Ian McDiarmid gives the Emperor a voice unpleasant enough to make earnest heroism convincing. We value his theatrical boldness, though the younger Palpatine's charm cannot make the stiff conversations in The Phantom Menace worth sitting through.
Fi1m perspective
McDiarmid's Emperor sounds old and sepulchral in Return of the Jedi (1983), with little interest in making villainy attractive. We enjoyed the sheer unpleasantness of that voice: Mark Hamill's earnest Luke has someone worth being frightened of. Richard Marquand's film benefits from the contrast, with McDiarmid and Darth Vader giving it a stronger dramatic focus than the thin romance. John Williams's score gives Luke's danger emotional weight, so the acting need not do all the work. It is a good use of an extravagant performer, though the overindulged Ewoks still slow the evening down.
The leap from Insignificance (1982) to the Emperor makes sense when we consider McDiarmid's ability to play age. His performance as an older man on stage helped secure the film role. Shakespeare and contemporary theatre supplied much of his working life, alongside a long collaboration with Jonathan Kent at the Almeida. That background is worth remembering when the Emperor threatens to become his entire reputation.
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) returns to the character as the younger Senator Palpatine. His outward charm gives McDiarmid a different way to hold our attention, and the contrast with the older Emperor is welcome. But George Lucas's film spends too much time explaining itself through stiff conversations, and a change of manner cannot solve that. There is less for an actor to do when the dialogue is so busy passing on information. We would not recommend the film for McDiarmid alone.
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005) gives greater scope to his ability to move between charm and outright malevolence. He can make courtesy convincing without losing his appetite for playing someone thoroughly nasty. The reservation is that so much of the film career returns to the same character, leaving fewer opportunities to see what else he can do on screen. Start with Return of the Jedi, where his Emperor has a convincing opponent in Hamill's Luke.
Biography
Ian McDiarmid is a Scottish actor and director. Born on 11 August 1944 in Carnoustie, Scotland, he trained at the University of St Andrews and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. He made his stage debut in 1972 and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1974, appearing in numerous Shakespeare productions and other plays.
He is best known for portraying Emperor Palpatine / Darth Sidious in the Star Wars franchise, including Return of the Jedi (1983), Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999), Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002), Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005) and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019). He has also appeared in films such as Sleepy Hollow (1999) and The Lost City of Z (2017), and on television in series including Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022).
McDiarmid has directed plays and served as joint artistic director of the Almeida Theatre in London from 1990 to 2001. He received an Olivier Award for Best Actor in a New Play for Insignificance (1982) and a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for Faith Healer (2006).
