DANIELS: Good luck.
[APPLAUSE]
What, of course,
is extraordinary is
that the medical profession
are now matching up.
People get their
limbs chopped off
at every moment in a "Star
Wars" movie, and they come back
and they have a robotic limb.
And of course medicine
is now mirroring that.
And there isn't too much
real science in "Star Wars."
Leave that to "Star Trek."
[LAUGHTER]
Anyway, it is interesting how
very often the intelligence,
the imagination of movie
makers, designers, writers,
end up happening in real life.
Because as a writer, you can
do what the heck you like,
and special effects
can make it happen.
And then somebody comes up, hey,
what if we can make a better
brace for this child?
And it can happen.
Another question.
Yes, why don't you
come up this way.
Because there's a magic
thing that's happening.
We've got cameras here.
What's your question?
Come up here.
AUDIENCE: Thank you.
My name's Grant.
I've been a "Star Wars"
fan since I was a kid.
[LAUGHTER]
ANTHONY DANIELS: You
know, I get asked,
what is the nerdiest
thing, which
is the weirdest fan
you've ever met?
[LAUGHTER]
AUDIENCE: Until today.
ANTHONY DANIELS: Until today.
"Star Wars" fans are not weird.
They're not nerdy.
They like the story gently.
They don't have to
be crazy people.
So I do say, fan is the only
word that there really is.
But it doesn't mean--
because they're not weird.
They're lovely.
And without the
fans, there wouldn't
have been a second movie.
Grant.
AUDIENCE: I fully embrace
the fact that I'm a fan.
It's one of the things that
has always connected to me,
like throughout my growing up.
There's always
been moments which
I can connect to "Star Wars,"
how it's influenced me,
my choice of career.
One of the things that
actually happened recently
is that I've got
a young kid called
Oliver, who's 7 coming up, 7 on
his birthday tomorrow actually.
And instead of, like,
my moment as being a dad
was watching "Star Wars"
for the first time with him.
And my question is, with all
the new generation of people
sort of embracing "Star
Wars" and watching it,
do you find there's a difference
in sort of their reaction
and how they perceive it,
versus the original fan and what
people [INAUDIBLE].
ANTHONY DANIELS:
It's a good question,
and it's one I do address.
Because some of you will have
seen the original back in 1977
when it came out,
and you will have
very distinct memories of that.
And there was something
unbelievably strange
about the timing.
It just happened.
It happened because
George pushed
to make his little script.
And it came out,
eventually, in 1977,
where the film industry wasn't
that happy an experience,
Vietnam War, all
that kind of thing.
And suddenly, here was a
family, child-friendly story
based on, as you know,
ancient myths and whatever.
And time moved on, and
we did eventually-- ah,
and because people liked
it, it wasn't a one-off film
after all.
It wasn't "The Star
Wars" or "The Adventures
of Luke Starkiller,"
as it was first named.
It was "Star Wars."
And it was so good that they
then put a number, 4, IV,
just to make it look old and
proper and everything and
important.
And then we made V.
And then we made VI.
I got 14% in 0 level Latin.
I struggle with the
names of these films.
That was a long time ago.
And so at the end of number 6,
well, that was it, wasn't it?
And I said goodbye, and
quite happily, really.
And then years past,
14 years passed.
And suddenly, we
come to number 1.
And that was a real surprise.
And we go on to
number 2 and number 3.
So these were the
prequels, a word nobody
had heard in those
days, the prequels.
And us older people, us snotty
older people thought, ew,
they're a bit
rubbish, aren't they?
They're not like
the originals, which
we saw all these years ago.
I meet people now
who've grown up,
who adore the prequels,
who adore Jar Jar Binks--
[LAUGHTER]---- brilliantly
played at George's direction.
Rob, yeah, I think you
asked me about directors.
George said to Ahmed Best,
a very skilled, intelligent
actor, comedian,
bright as anything,
I want you to make this
kind of Jar Jar character.
And Ahmed did it.
Now, to us older, snottier
filmgoers, it didn't work.
But now I'm meeting people of
an age who adore Jar Jar, who
adore all the things.
AUDIENCE: My kid loves him.
ANTHONY DANIELS: There you go.
There you go.
Because George was
very, actually, adept
at aiming at a certain
audience level.
Just because the
snotty ones amongst
us were a bit like that, it
didn't make it a bad movie.
It made it a very good movie.
I could have done without the
political stuff on the roll-up.
You know, it's like,
mm, mm, what's going on?
The real strangeness,
for me, was,
as I say, meeting George
at Elstree Studios
to talk about Episode
I. And he said,
[MUMBLING],, 3PO is
created by Anakin.
And I thought that
was really nice,
because Alec Guinness
had been so nice to me,
so kind, so whatever.
Literally, it was
three days later
I realized Anakin was not
played by Alec Guiness.
Anakin was, in
fact, Darth Vader.
3PO was created by Darth Vader.
Oh, my.
He doesn't know.
Don't tell him.
Don't tell him.
[LAUGHTER]
So is it fun sharing?
AUDIENCE: Honestly,
if anyone ever
gets a chance to watch something
with someone where they're
experiencing it
the first time, it
was kind of like that was my
chance to experience "Star
Wars" again for the first time.
And honestly, I can't wait
to do it with my next kid.
And my daughter, who's
1, when she's older,
she's going to be getting a
"Star Wars" Episode whether she
likes it or not.
[LAUGHTER]
ANTHONY DANIELS: It is
amazing how it's gone across--
thank you so much--
gone across so many families.
So many people tell me about the
seminal moment their dad took
them [INAUDIBLE].
But actually, lately,
it's mom who's--
twice yesterday, two people
said it was Mom who took them.
I said, what about Dad?
Oh, he's not interested.
So you never know how
the dynamics work.
Another question.
Yes, would you like
to come up here?
There we go.
AUDIENCE: Hi, Natalia.
I've heard that some actors
usually say that, I never
watch my own movies.
So what about you?
Have you ever
watched your movies?
And if yes, what
was your reaction?
How did you [INAUDIBLE]?
ANTHONY DANIELS: It's
a very good question,
because it's like
reading reviews.
It's kind of better
not to, really.
But I've watched them
technically, sometimes.
And you have to realize,
it was so long ago
that video wasn't available.
If you wanted to see a film,
you had to go and see it
on the big screen.
And that was great, and it made
for a very cohesive audience
experience.
And that fell to the
whole product going viral.
Not a phrase used at that
time, but it did go viral.
And part of it was because
people collectively
saw it in the odeon or whatever
or the classic theater.
And they could
relate to each other
and discuss Dark Side, Light
Side, Vader, the princess,
whatever, the droids.
And it became a collective
experience-- very, very
important.
Then video came in.
And this was total
joy, because what?
What could you do with video?
You could fast-forward
the bits you weren't in.
[LAUGHTER]
It makes a heck of a
difference, I tell you.
So sometimes I watch
myself to see what works
and what doesn't work.
But for the most part,
no, I don't really
look, because I'm
embarrassed, you know?
Yeah.
Do you fast forward the
bits you don't approve of?
AUDIENCE: No, I love all of it.
ANTHONY DANIELS:
You love all of it.
And who's your
favorite character?
AUDIENCE: Han Solo.
ANTHONY DANIELS: Han So--
[LAUGHTER]
I've come all the
way here today.
Where's bloody Harrison Ford?
He didn't turn up.
[LAUGHTER]
AUDIENCE: I have a question.
What do you think
about this new trend
of new, small, lovable
robots that the new franchise
are coming up now?
And do you think they focus
more on selling merchandise
than developing nice
characters, like yours was?
ANTHONY DANIELS: [LAUGHS]
[LAUGHTER]
I love you, Alan.
[LAUGHTER]
AUDIENCE: Thank you.
[APPLAUSE]
ANTHONY DANIELS: OK.
Sorry.
We haven't rehearsed
this, have we?
No.
Lovable robots--
sit down for a sec.
One of the things
you have to realize--
and you can read it in the book.
Did you know I've
written a book?
I told you I was
there for six months
having the costume
made around me.
And in all that
time, I was reading
the dialogue in the script
between C-3PO and R2D2.
It had the character
name, C-3PO.
He says, where are you
going, for instance.
R2, character name,
beeps a response.
[LAUGHTER]
That was that, so
that was happening.
Then 3PO would say,
what makes you think
that a settlement's over there?
R2 blats a reply.
And so it would go on.
In the way that
sort of Shakespeare
had it, that a character speaks,
another character replies.
And you have a dialogue.
You have a conversation.
You have a relationship.
Six months of reading this with
George and the producer there
around me.
Get out into the
desert in Tatooine--
I'm sorry, Tunisia.
Oh, god, did I just
spoil something?
Yeah, sorry,
Tatooine, obviously.
And there I am actually
out in the sand
having that conversation.
And pretty much, that
was day 2, really.
And there was nothing.
There was this blue
R2 thing, which I'd
seen being made at the studio.
And I'm talking.
And it hit me that
there was no reply.
There was nothing.
Where are you going?
I mean, in real
life, that's rude.
I'm actually serious.
I can laugh now.
Nobody had thought
to say, by the way,
you're going to have to do the
whole dialogue as a monologue.
You'd think they would have
mentioned it, wouldn't you?
And so it was very
confusing to begin with.
And very, very quickly
I began to realize
that this was an
improvisation job,
that I was dealing with
something basically inanimate.
If it moved-- often,
somebody might be in there.
But often, the remote
controller was over there--
very difficult. And at one
point, I said to George,
this is hard.
Could somebody make a beep
or make a response, George?
Oh, sure.
And we started that scene again.
It was on the sand
dunes, I remember.
Where are you going?
Oh, uh, beep.
[LAUGHTER]
It was just easier.
I would write the lines out.
But what happened then-- you
were asking me about droids.
We come to Episode VII,
and suddenly there's BB-8.
Again, merch, but a very
beautiful piece of merch,
a ball with a kind of a hat on.
And that's amazing.
The character that does--
tilting that, it's
almost mimetic.
Just tilting that
topknot gives it
an attitude, a
questioning thing.
There used to be those robot
dogs that played football.
Do you remember?
You must have seen them.
I forget what they were called,
little black and white things.
And it was wonderful.
Because I would watch a
game, and they kept going--
and then they would
kick the ball.
And I talked to one
of the inventors.
And he said, oh, no, they are
tuning into the radio antenna
around the football pitch.
It slightly took
away the cute magic.
But in my mind, they
were still cute.
The magic thing about BB-8--
and I will never forget.
It was on the Millennium Falcon.
How could I forget.
There was BB-8,
and I had no idea
what I was watching,
how this was working.
And then, of course, I
changed my perspective.
And here was Brian
Herring dressed in green,
in a green suit, with
green sticks, going--
and there's Dave over there
wiggling the head by remote.
And it was magical.
And the most magical
thing for me,
really, was that, in the
scene, BB-8 would be here,
Brian would be here with
sticks going across,
and I'd go, BB-8,
what are you doing?
And Brian would go, [BEEPING].
And it was magic.
Suddenly I was having
a conversation,
after all these years,
with a fellow robot.
But as I say, in the
book, the weird thing
was that Brian is about my size.
So he'd be going [BEEPING],, and
I would just be looking at him
and laughing.
Oh, shit, no, I've got
to be talking down here.
Sorry.
[LAUGHTER]
Because that was
meant to be my focus.
So people have always
loved the droids, frankly.
Sometimes-- and there is
a new one in this film.
You've probably
seen the trailers.
It looks a bit like a
hairdryer, but that's cute.
People love to take a
piece of merchandise home.
And the biggest one, of course,
bszhh, is the lightsaber.
People just love it.
And you have to think,
why do people like merch?
And it is a way, I think, of
just extending the experience
back into your home.
When you come to our
apartment in London
for drinks or tea
or whatever, you
will see one piece of
merch, a big Lego thing.
Because Lego really is a
creative game-changer, I think.
Last question, maybe.
Oh, it's cheating because
you were at the front.
Oh, is there not some poor--
yeah, guy at the back--
I'm sorry-- come here.
Come.
No, because we got to be nice to
the people in the cheap seats.
Here, there we are.
AUDIENCE: Hi, a
very quick question.
How did it feel to take off
the suit for the last time?
ANTHONY DANIELS:
Oh, such a relief.
I cannot tell you.
I mean, never say never.
Because do you realize, I talked
about the end of Episode VI.
And that was like,
fine, that's OK.
And then, of course, I took it
off at the end of Episode III.
Yeah.
And now the other day, a
few months ago at Pinewood--
I remember, and I talk
about it, because it
was quite an emotional moment.
I was high up on a set
there, high on scaffolding.
And yeah, I took it off.
And really, it
was like, kind of,
I don't know, just fading
into the background.
It was a touching moment.
I managed not to
totally lose it.
It felt OK.
And it felt particularly
OK, because "The Rise
of Skywalker"-- this
is the advertising bit.
"The Rise of Skywalker," as
you will see in December,
is such a good film.
It's so lovingly made, so
clever, so inventive, so final.
You had the beginning and
now [CLICK] you have the end.
And that's OK.
There'll be other
stories in other places.
But it felt a good way to end.
And it was a touching moment.
And there are touching moments
in the trailer, as you see.
But I am here to tell you that
life of 3PO, existence for 3PO,
is not over yet.
AUDIENCE: Well, that was
going to be my final--
any spoilers for
the film, as to--
[LAUGHTER]
I'm sure we all want to know.
ANTHONY DANIELS:
Who wants spoilers?
Ah-ha, you see, they
don't want spoilers.
Get out of here.
Thank you so much.
And one final
question, come here.
Final question.
It better be a good one.
No, this is the final
question, so you've
got to judge whether it's
worthy of this moment.
What's your name.
AUDIENCE: So
December's coming up.
Is the saga ending the
way you wished for 3PO?
ANTHONY DANIELS: This
is a very good question.
Is this saga ending for 3--
I talked about being a team
player or being isolated.
In this film, 3PO--
and you will read in the
book, that I sent JJ Abrams--
you have to get him
here to give a talk.
I sent him an email,
a list of instructions
about how 3PO works, where
he works best, et cetera.
And I'm sure he
never read the email,
but he followed the instructions
pretty perfectly, actually.
So for, really,
at the beginning,
I was kind of part of a team.
And at the end,
I'm part of a team.
And it does feel very rewarding.
No spoilers.
But here's the
thing I do believe.
And you are very
much a part of it.
And I think I alluded
to it earlier.
Without audiences,
without fans, there
would have been one
movie, one movie.
And because of people
like yourselves,
we made a second,
we made a third,
then I, II, III, then VII, VIII,
and you're going to see VIIII.
You not only have
a responsibility
for getting us this far.
But your love put so
much into these movies.
And your listening to
John Williams music, you
go with the feelings of it all.
And I think you're going
to love what happens here.
No refunds from me if you don't.
Thank you all so much.
[APPLAUSE]
SPEAKER: Thank you so
much, Anthony Daniels.
Thank you so much.
